The universe is everything that exists. So, if the universe does expand forever, what will it expand into?

Answer 1

Concepts of "expanding" and "outside" are all related to space, which is a part of the universe. There is nothing "outside" the universe. If we discovered something outside the universe, even empty space, then that too would be a part of the universe.

You have to keep in mind that as the universe expands, so too does space itself. It doesn't expand "into" anything. There's no "edge," at which a person can leave the universe and head into empty space, because the universe isn't a finite shape like a square or a globe. It's a muti-dimensional object.

Think of it this way: if you're a 2-dimensional being, like the ball in the game of Pong, you'll never be able to leave the computer screen and, say, approach the player. That's because you can only exist in 2 dimensions while the computer monitor is 3-dimensional. Similarly, space can never expand outside the universe, because it's a 3-dimensional thing in a 4-dimensional universe.

Answer 2

There is another possibility for the end of the universe: the Big Rip. The universe is actually expanding at an accelerating rate, so there will come a time when this expansion speed is too great for gravity and other attractive forces to act or light to reach across space. Every particle of matter and quanta of energy will therefore literaly fly apart from every other particle to live a solitary existence for eternity (or be destroyed by the same expansion). Boo hoo.

Anyway, back to the actual question:
As there is no space "outside" the universe, the "surface" of the universe is all actually at the same infinitesimal nul-point. The universe in such terms has no dimension, as it is bounded by nil dimensions. You could see space as an implosion from zero size into negative size, giving the illusion from inside as expansion. As the universe has zero external dimension, all aspects of the universe are in "contact" with the non-existent infinitesimal point. There are no edges to the universe, only an infinite relationship with the infinitesimal. You are right now at the edge of the universe. And so is everywhere else. This nil point (non existence) is generating more space (existence) as a fundamental law (think yin and yang - a duality of existence and non existence dependent upon each other). Since that nil point is effectively omnipresent from our point of view, it seems as though space is being generated everywhere, ie giving the illusion of expansion.

That's what the pixies told me, anyway.

Answer 3

As far as we know, the universe is all that exists. There are theories about the nature of the universe, but they're just theories.

The space in which we find ourselves is infinite. It's not like a balloon that's expanding as the air inside heats and expands. It doesn't have sides. It has nowhere to expand. It's already infinite. There is no "outside."

The stuff inside the space is finite... quite large, but there is only so much of it. That's the stuff that's expanding. What its ultimate fate is, that too is conjectural. But if the stuff continues to expand for ever, it will never fill all the space.

Apparently the concept of infinite is difficult for some to grasp. It's not just big. It's beyond size. It has no size. Size requires dimensions. Infinity has no dimensions. It can't be measured. There is no such thing as "infinity plus one" or, if you want to get really big, "infinity squared." Infinity cannot be added to. If you can add something to it, then it's not infinite... there's something else. Infinite precludes the existence of anything else. It is not a value that can be multiplied or divided. It's beyond value.

Universe = space and it's contents. Space is infinite. Contents finite and expanding. Expanding does not mean more stuff, just that it's spreading outward and becoming more thinly dispersed.

Answer 4

Your question contains a contradiction, which shows that you have not quite got your brain around the significance -- I must admit that it takes a lot of thinking, and a lot of reading (it took me years to really grasp this) -- of your opening statement.

If, indeed, " the universe is everything that exists ", then there is nothing for it to expand into ! If there WAS something there, then according to your definition it would still be part of the universe ! The same applies to the question " What existed before the Big Bang ? " -- in the present universe time began with the big bang, so there was no " before ".

If there is indeed something into which the universe is expanding, then it is something beyond our present system of space / time, and beyond our capacity to understand.

This is the large-scale equivalent of the other end of the scale -- quantum mechanics -- where things appear to be happening which violate all our "common-sense" experience - but that is another story !

Keep reading, keep thinking -- it beats the hell out of watching soaps on tele !

Answer 5

I'm surprised nobody's brought up the "balloon analogy" yet.

The idea is that the expansion of the universe is a four-dimensional expansion, and that's not like matter flying farther out into empty space beyond where it is now.

Make the "space" in your universe be the 2D surface of a balloon as it is being inflated. (The extra 3rd dimension that that balloon spreads into does not count as part of "space"!) As the balloon inflates its surface stretches and "space" expands, but it didn't expand into space that was already there. Space just got larger.

Try to extend your thinking to 3D space expanding in a related way in a four-dimensional spacetime. I think this will help you get a better handle on it.

Answer 6

The key to answering your question lies in the word you used, "everything." Things exist. And, things exist in a place.
It is true that "things" are moving away from each other in space.

However, no one ever said that space is expanding, only that the things we can observe in space are moving away from each other at a very fast rate of speed.

Space is, as far as we know, infinite. Scientists and astronomers using the very finest optical telescopes that there are have been able to observe objects in deep space at distances of 13 Billion Light Years in all directions from the Earth. With Radio Telescopes they have been able to detect objects in Deep Space that are 40 Billion Light Years from Earth in all directions.

Now I do not mean to imply that 13 Billion or 40 Billion LY is the maximum extent of Space by any means. It is, however, the limit at which our technology fails to produce any useable information. In the future, perhaps some new developments will enable us to "see" farther, or "listen" farther than our current equipment designs permit.

Having said that, it is beneficial for those people trying to understand SPACE to make a serious attempt to write down the distance in Miles that is represented by the statement
"13 Billion Light Years." Write it down using all of the significant digits and do not use short cuts like powers of ten. If you do this, you will begin to understand the enormous distances that are involved in just the range to the fartherest things we can "SEE" with our eyes and cameras (equipped with all kinds of computer programs for enhancement). And, space continues on way beyond that, we just can't tell how far...

Since the Universe is a collection of things, and we can only see a portion of the "things" (many, many more things exist), we don't even know how big the Universe is.

Answer 7

It's debatible whether or not the universe will expand forever. A few scenerios...

1. The universe will continue to expand forever
2. The universe will stop expanding
3. The univese will expand, then stop, and then actually regress and collapse, once this happens, the collapse will be so much that there will be an explosion, and then...well we haev another big bang and the universe starts again...some argue that the universe has been doing this forever.

Answer 8

Relax !
It has been expanding for 13 or more billion years.
If you counted off those years at one per second none stop you would be counting for over 400,000 years.
You have nothing to worry about !
Yes it expands into empty space.

Answer 9

It will either expand into space, I mean the same 3-dimensional space we are used to (in which case space is probably infinite), or it will expand into nothingness, which is incomprehensible to us (most laymen define space as nothingness, but essentially there is something there: space exists, it's a grid, sort of... (lol the matrix)). People have tried for a long time to understand the fundamental nature of space, but first we'll have to understand the fundamental nature of everything that exists in space. Your question is a good one, but it's one that no one knows the answer to.

Answer 10

Well, the universe is a concept,
which is a big sphere, it is revolving around itself and increasing.............................
Everything - galaxies, stars, nebulae, everything is present inside this sphere of universe.
This universe will keep expanding - keep expanding.....
increasing the distance between galaxies and clusters present in it....................
If the universe keeps expanding forever, it will expand into same but a bigger sphere.........
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There is also a end of universe named <<<<<>>>>
Note<<>>
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