i mean, we dont know how big it is, or where we stand in it, but somehow scientists use trigonometry to figure it out, im pretty sure they are wrong like wtf?
2007-11-30 07:16:42 · 13 answers · asked by That guy that stands over there 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
and yes they said it was 70 billion or something ( i forgot what unit of measurement it was .. light years maybe)
2007-11-30 07:20:57 · update #1
It can not be calculated, and certainly not with trigonometry, but it can be MEASURED.
Sadly, since most schools fail to inform students about this basic fact of science, let me repeat it again:
In science EVERYTHING is based on measurements. Everything.
And so we can measure the size of the visible universe. And from that we can model the visible universe as a whole. And maybe one day we will be able to put a really good upper and lower bound on the universe (visible and invisible parts) by having a complete theory of quantum gravity. As of today, we can't. But there is little doubt in the minds of those who deal with this professionally that one day we will.
2007-11-30 07:26:56 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
there are three answers that i really like (i'm not sure if they are right or not, and they do seem to contradict slightly, AND confirm each other) ...and 2 of the users i cannot spell their names. we can estimate. Ballpark figures? maybe. the truth is, we really don't actually know. We have observational data of the expansion of the universe, and the acceleration of that expansion. we have no way to observe how constant that acceleration has been. we also have no way to know, really, how far away the farthest "thing" is, let along space, which is not composed of matter... well, in principal. if the 13-14 billion year range is accurate for the time period when the big bang occurred, and if the expansion of the universe had a mathematical consistency, be it a constant, an exact acceleration, or whatever, then, possibly, we could determine the radius of the entire universe... but that also depends on which model of the universe we exist in... open closed other also, the "end of the universe" cosmology could have something to do with it. will the universe "end" in one of the following ways: the big crunch the big chill the big rip (other) we have not determined all of the constants in the universe, nor all of the variables. this means, any estimate we get, would be only dependent on what we can observe,(which, to steal an analogy from another user) is somewhere between the dog and the canary.
2016-04-06 05:45:56 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the big bang happened at the approximate center and material left that point doing 90% of the speed of light, we can measure back 16 billion years to see ho big the radius of the universe is.
Of course, this is only and approximation but it jibes well with what we see in the largest telescopes. It gives us an intelligent guess at how big the universe actually is.
2007-11-30 07:51:46 · answer #3 · answered by Owl Eye 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending on what model of the universe you believe in, you may or may not be able to calculate its size. If you have the wrong model, your calculations are meaningless.
Most astrophysicists believe in the Big Bang model with a religious fervor. They are certain that the universe is 13.7 billion light years across and 13.7 billion years old. Their calculations can be found in the following link.
2007-11-30 07:52:50 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, the Doppler Effect, or rather the measurement of sound waves and radio waves that pass between each galaxy throughout the universe, measures the rate at which the galaxies are moving away from each other and using the theory of relativity describes the location and size of the Universe. The Doppler Effect can be explained thusly; say you are standing on a curb and a car passes you by. As it approaches it sounds louder, and as it passes it slowly fades away. The rate at which sound travels can explain rate of distance by how "low" the sound is from other galaxies.
2007-11-30 07:36:33 · answer #5 · answered by Thargor19 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thy calculate it by using math and telescopes.The Universe is 14.7 billion years old,13.7 bilion light years in diameter and consists of 137 billions of galaxies.And the Universe is still expanding.And it is expanding at the speed of light.In the future,we will not see many galaxies,because they are now moving away from us.
2007-11-30 13:14:21 · answer #6 · answered by ChrisCT 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, its true, you can roughly measure the size of the universe using basic trig.
the universe is supposedly 70 billion years old, but that could be inaccurate. no-one knows the exact truth, but we can make a pretty precise estimation.
2007-11-30 07:24:59 · answer #7 · answered by violet h 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They are in their own mind...they can theorize but can never tell the truth about the size of the universe. Everything is theory except for the handful of proofs that can be found in the lab.
2007-11-30 07:27:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its possible to guess by extrapolating the expansion from the Big Bang, times how old the Universe is. Its a theoretical guess based on the Steady-State hypothosis.
2007-11-30 07:20:18 · answer #9 · answered by Steve C 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They know when it was created in the big bang and then calculate its expansion at the speed of light.
Since we know the rate of expansion we can calculate back in time to find the point where everything collides at one point.
2007-11-30 07:41:33 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