The End and Centre of the universe!

What do you think is at the end of the universe? Does it just stop or does it loop somehow making it have the appearence of being neverending?

And what is at the centre of the universe? because if the universe is still growing, that extra matter/antimatter? must be produced from somewhere in order for the universe to grow!

And since the universe is always growing how would we ever be able to work out what the actual distance is from one planet to the next?

Questions Questions Question....any answers?

Theoretically, there is no end of the universe as it continously expands, as you said. As for what it expands into (as in the surrounding area 'outside' of the universe), I have no idea. As for what kind of infinity it represents, as in a never-ending line or a self-repeating loop, I don't have a concrete answer for that, either.

We can work out average distances if we correctly calculate the rate of expansion the Universe has (I think this has been attempted). Based on this calculation, we can measure the static distance between objects and predict how far away they can be from each other over time, based on that rate of expansion.

I like that question "what is at the center; what causes it to expand?" because I really would like to know the answer, too. What is the force that causes the entire Universe to continuously grow? I can theorize that this force is part of the shockwave from the original big bang, and background radiation/dark matter/ether is probably a propnent of such expansion.

[Edited on 5/13/2004 by AlnilamOmega]

Seems to me, if I remember correctly, that slowly the universe will decay into nothing. That was the current theory anyways. After billions and billions of years all of the energy gets used up and the universe goes dark and cold. I think I saw that on the discovery channel a long time ago...lemme do a search...ah yes...here ya go:
www.time.com...

What if the big bang is correct, and all that there is in this massive universe was once crammed into a single point in space smaller than a single atom, and then BOOOM all that we know to exist came to be, and the universe is expanding and as some think will slow and then contract back to that single point in space once again.... then BOOOM it all happens again?

Maybe we have been here before ... Many Many times!

Gazz

And what is at the centre of the universe? because if the universe is still growing, that extra matter/antimatter? must be produced from somewhere in order for the universe to grow!

The center of the universe IMO is ever changing and uncertain(at least from our perspective). The universe is still growing but the amount of matter/antimatter is constant i think. We dont actually know what the fabric(or soup) of spacetime is. But it has to be made of something and that something maybe the Anti-graviton although that is just one theory among many as to what is causing the accelerated expansion.

And since the universe is always growing how would we ever be able to work out what the actual distance is from one planet to the next?

We can't get the definate answer but we can estimate with a high degree a certainty the approx. distance from one planet to the next.
Hope this helps

oh hey, misread your question!

Anyways...its a cool link to check out

I believe that the universe on some level is like a big fractal of black holes. In that, if a star is large enough, it will create a black hole, Galactic cores are large black holes too. Therefore I would be inclined to think that the center origin of the Big Bang would also be an immensely huge black hole, created by the gravitational pressure of the universe's birth and the eventual vacuum produced once everything expands to a certain point (perhaps a universe sized event horizon?!?) and at that point everything including light would be shifting back to the universal origin gradually as Entropy takes hold of the inertia from the Big Bang. Over time everything (literally) would start to accelerate toward the origin due to increase collective gravity and the inceasing 'hunger' of the universe sized black hole, until everything is compressed so tightly that the overwhelming mass of everything in the universe would dissapate the black hole, but in doing so would create a particle soooo heavy and insanely unstable that the universe would be created again from the titanic nuclear explosion known as Big bang #2 (or whatever phase we will be on at the point).
An alternative idea about the 'edge' of the universe would be a loop structure that would take you to your exact apogee (clear to the other edge of the universe), instead of the idea that the edge would be an event horizon on the universe sized black hole.
just a thunk

[Edited on 13-5-2004 by Crysstaafur]

Originally posted by Darkblade71
Seems to me, if I remember correctly, that slowly the universe will decay into nothing. That was the current theory anyways. After billions and billions of years all of the energy gets used up and the universe goes dark and cold. I think I saw that on the discovery channel a long time ago...lemme do a search...ah yes...here ya go:
www.time.com...

