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by   on August 28th, 2006

 

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If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into?

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Answers. 26 helpful answers below.

  • by MetalRain on October 8th, 2008

    MetalRain

    That's what the Large Hadron Collider is for, finding out what makes up 75% of whole universe (not just the known, but the unknown too!) and the most influential force of the universe, the two seperate theories of dark-matter and dark-energy.

    It has been proposed (theoriticaly) that dark-energy is resposible for the relatively-increasing rate of dispersion of the known universe. While this thoery has its detractors is seems to be highly plausible and is one of the major reasons for spending billions of dollars to make what is essentially the world's biggest and most expensive merry-go-round.

    The LHC at CERN is only a microscopic, yet significant step of unlocking the secrets of the universe (or multiverse if your game!).

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  • by Totalitarianist on June 21st, 2007

    Totalitarianist

    Supposedly nothingness...as difficult for me as that is to come to terms with. The claim would seem to be that the universe is expanding and "taking" new space into itself from nothingness. *shrug*

    Do you have a link or some reference to the scientific claim that the universe is expanding, i would be very interested in reading up on it.

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  • by singwell-is off researching a lot on March 12th, 2007

    singwell-is off researching a lot

    "Universe" is a word derived from the Old French univers, which in turn comes from the Latin roots unus ("one") and versus (a form of vertere, "to turn"). Based on observations of the observable universe, physicists attempt to describe the whole of space-time, including all matter and energy and events which occur, as a single system corresponding to a mathematical model.
    Depending on the average density of matter and energy in the universe, it will either keep on expanding forever or it will be gravitationally slowed down and will eventually collapse back on itself in a "Big Crunch". Currently the evidence suggests not only that there is insufficient mass/energy to cause a recollapse, but that the expansion of the universe seems to be accelerating and will accelerate for eternity (see accelerating universe). Other ideas of the fate of our universe include the Big Rip, the Big Freeze, and Heat death of the universe theory. For a more detailed discussion of other theories, see the ultimate fate of the universe.
    (wikipedia)
    so everything from Big Bang to Big Crunch...LOL

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  • by Stableboy on February 17th, 2007

    Stableboy

    This is simply not true. There is no logical requirement that there be "nothingness" beyond the edge of the universe.

    That is extending common-sense thinking beyond it's legitimate domain. The prevailing view is that the universe (space) is expanding. This does NOT mean it's "expanding into something", that is mapping your personal experience (common sense) into an invalid domain where you have no personal experience.

    Many things in science which are fundamental and which provide the basic underpinnings for much of our technology (such as quantum mechanics and relativity) are nevertheless incompatible with common sense. Common sense says that as you keep accelerating, you go faster. The limit of the speed of light defies common sense. Common sense says that space is uniform, but relativity says that gravity deforms it.

    You have to let go of clinging to common sense and learn the language of science (mathematics) in order to come to grips with these questions effectively.

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  • by Aero is back and wiser on October 8th, 2008

    Aero is back and wiser

    I'm not even going to atempt this one. I'd hazard a guess their is a never ending amount of universes expanding and contracting into one another or something like that I guess.

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  • by HasntBeen on November 2nd, 2009

    HasntBeen

    It's likely that the question is meaningless, because it presumes the existence of space which is somehow "behind" or "outside" the limits of space. That's kind of strange, yes?

    There are two possibilities: either space is infinite and the field of stars is expanding, or space is "finite but unbounded", meaning there's no such thing as "space beyond the universe"... that the whole concept of the universe expanding into something is just nonsense.

    In the latter view, the universe is all the space that exists. When it expands, there's more space. That's it. Any thoughts about what's "outside" of that are just the mind mis-conceptualizing how reality works.

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  • by KagomeShuko on October 8th, 2008

    KagomeShuko

    IMO, there has to be Heaven somewhere. All the souls have to go somewhere, which would make the universe expand.

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  • by Cyndi Ninja on October 8th, 2008

    Cyndi Ninja

    If we knew that we wouldn't be driving cars reliant on gas and facing a worldwide financial crisis.

    It's an awesome question, but no one can really answer it :)

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  • by deltabtry on October 8th, 2008

    deltabtry

    Into a another universe, who knows perhaps this could be the reason for the big bang in another universe.

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  • by Yarnlady is happy every day on October 8th, 2008

    Yarnlady is happy every day

    That has got to be the best question this year!!! I have always wondered about that. The answer is..........unknown.Already asked.

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  • by cobber on October 8th, 2008

    cobber

    into everything else

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  • by travis bickle on March 12th, 2007

    travis bickle

    No one REALLY knows pal. Face it.

