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| Do you think that the universe is infinite in size? |
| Yes |
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51% |
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| No |
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48% |
[ 18 ] |
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| Total Votes : 37 |
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patrick6
Phoenix
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Joined: Feb 24, 2008
Posts: 1901
Location: London, U.K.
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 Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:59 am Post subject: Do you think that the universe is infinite in size? |
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| Do you think that the universe is infinite in size? |
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tomamil
What the #$*!?
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 1357
Location: currently Paris, France, but originally Asteroid B612
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 5:17 am Post subject: |
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No, everything that has a beginning has an end  If Big Bang theory suggests that the universe started somehow and that it spreads uniformly in all directions, then it cannot be of infinite size. I guess that there are more universes.
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malithion2
Sea Gull
Joined: Jun 16, 2008
Age: 21
Posts: 209
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 5:59 am Post subject: |
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I think it's finite but unbounded. To me it has a size but if you keep going in one direction you just end up at the same spot as you were before. Just the same as being on the surface of Earth.
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slowmutant
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 14, 2008
Age: 29
Posts: 8640
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:13 am Post subject: |
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I think there could be other universes parallel to this one.
"Whatever can happen does happen, in separate quantum realities ..." (ST:TNG)
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DNForrest
Toucan
Joined: Jan 19, 2008
Age: 24
Posts: 278
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:48 am Post subject: |
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| Infinite volume of space, finite, but constantly expanding volume that contains matter. |
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coyote
Supporting Member
Joined: Nov 11, 2004
Posts: 396
Location: not sure
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:07 am Post subject: |
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very hard to answer. there are yes and no for both options. The only thing i have problem with is that expansion thing; if something is expanding, it means it has a size, so it's finite .... maybe the finite universe is expanding into an infinite void... but i doubt about expansion anyway....
What would a boundary consist of ? What would be on the other side ?
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slowmutant
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 14, 2008
Age: 29
Posts: 8640
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:08 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | What would a boundary consist of ? What would be on the other side ? |
Another universe? 
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AJGeni
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Sep 07, 2008
Age: 24
Posts: 64
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:38 pm Post subject: |
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This is such a hard question, and i think with as much technology as we wanted to creat we would still never answer it as it would just creat more questions.
Although its (as i feel) an imposible question question it is very interesting. I love hearing peoples ideas and thiries of what they think is on the other side of how only how far we can see so far. |
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TallyMan
Ghost in the machine
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
Age: 148
Posts: 5871
Location: Everywhere, nowhere and everywhen
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:38 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with Alex. Finite but unbounded. I'm a bit rusty on the science now but as I remember if the universe contains enough matter then it is finite but unbounded meaning as Alex put it that if you travel in a straight line you will eventually get back to where you started. However, if there is not enough matter, then the universe is finite and bounded but either way you cannot get "outside" of the universe and the question what is beyond the edge of the universe does not apply because the universe itself creates the space and time in which it exists. There is no such thing as beyond the edge.
The problem here is that as human beings our experience is limited to three dimensions of space and a very small range of scales of size. Common sense completely fails when looking at things very small (quantum effects) or very large (scale of universe). Similarly common sense breaks down at velocities close to the speed of light. I remember seeing a graph in my (physics) student days of sizes against velocities and human common sense fitted in only a tiny portion of the graph.
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aspiartist
Phoenix
Joined: Aug 15, 2008
Posts: 557
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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| DNForrest wrote: | | Infinite volume of space, finite, but constantly expanding volume that contains matter. |
This is exactly my view also.  |
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twoshots
Honorary Vertebrate
Joined: Nov 27, 2007
Posts: 2115
Location: NJ
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| Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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| TallyMan wrote: | | I agree with Alex. Finite but unbounded. I'm a bit rusty on the science now but as I remember if the universe contains enough matter then it is finite but unbounded meaning as Alex put it that if you travel in a straight line you will eventually get back to where you started. However, if there is not enough matter, then the universe is finite and bounded but either way you cannot get "outside" of the universe and the question what is beyond the edge of the universe does not apply because the universe itself creates the space and time in which it exists. There is no such thing as beyond the edge. |
Hmm. I could swear I heard that by more recent observations it was more likely infinite due to a below threshold energy density, but then I don't recall. I can't seem to find a source for it, and wikipedia is uncharacteristically useless on this one.
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malithion2
Sea Gull
Joined: Jun 16, 2008
Age: 21
Posts: 209
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 5:19 am Post subject: |
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I don't think it could be infinite because of A) the universe began as a singular event (the big bang) the cosmic background radiation proves this. The CBR gives us an approximate age of our universe (roughly 14 billion years old), and from this we can infer that it is finite in size. B) If the universe was infinite it would contain infinite mass and according to Einstein that mass is also energy, thus infinite energy distribution.
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slowmutant
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 14, 2008
Age: 29
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Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:33 am Post subject: |
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The univrese is infinitely big and infinitely small.
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iamyou
Butterfly
Joined: Sep 15, 2008
Age: 17
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:37 pm Post subject: well... |
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i would say that everything has an ending even the universe, it probably has an ending between the gap before were it expand's which is a line between, a dark planet filled space and then there's a 'white nothingness' which is to be used up but never consumed.
Anyone understand what i mean 
You may understand what i mean, if you have ever watched a futurama or simpson's episode where they are in a never ending loop of nothingness. |
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slowmutant
Phoenix
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Age: 29
Posts: 8640
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:43 pm Post subject: Re: well... |
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| iamyou wrote: | i would say that everything has an ending even the universe, it probably has an ending between the gap before were it expand's which is a line between, a dark planet filled space and then there's a 'white nothingness' which is to be used up but never consumed.
Anyone understand what i mean
You may understand what i mean, if you have ever watched a futurama or simpson's episode where they are in a never ending loop of nothingness. |
So you mea to say that the universe's volume has not yet exceeded its size? And what kind of units would you us to "measure" the universe? Maybe when at or approaching the outer space-time boundary, you just smoothly phase into an adjacent parallel universe.
Oooooooohhhhhh ...
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