This is really confusing...?

Question

So the universe is everything, right? I mean, that's the definition of universal, it's all-encompassing. So when scientists report that the universe is expanding, I get really confused. In what is the universe, an all-encompassing body, expanding? Seriously, think about it, if it (the universe) is everything, what holds it, how is it growing into something else????????

Answer 1

no the universe is not always considered everything. take your question to heart. whats on the outside of the universe (if its not infinite)

you should look at the definition again. and the definition given by different types of scientist.

example.

string theory says we live in our universe which is one of and endless amounts of other different universes.
a multiverse which exists within certain dimensions with 11 possible dimensions. there are containers called branes that hold these multiverses and their dimensions inside the 11th dimension where nothing exists but these brane containers time, and gravity on massively huge scales. scales of numbers that explain infinite and make it finite.

Answer 2

So what we say is that the universe is infinite, but we also say the universe is expanding. You're probably thinking righ now "ummm, WHAT?!?! " Let me try to explain.

Infinities have strange properties. For example, some infinities are larger than others (if this sounds strange to you, good. It should). So let me use this analogy: Say there is this hotel. It only has one floor, but it has infinite number of rooms (an infinite hallway full of rooms). Now let's say the hotel has no vacancies, it is completeley booked: the hotel, with infinite rooms, has infinite people to occupy them. So you come into the hotel and say you need a room. What happens? Well, the manager just tells everyone in the hotel to move over one room! This vacates a room and you can now spend the night!

See, the thing with infinities is that you can always add more. So our universe is able to expand even though it is already infinite in size! I bet you're still confused, and that is probably a good thing, that inspires further learning!

I hope this helps!

Answer 3

The simplifying reality is that space can be both finite and infinite at the same time. The universe can be both inside itself and outside itself, all at once.

That really does simplify things, doesn't it? Actually, it's not a joke, but the answer is to be found in the mathematical discipline of topology.

For an example of what this means, try an internet search on "Klein bottle." The Klein bottle is a mathematical abstraction that creates a three-dimensional image of an object that is both finite and infinite at the same time, and is capable of being both inside itself and outside itself at once.

So to understand the answers to "what's outside the universe" and "what is the universe expanding into," the Klein bottle is a good starting point. It helps to remember to yourself: "Space is curved, and the Klein bottle is curved. There is a connection between those two kinds of curvature."

If that doesn't make you go "Aha!!!" at first glance, don't be disappointed. Just keep mulling it over, and the spirit of Albert Einstein will be with you.

Good luck.

Answer 4

ill save you alot of headache and tell you right now to stop trying to figure i out yourself and do some research on what other people have found, its easier. the human brain lacks the ability to comprehend anything that your question has to do with. the answer is either the lack of all space of a universe that has 4 spatial dimensions.

the universe doesnt only include matter and energy, put also space. not the space you see when you look up at stars. but the space where all matter fits into, without space there can be nothing. so the area outside the universe is...well there isnt one. it could be said that the expansion is really just the creation of a new area that never existed before.

this is where the human brain comes to a halt. we cannot understand the concept of space, so we cant even begin to understand the idea of not having space. most would picture completely darkness, but there would not even be that.

the other option is that the universe is 4 dimensional. if it expands there would have to be something on the outside, but there isnt there is no space. so there would have to be a place where space just stops, but that doesn't make sense its not like there can just be a big wall in space. so one idea is that the universe is 4 dimensional. it doesnt go on forever, but there is no end, you would just end up back where you started eventually. have you ever made a mobius strip? its basically like that. take a strip of paper like an inch wide and twist is 180 degrees and tape the ends together, you get a look of sorts that doesnt end, you could write on every surface of the object with just one line, so it goes on forever. its the 3 dimensional equivalent of a 4 dimensional object. some think the universe is like that.

this is again where our lack mental capacity starts to get annoying. we cant picture a truly 4 dimensional object. we can picture length, width, and depth, but not another dimension perpendicular to all of those.

its something mankind will never truly know the answer to. since space has to expand faster than light and we cant go faster than light its impossible to ever know.

Answer 5

I tend to view "space" as everything, including the nothingness. The universe is all the matter and energy, of all sorts, within space. If it exists as matter or energy, then it is within the universe.
The universe is expanding. As it does so, it fills more area of space. Why should anything hold the universe in? Space is not a vessel. Quite the opposite - it is the absence of anything.
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Answer 6

It is a little confusing, indeed. The universe is expanding over itself, that is to say the universe is creating its own space as it is expanding. The Universe is not expanding in a bigger space because, as you said, there is nothing out of the Universe. It creates its own space as it expands.

Answer 7

I don't think it's so much confusing as it is just plain incomprehensible; we just can't get our heads around a concept like 'beyond' or 'outside' the universe. Personally I just try to imagine an infinite absolute void and then go take a cold shower.

Answer 8

wikipedia this..
a) Special Theory of Relativity
b) General Theory of Relativity
c) Hubble´s Law
d) Big Bang and singularities
e) 70% Dark Energy,25% Dark Matter,5%Matter
f) Big crunch, Big Freeze
good luck in your quest..

Answer 9

The real answer is that nobody knows the answer to this question. There are theories about what is "beyond" our universe or what not, but the fact of the matter is nobody knows.

Answer 10

mostly its a way to explain observations.

its not like scientists are making it up.

if you took 100 steps to your mailbox every day and one day noticed it was 101... what would you say? you always miscounted before? you miscounted this time? or would you dismiss the whole thing and say "God frowns on people that can count"?

The evidence leads you to believe the universe IS expanding. Not INTO anything, its just getting bigger.