4 ms·

What are the theories on what we think the edge of the universe looks like? What does it even mean? Will we just hit an invisible wall like in a video game? Or

What are the theories on what we think the edge of the universe looks like? What does it even mean? Will we just hit an invisible wall like in a video game? Or do we think it’s curved around the edge? Or what? If it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?

tambourine_man 8y ago
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tJevBNQsKtU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tJevBNQsKtU
baddox 8y ago
I believe that’s what this Wikipedia article discusses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe
broth 8y ago
This is something that has always intrigued me. What could possibly contain the universe? Another universe perhaps?
- brazzledazzle 8y ago
  I think such a thing is difficult to comprehend except maybe mathematically. We are our universe and our universe is us.
  - the-great-assyr 8y ago
    What does it even mean?
- Hendrikto 8y ago
  I think when you are trying to envision the universe being contained in anything, you are already on the wrong path. Maybe akin so asking: "What came before time?". The question itself is a contradiction.
  - broth 8y ago
    Why is that the wrong path? I think these are valid questions. Please, I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
    - Hendrikto 8y ago
      It’s a meaningless question to ask because the universe (according to the typical definition) encompasses all of space and time. It does not make sense to ask what came before/after it, and it does not make sense to ask what is outside the universe.
brazzledazzle 8y ago
Your question seems to assume there’s an edge but there doesn’t have to be. Space could be curving in on itself (if you had FTL travel maybe you could make a circuit) or it could be infinite. What I’m not sure about is the distribution of matter in an infinite universe. Is there an edge to the matter or is it infinitely distributed with the universe itself.
tyds2ioeg 8y ago
> Or what? Infinite Universe https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Universe-Theory-Glenn-Borchardt-ebook/dp/B076X85XVN https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Universe-Theory-Glenn-Borcha...
acqq 8y ago
> edge of the universe looks like? What does it even mean? I think you should start with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe And only then with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe In short, what can ever influence "our" part of the universe is limited by the speed of light being constant and being the physical "speed limit", and by the fact that the age of the universe is less than 14 billion years. (Earth alone is 4.5 billion years old). Fascinatingly enough, we can "see" in each direction we look at up to the distance of around 46 billion light years, even if the age of the universe is just 13.8 billion years (that 46bly in one direction is the result of the accumulated expansion of the universe since the beginning). And the farthest things we see are also the oldest, as we effectively "look back in the past" when we look at the distance (due to the speed of light being constant). So when we look far enough we see almost up to the beginning of the universe (up to the point when the universe was "clear enough" for us to see after the beginning). The CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) is the "leftover glow" of the big bang that reaches us now, from that earliest past: https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/this-is-how-we-know-the-cosmic-microwave-background-comes-from-the-big-bang-90c85af092e https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/this-is-how-we-know-th... Then one can try to guess what's there behind the physical limits that are fixed for us, but we will never have the direct data about that: https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/ask-ethan-how-large-is-the-entire-unobservable-universe-73adef0fd480 https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/ask-ethan-how-large-is...

tambourine_man 8y ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tJevBNQsKtU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tJevBNQsKtU

baddox 8y ago

I believe that’s what this Wikipedia article discusses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe

broth 8y ago

This is something that has always intrigued me. What could possibly contain the universe? Another universe perhaps?

brazzledazzle 8y ago
I think such a thing is difficult to comprehend except maybe mathematically. We are our universe and our universe is us.
- the-great-assyr 8y ago
  What does it even mean?
Hendrikto 8y ago
I think when you are trying to envision the universe being contained in anything, you are already on the wrong path. Maybe akin so asking: "What came before time?". The question itself is a contradiction.
- broth 8y ago
  Why is that the wrong path? I think these are valid questions. Please, I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
  - Hendrikto 8y ago
    It’s a meaningless question to ask because the universe (according to the typical definition) encompasses all of space and time. It does not make sense to ask what came before/after it, and it does not make sense to ask what is outside the universe.

brazzledazzle 8y ago

Your question seems to assume there’s an edge but there doesn’t have to be. Space could be curving in on itself (if you had FTL travel maybe you could make a circuit) or it could be infinite. What I’m not sure about is the distribution of matter in an infinite universe. Is there an edge to the matter or is it infinitely distributed with the universe itself.

tyds2ioeg 8y ago

> Or what? Infinite Universe https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Universe-Theory-Glenn-Borchardt-ebook/dp/B076X85XVN https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Universe-Theory-Glenn-Borcha...

acqq 8y ago

> edge of the universe looks like? What does it even mean? I think you should start with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe And only then with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe In short, what can ever influence "our" part of the universe is limited by the speed of light being constant and being the physical "speed limit", and by the fact that the age of the universe is less than 14 billion years. (Earth alone is 4.5 billion years old). Fascinatingly enough, we can "see" in each direction we look at up to the distance of around 46 billion light years, even if the age of the universe is just 13.8 billion years (that 46bly in one direction is the result of the accumulated expansion of the universe since the beginning). And the farthest things we see are also the oldest, as we effectively "look back in the past" when we look at the distance (due to the speed of light being constant). So when we look far enough we see almost up to the beginning of the universe (up to the point when the universe was "clear enough" for us to see after the beginning). The CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) is the "leftover glow" of the big bang that reaches us now, from that earliest past: https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/this-is-how-we-know-the-cosmic-microwave-background-comes-from-the-big-bang-90c85af092e https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/this-is-how-we-know-th... Then one can try to guess what's there behind the physical limits that are fixed for us, but we will never have the direct data about that: https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/ask-ethan-how-large-is-the-entire-unobservable-universe-73adef0fd480 https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/ask-ethan-how-large-is...