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  • by SalientAlien on September 13th, 2006

    SalientAlien

    "Expanding into" implies that the Universe has an edge and an expanding finite volume... this is not true, since by definition the Universe is everything. You are thinking in terms of an expanding dimensional object, but the dimensions THEMSELVES are expanding. Therefore the best answer to your question I can think of is a "dimensionless nothingness", which is of course meaningless. There is nothing for the Universe to expand into since the Universe is everything.

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  • by Farino on August 29th, 2006

    Farino

    A higher dimension. We thought that the Earth was flat yes? 2D but now we know that it is a sphere, 3D and we walk along it's 2D surface. This is much like our universe. If we could see in four dimensions then we would see that our universe is in a 4D sphere with it's radius growing. Thus it's surface area will grow and to us ut merely looks like everything is going away from each other on the sphere's surface.

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  • by xprofessor on November 3rd, 2009

    xprofessor

    Space itself is what's expanding. There is nothing beyond -- the universe is 'finite but unbounded'. And expanding. The simplest model of our 3-dimensional space is the surface a 4-dimensional hypersphere.

    [addendum]
    There's a useful old analogy where bugs are confined to crawl on a 2-dimensional surface. One day their astronomers* discover that distant bug galaxies are moving away from them, the farther the faster (Hubble's Law for bugs). What the bugs can't see is that all galaxies in their universe are actually on the surface of a giant spherical balloon which is slowly inflating (there's an air pump), causing objects standing still to move away from one another in accordance with Hubble's Law.

    * A bug telescope gathers light from distant objects on the surface of the balloon. Bug light travels along great circles of the spherical surface.

    We can visualize 3D but not 4D or higher (though mathematicians can precisely describe properties or higher-dimensional objects). The balloon bug-universe presumably expands into a large room built for the experiment. Our real universe may be expanding in 4 dimensions on its own. We can infer this from observation and calculation, but the exact geometry is not known with certainty.

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  • by Hayzen on November 2nd, 2009

    Hayzen

    Ur momma.

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  • by WoOZackWoO on October 8th, 2008

    WoOZackWoO

    I dunno.

    But my friend came up with a theory that uhm 1 sec

    "okay, its two in the morning, and ive been lying awake thinking about this, so i really want to get my thoughts down. the following blog will make you think very deeply. at the very least, it will stimulate your mind, very possibly drive some people to the brink of insanity, and maybe even raise the suicide level. it is filled with many unanswered questions that will never ever be answered. but i have also made a few conclusions.

    for some reason, i felt the need to think about the origin of the universe, so i traveled way back in time (mentally, of course.) how did the universe begin? scientists say the big bang theory. sufficient enough for me. it all started with a little molecule that was holding in so much, it exploded. fair enough. but how did that little molecule get there? i have a few theories. one of them: god put it there. but before i elaborate on that one, here's option two: it was always there. now i dont believe that same molecule was just sitting there, waiting for the right time to explode. that just makes no sense. so lets use some information we know about the universe today: it is expanding. (quick question: expanding into what?) maybe the universe just expands to a certain point, and then it reverses and starts imploding on itself. then it returns back to its molecular state, and the whole cycle begins again. if thats the case, how long has this been going on? what number universal cycle are we in now? the first? seventh? billionth?

    another question: does the universe do exactly the same thing each time? or does it shift slightly?

    back on track: the possible fact that the universe has been going through that cycle infinitely just doesnt make much sense to me. could that matter really have always been there? forever? well, theres a few things i know about matter: you cant create it, and you cant destroy it. maybe blow something to bits, but wont the matter still be there, despite its dispersed state? there will always be matter. which means the same matter throughout the universe will always be there. forever. it will never go away. for some reason, the thought of the universe continuing on forever without end frightens me... not sure why. perhaps this is true. then i would draw a conclusion that time is not linear, but rather more circular, going on forever. like the universe is on loop, or something. if time is linear (because a line does continue on forever in both directions), thats a disturbing thought to me...

    but for some reason, that theory is slightly disturbing to me. so heres my other theory. yes, matter cannot be destroyed or created... by other matter. but by a divine essence? whos to say? perhaps god did put the molecule there. but i wonder what it was like before he did so? there would have been nothing. (around this time, i started to have an epiphony) in my attempt to comprehend nothing, i ended up drawing a conclusion. ill try to recreate my train of thought, but it wont be incredibly easy, because this all passed through my head quite fast. now, realize, nothing is just that: nothing. it is absence. there is no silence, no darkness, not even time. thats where it hit me: nothing is impossible. not only incomprehensible, but flat out impossible. nothing does not and cannot exist. (which, if you think about it is quite redundant. i suppose its so obvious, that you think WOAH!) but then, matter existing just out of nowhere doesnt seem like a very probable explanation to me either.

