is it actualy possible for "space" to continue on forever?

Question

if not what's after "space" or "the universe". it's very frutrating and makes me wana go CRAZY when I think about it.

Answer 1

No physicist really thinks it goes on forever, the evidence shows that its been expanding for nearly 14 billion years - and the space itself has been expanding a lot faster than the speed of light. However it is definitely finite in size. The chances are that it forms a 3-torus in a higher dimension, this means for us, that if you could reach the edge of space you'd end up heading towards where you were from the opposite side of the universe. Its like the old asteroids game, if you go out one side of the screen, you appear on the other - accept in 3 dimensions.

If the universe were infinite the 2nd law of thermodynamics would soon (cosmologically speaking) turn everything in to dust and 'black holes' (or whatever they really are - maybe gravastars) The fact that all galaxies we've observed are travelling away from us shows the universe is expanding.

There is a problem with language here, many people ask what is outside our universe, but universe by definition should include all that exists. Perhaps we'll use new terms the way the indivisible atom kept its name while being formed of protons which are divisible to quarks and so on... In quantum mechanics there is the word 'multiverse' to describe the vast set of diverging perpendicular (not parallel!) universes.

Does this help? For best results, ask this in astronomy or physics.

Answer 2

there is no evidence of anything outside space/universe, at least that we know of. And we probably will never find out if there is. However, the universe is expanding (supposedly) so space is getting bigger.

Think of the universe like a balloon, the air in the balloon is space, and we are the dust particles floating around inside. Outside the balloon is nothing, not even space.

If you have trouble thinking about what is less than space, consider this: you can float in space, and light travels thru space, gravity affects space, etc.
But, if there is nothing outside space you can't do any of these things, you can't even go there because there is no "where" to go to.

Cheers

Answer 3

Forever is a LONG LONG TIME and, like nothing, can't even be imagined by us who have at the most 120 years to judge it by!

That the universe has a limit is apparent from the fact that the sky is black at night for if it went on "forever" or was infinite, with a normal density of stars, there would be a star for every blank space between stars and the night sky" would be as bright as the surface of the sun. According to cosmologists the universe is finite but unbounded if it is a closed universe. Cosmologists have recently postulated that there are many universes in a mega-verse.

Don't go "crazy" thinking about it just study what is known about cosmology and physics and then go on to find the answer to your question by becoming one of these scientists. Scientists would have nothing to do if they had all the answers!

Fundamentalist religionists have "all the answers" and they have nothing better to do but harangue us about, "the end of the world."What they fail to understand is that if one is to "live forever" thay have got to have a lot of room or become mad with boredom.

Answer 4

I imagine more than one universe whenever I find myself thinking really big... if there can be many galaxies, I don't see why there can't be more universes as well. I'm not at all an astronomer, I can't even spell it... but I think it's actually possible for space to go on without end as we know it.

In many fantasies I've read there are often animals who will speak and tell another how their ancestor is The One who keeps this universe together at all, holding it safe in a tortoise shell or a dragon's stretch and on like that... so a lot of people think about the universe and what is beyond. I just haven't met many who think there are more universes than just one!
Hello! Are you out there? ;-}

Answer 5

it is a very difficult question to answer. i think logically it seems probable that space will continue forever. afterall why should there be nothing after sometime? but these are the laws of nature, so we cannot be sure until we check out which we never can, as it will be at the boundary of infinity. modern science with the theory of relkativity and quantum mechanics has made a huge mockery of human common sense and intuition , so donot be too sure. however unlikely and absurd it seems that there can be nothing after a time.

Answer 6

No it's not - space is both BOUNDLESS and FINITE (due to its four-dimensional curvature).

There IS no AFTER space, because space is the only "where" there is - there is no "where" else for anything else to be ...

Confused? You should be!

Read "A Brief History of Everything" by Bill Bryson, or at least the first few chapters.

Answer 7

Since the number system is a theory, and completely fabricated, there could be no end to the amount of numbers possible. This has been validated numerous times. It is an invariable theory.

Answer 8

Not realized space...? Incomplete space...? Unpervaded space...?

Pick what suits you best! In the end it's something we couldn't ever know. Not in this life...

Answer 9

Maybe our universe is an expanding bubble. Maybe there's other bubbles beyond ours? Maybe our universe is a molecule in the arm pits of some giant? See you at the happy farm.....

Answer 10

I think space is on a curvature. If we traveled far enough, we would come back.