Question: HI, I am interested in the science of philosophy and I was wondering that if the universe is limitless than how is it always expanding and what is it expanding into? Also will it ever stop expanding?
Firstly, the easiest way to imagine the Universe is like a balloon. If you blow air into the balloon, the balloon doesn’t physically change, but the size does. The surface stretches and gets bigger and bigger. New material is create inside the Universe to stretch it. In this way the Universe is limitless as it doesn’t have an end, but curves around like a balloon into a continues surface.
You also have to keep in mind time rules the Universe. When we look at objects, we look back at time, and so the Universe was smaller at the time we are looking at. If we can look all the way back to the Big Bang (which we can’t) we would see a single point, so with respect to time, there is a limit to the Universe.
We have no way to measure what it is expanding into it. Our physics and maths only applies to everything inside our Universe, so its not possible to measure what’s outside of it.
The Universe will not stop expanding. The consequence of Dark Energy is that the Universe will never stop expanding, it will grow faster and faster. One of two things will happen. It will either grow so fast for so long that everything will be isolated, first galaxies, than stars, than eventually even atoms will be by themselves with nothing around. We call this scenario the Big Freeze. The other possibility it will grow so fast it will rip the Universe in what we call the Big Rip.
There is also the Big Crunch and the Big Freeze. Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Most telescopes have big, large, very large, giant, or extremely in their title. We could use a creative consultant 🙂
Firstly, the easiest way to imagine the Universe is like a balloon. If you blow air into the balloon, the balloon doesn’t physically change, but the size does. The surface stretches and gets bigger and bigger. New material is create inside the Universe to stretch it. In this way the Universe is limitless as it doesn’t have an end, but curves around like a balloon into a continues surface.
You also have to keep in mind time rules the Universe. When we look at objects, we look back at time, and so the Universe was smaller at the time we are looking at. If we can look all the way back to the Big Bang (which we can’t) we would see a single point, so with respect to time, there is a limit to the Universe.
We have no way to measure what it is expanding into it. Our physics and maths only applies to everything inside our Universe, so its not possible to measure what’s outside of it.
The Universe will not stop expanding. The consequence of Dark Energy is that the Universe will never stop expanding, it will grow faster and faster. One of two things will happen. It will either grow so fast for so long that everything will be isolated, first galaxies, than stars, than eventually even atoms will be by themselves with nothing around. We call this scenario the Big Freeze. The other possibility it will grow so fast it will rip the Universe in what we call the Big Rip.
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I leave these questions up to Brad–he’s the universe expert!
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Very wise, Goli. 🙂
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