If the universe is ever-expanding, then what is happening on the brim of the universe?

Question

In other words, is space and time being created on the brim of the universe?

ever consider that since our universe is expanding, that another outside the brim is collapsing?

Answer 1

I guess I must be missing something here...

The "Universe" is vast beyond belief, bigger than anything you can comprehend. Things within Outer Space are moving away from each other at rapid speeds. They are in effect getting farther and farther away from each other, so that what we can "see" is expanding.

Outer Space is not expanding, only the things in it are moving farther and farther away from each other.

There is no so called "rim" or "brim", "Edge" or "side", "top" or "bottom" to Outer Space. None of those things or structures has ever been detected, observed, or theorized.
So, there is no answer to your question about what is happening to the brim of the Universe. It, the Universe, is not shaped like a "horn of plenty." We are not exactly sure what shape the universe has, if there is any detectable shape at all.

What we do know is that Astronomers can "see" with optical telescopes objects as far distant as 13.7 Billion Light Years away in all directions from Earth. With Radio Telescope equipment they can detect objects in deep space 40 Billion Light Years away. So the Universe is truly vast beyond belief... Please note that our equipment only lets us "see" out to objects at those distances, and that is not the end of space... That is just the limit on what our equipment lets us "see." Of course it is useless to talk about things beyond which you can actually see. The only thing which works out beyond those distances is your imagination, and no two imaginations are the same.

Answer 2

Sorry, but there is no "brim" of the universe. The expansion is happening inside the universe. The super-clusters of galaxies are getting further apart because the space between them is expanding. Yes, you heard that right. Empty space can and does expand.

Space and time were created at the "big bang". It is doubtful that we need to assume that new space/time is still being created, to explain any observations.

Answer 3

There is no brim. If the universe is finite, then Big Bang is probably correct in saying that gravity bends space so that every point is the center. The size is increasing, but there is no boundary.

If the universe is infinite, then every point is still the center. The size is not increasing, but the distance between objects is increasing. This is equivalent to saying that the length of a meter is shrinking relative to the placement of galaxies, which therefore get farther apart.

Answer 4

There are two distances you need to think about, in regard to the edge of the Universe. The first is our "event horizon". This is as far away as we can see---13.7 billion lightyears away, since the Universe is 13.7 billion years old. When we look that far away, we see a "wall" of radio radiation, the Cosmic Microwave Background. This wall is moving away from us a nearly the speed of light, so our event horizon is getting bigger. When it does so, more and more material comes across our event horizon.

If we were able to get to our event horizon "now", we would find that it no longer looked like the Big Bang, but had evolved to look like stars and galaxies that are 13.7 billion years old. So "now", all that stuff looks just like the galaxies around us.

In fact, we expect that there is a lot more material beyond our event horizon---a whole, whole lot, at least 10^50 times more than we can see within our event horizon. That stuff is also moving away from us (in fact it is moving away from us faster than the speed of light---yes, that's OK). If we were somehow able to get there (a wormhole or something) it too would look much like the galaxies around us.

Beyond that immensely large region, 10^20 times bigger in radius than our even horizon, it is speculated that there are regions of "different physics", where things are, well, different in some way we really don't understand in the context of modern physics.

As far as we know, there is no end or edge. The Universe might or might not be infinite in extent. In any case, it is likely we will never be able to see most of it.

Answer 5

the other side of the universe. the universe is most likely a 4 dimensionaly hypersphere. its the only thing that really makes sense for the boarder of the universe and for gravity to work at all.

see everything with mass distorts space, but for that to work right the universe would have to be 4 dimensional. because think of it like this. you could have a massive sun thats distorting space and causing gravity, but above, below, and on all sides of it you could have more suns that are doing the same thing. so space would have to be 4 dimensional.

so basically of you reach the end of one side of the universe you would be back at the other side.

Answer 6

The only answer that I have here is --- an awful lot of
movement !!
space and time are concepts
OUR concepts -- and in that -- what is happening there can be conceived by us as a "creation" of sorts -- but that would
simply be OUR way of expressing our concept OF the actions in a certain way --- NOT necessarily what is actually Happening !!

Answer 7

haha. isn't this the sort of question everyone wonders about but will never know the answer to?. but frankly i think, though it may sound just a bit crazy, that just beyond the universe, there's another habitat. one that's inhabited by other "beings"... people may doubt their existence but .. isnt that a bit egotistical? the universe is practically infinite and we actually think we're the only living, breathing, thinking creatures?