The infinite space of the Universe

The expansion never hitting a wall doesn't mean the universe has to be infinite, just unbounded.Are you sure you're not overlooking the differences between being infinite and being unbounded?The universe is finite and unbounded. Many people think that means infinite, but it doesn't.

Right on. The biggest reason for me to believe that the universe is finite is because it really just can't be infinite. It just doesn't make any sense that way.

Not just space. I mean space and time, or spacetime, if you will. Unbounded space can be finite while not having an "end" to it.The two dimensional surface of the Earth is finite and unbounded. You can go in the east direction forever while remaining on a finite surface. The CMBR and also this:

quote:

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Astronomers are interested in how strong different sizes of ripples are, as this reveals vital information about the early Universe, and might tell us how big the Universe is today. Many astronomers suspect that the Universe is infinite.

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In that case, the microwave background ripples should have an unlimited range of sizes. But while WMAP's observations of small-scale ripples have matched predictions for an infinite Universe almost perfectly, the large-scale measurements have not. On the largest scales, WMAP has shown that the ripples almost disappear (see graphic, top).

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Let me guess... You never googled "evidence for a finite universe", did you?

3-dimensional could only be something imaginary Anyways, the 2d surface is helpful in picturing how the three dimensional material world is a 'surface' of 4d spacetime, much like the 2d surface is the surface of the 3d globe.The 2d surface of Earth is finite but you can travel east forever because it is unbounded. In a similar way, 3d space is also finite but unbounded.And, "Anything out there and around us" is no less 4d than it is 3d. Links? I'm sorry but I doubt I could help much with that.Edited by Catholic Scientist, : No reason given.

Have you heard of the Big Crunch? The mass of an object creates the curvature. Each individual piece of matter curves it individually and it all adds up together (probably in some kind of superposition or something) so to answer your question... it is both.

I guess I don't understand what you are asking for...Care to rephrase it?You seem to view the universe as residing within something else. This is not the case. The universe is all encompasing. There is not outside of it. It isn't expanding through something. The expansion is just a result of its 4d shape. Umm, no I'm not. The space itself is a "material portion of the universe" in a way (depending on what you really mean by that phrase).The last farthest galaxy!? Farthest from what? The Earth? Why does that even matter?

Space, iself, is expanding... not the matter within space.And it doesn't expand through something and it isn't expanding into something.The universe has a four deminsional shape that is an expansion in 3d. That's all.

Uhh, no... you're just wrong here. Space is what is expanding, not matter. You need to read up on the subject. Take a look here. The universe, by definition, is everything. There is nothing "outside" of the universe so it has to be self-contained. And there isn't anything for it to expand into, because if there was, then that would be a part of the universe too. The universe as a whole is very much unlike the material world that we happen to live in.

Gravity does go on into infinity.You really have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

Wait, you don't know what religion is either!?I'm gonna stop wasting my time on you.The thing that sucks is that there are lot of intellegent and friendly people that you could have learned a lot about cosmology from had you not had such a shitty attitude.Oh well, its your loss.

Meh, who knows?I think that the Heat Death, or Big Freeze, is more plausible.I used to like the Big Crunch because it could lead to a Big Bounce that would help explain things about the "before" the Big Bang, but I think its becomming a consensus that the universe is not cyclical. I think its finite because it makes more sense that way. Infinity isn't really possible IMHO. If it was infinite then there could be more than one Earth and more than one you, etc. That's just ghey.And if it is just "our" Universe, then we're not using the right word because the Uni- part is saying that there is just one. Maybe its just one Verse in the Multiverse I don't really know.I would think that it would have some effect, maybe slowing the expansion?

You reap what you sow. Ummm, the material universe doesn't end, though. Its unbounded so how can it end?Also, the term universe, by definition, includes everything so whatever is "out there" would have to be a part of the universe as well.So basically, its just a stupid idea for a thread. False. I've linked to a few pages with facts on the matter that you can research yourself. I'm not going to do your homework for you.

Yeah... Oh well, right?But how is the expansion rate, which itself is increasing, going to slow down and reverse? You can type 'fuck' You're welcome. Pay it forward.

Sure, given enough mass, the expansion could slow and reverse. But what we see is that the expansion is actually accelerating. It seems we're already past the point of no return. /nodAlso, a lot of other things exhibit cyclical patters.I haven't read up on why a cyclical universe has been rejected, I just heard that it was. Maybe cavediver can help. You shouldn't hesitate to ask questions though.

The wiki page on inflation might help.