    heres some more questions: say there was nothing. how long did it take god to decide to entertain himself with the creation of the universe? even if there was time, its completely immeasurable, because nothings happening. (literally) and also, doesnt timelessness seem pretty... eternal? if there wasnt nothing, how did matter suddenly just come out of nowhere? if there was nothing, how did god get there? or if he didnt, how did we get here?

    and so i have made a final conclusion: NOTHING MAKES SENSE! as far as im concerned, we shouldnt even exist. but that wouldnt make sense either, following my previous thoughts!! so now i believe in magic! :)

    p.s. honestly, im quite surprised to find that i can think that deeply, and not go insane. that makes me feel good about my mental well being! i tend to question my sanity, sometimes. so its good to know im fairly stable. i think its because i realize that most of the questions in this blog will never be answered, and ive accepted that fact.



    *next day* i thought of something. this is much easier to explain than the beginning of the universe. you know the expression: "since the beginning of time"? ive decided theres no such thing. time doesnt have a beginning, and it will not have an end. it always was. it is merely a concept, completely based on perception, with man-made instruments that are used to measure its passing in varied intervals. (aka: clocks.) time is fascinating, but its fairly easy for me to understand... easier than nothing, at least. the whole time is forever thing: if you still cant grasp it, realize also that even before the universe (if there was a before) time was always there. its just a concept. it doesnt pass at a certain rate. it is purely based on perception. (that conclusion came a lot easier to me than the fact that nothing is impossible.)"


    I dunno where in there her theory is, but the entire thing is interesting...

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  • by Starson on June 21st, 2007

    Starson

    Empty Space

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  • by Mirage V2.0 AWOL on March 12th, 2007

    Mirage V2.0 AWOL

    I'd say the "universe" is everything that is.
    Planets, asteroids, meteors, suns, space dust, et al is the matter of the Big Bang which is expanding into an infinite universe.

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  • by Mirage V2.0 AWOL on March 12th, 2007

    Mirage V2.0 AWOL

    I'd say the "universe" is everything that is.
    It is the matter of the Big Bang which is expanding into an infinite universe.

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  • by Esteban-- Smart ass Pumpkin on March 12th, 2007

    Esteban-- Smart ass Pumpkin

    It's expanding into a big spandex speedo

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  • by mystified on February 22nd, 2007

    mystified

    I'm afraid my answer is more simplistic than what you're looking for, but I'll post it anyway.

    First, I believe the "universe" to be never-ending (which, of course, also means it has no beginning...if it never ends in any direction, then it cannot begin somewhere). I do not believe the "universe" to be only the part with stars, galaxies, and so forth in it, but also the empty space which probably exists past that part.

    As for how it got started, I do believe in the intelligent creation theory. I do believe in an almighty God which made all things. What science says about a 'Big Bang' is not out of the question, either. There's nothing to say that God didn't use a big bang to start things rolling. What those others can't explain, by the way, is how the stuff that caused the big bang got there in the first place (in empty space). I feel it had to be created and put there, then the big bang could happen.


    One example would be a glass jar with two olives in the bottom of it. The inside of their jar **where they are** might be called "their universe" by some, but that doesn't explain what they'd call the rest of the empty space in the jar. After all, it may one day be filled with olives, as more are added. My feeling about it is the whole inside of the jar is their universe, whether it contains olives at the moment or not. Of course, for our universe, I don't believe it will EVER be filled with stars, since it never ends, and I do believe the big bang theory. Matter is always expanding from the point of the original big bang, but will never "fill the jar," so to speak.

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  • by Kuraudo on March 12th, 2007

    Kuraudo

    The universe is expanding into itself in a few billion years it will collapse seeing that 6 dimensions has aready collapsed and were left with 4

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  • by RondoRedux on November 2nd, 2009

    RondoRedux

    It is not expanding "into" anything. Hubble's Law states that the universe is expanding and that expansion is uniform. Galaxies are moving away from one another at tremendous speeds; some at the outer reaches of our scientific observations (not visually) are traveling away from us, and each other, at close to the speed of light. Our galaxy is part of a "local cluster" of about 20 galaxies that are gravitationally bound and do not move away from each other; these galaxies do, however, travel away from others likewise. No one knows whether the universe is infinite or finite. But scientists do know that in either case there would be no place where the universe "ends." And infinite universe would have no edges for the simple reason that space would go on forever. Einstein's theory of gravitation says that a finite universe would curve back upon itself in a manner to the way in which the surface of the earth is curved. A space vehicle could never come to the edge of the universe either. There simply isn't any such thing.

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  • by Frenkie on November 2nd, 2009

    Frenkie

    i dont know

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  • by bighabit on November 2nd, 2009

    bighabit

    Into getting us more land to use- as the population increases, we get smaller in size (body), the land gets more wider- so their is always availability of land

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