Hi MM. Nice to meetcha. Welcome to EvC.
1. The concept of "Nothing" does not go on forever.
O RLY?
'Nothing' is not subject to the 4th dimension of duration, or else you would have some way of measuring it!
Lacking a way to measure it makes it nothing. At any place-time where we lack something to measure, we have nothing, forever and everywhere.
Like you said:
quote:
The problem is that Nothing simply can not be perceived, for you are only aware of it as an absence of what you can perceive.
This absence of perception extends into eternity.
Eternity, aka forever, is a limiting factor (magnitude) that should not be applied to the concept of 'Nothing'.
But we could when we're using it{
eternity"Nothing"} as a description of a lack of magnitude.
WRT the edge of The Universe, I think that cavediver is correct in that the word "nothing" is not the correct(or best) word for describing what is non-Universe (past the edge). Its becuase the word nothing gets confused with emptyness and with "emptyness" is where the inaccuracy in the discription starts. Emptyness is better reserved for describing the space between subatomic particles, where points of reference exist. Past the edge of the Universe, or non-existance, isn't accurately described as emptyness because there is no other point(s) of reference.
Of course we could call it nothing but the implication of emptyness becomes misleading and leads to the confusion in the OP, IMHO.
Edited by Catholic Scientist, : corrected error, changed eternity to nothing
Science fails to recognize the single most potent element of human existence.
Letting the reigns go to the unfolding is faith, faith, faith, faith.
Science has failed our world.
Science has failed our Mother Earth.
-System of a Down, "Science"
He who makes a beast out of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man.
-Avenged Sevenfold, "Bat Country"