I don't really buy into that idea. The media likes to scare the public because they know it's a primary control factor and that it's an effictive way of capturing attention. I also don't believe that the Universe will end because there are several processes within it that guarantee its continuous existence. Things like supernovae and blackholes are exmaples of such natural forms of Universal expansion. In addition, there is so much background radiation within the Universe that it practically guarantees that it will never go away.

Here is a question a 10 year old boy asked, same thing, whats at the edge of the universe, check out the answer he got

imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov...

I tend to go with current theories...is all way to mind boggling for my brain to understand

Originally posted by Darkblade71
Here is a question a 10 year old boy asked, same thing, whats at the edge of the universe, check out the answer he got

imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov...

I guess it is a better answer than.. We do not know.. But, wouldn`t that lead to what is beyond the balloon?

The univerese has no end or center. It gorws on and on and on... It never stops. There is no center of it.

Probibly another balloon, maybe the question should be...whats between balloons?

If the universe is infinit then the center is any point because it's the same distane all around it. Infinity.

now with all these question about the big bang and big bang #2 , what is the original beginning? if you say that there is a ever constant big bang and big crunch, then what came first? kinda like chicken and egg.

questions, questions, questions

If the universe is real then where is the middle? Where is the end? Where is the beginning? If it is infinite how did it begin because something infinite has no beginning or end, it goes on forever? If it is infinite how did I get here from something that had no beginning? If matter is real then where did it come from, nothing?

Pulling hair out for last 42 years. Almost bald, please give me more hair!

When I try and picture what is our universe expanding into, or what is on the outside of our (so called) "big bang" or "creation event" I find it just as easy to picture the possibility that we do not exist at all lol.

If it is just there (vast emptiness with no creation event and has no boundries then WOW. If it has bounderies eastablished by something unknown then WOW. If it is God then WOW.

So the outside of our big bang from hince forth is formally called WOW.

This is the WOW (beyound the known universe) theory eastblished by me on the date and time of this posting

heh
X

There are many questions that science can't explain.
Today the common believe is that time is not infinite (it's explained using general relativity, and infinity would couse too many unexplained problems), and the universe had a beggining.

We do not know how the matter appeared in the space-time, and we do not know how space-time appeared in the pure "nothingness".

However, science is making huge progress. we just need to wait and see what will happen with M-theory (superstring), and QLG (quantum loop gravity), and if we will be able to develop the Theory of Everything.

I personally find interest in QM probelms about dynamic collapse of systems. some proposed solution are VERY interesting and may actually mean that the whole universe is a creation of the mind (although there are other solutions, like GRW). Weird, but it's pure modern physics, not bs.


p.s.
sorry for my English

physics are the building blocks of knowledge. although i have little insight to offer i do know that GOD is probably laughing at us as we waste away asking these question which are probably impossible to answer. it doesnt hurt to try, and its not like we have anything better to do. i like the theroy that the univers was a black hole and the all of that stored energy was released into the big bang. think about this, all of the energy that is sucked into a black has to go somewhere, mabye it goes into a different universe and is expelled in an alternate version of the big bang. everything must have a purpose even if the purpose is to not have a purpose black holes dark matter all must have explanations we just gotta think harder.

Originally posted by AlnilamOmega

Originally posted by Darkblade71
Seems to me, if I remember correctly, that slowly the universe will decay into nothing. That was the current theory anyways. After billions and billions of years all of the energy gets used up and the universe goes dark and cold. I think I saw that on the discovery channel a long time ago...lemme do a search...ah yes...here ya go:
www.time.com...

I don't really buy into that idea. The media likes to scare the public because they know it's a primary control factor and that it's an effictive way of capturing attention. I also don't believe that the Universe will end because there are several processes within it that guarantee its continuous existence. Things like supernovae and blackholes are exmaples of such natural forms of Universal expansion. In addition, there is so much background radiation within the Universe that it practically guarantees that it will never go away.

1. It's not media who created this theory, but scientists, based upon present knowledge about the universe, whether you "buy into it" or not.
2. Supernovae and Black holes are not examples of universal expansion, but natural phases of a star's life-cycle.
3. Radiation will "go away" with time.

Edited for spelling correction



[edit on 2004-7-21 by EyesOfTheFuture]