Thread: The "Edge" of the Universe?

I probably think about this more than anything else when I'm bored because it stretches my mind and my imagination...and I just find it interesting. I have my own theory as to what exactly the "edge" of the universe is, and have my own ways of explaining it. I would just like to hear other people's ideas and thoughts because I'm always looking for insight. PLEASE leave "religion vs science" out of this one, I don't care how it all "Started", I just want to hear what you think. I'll post my ideas after this gets a few replies.

I believe we live in a closed universe, hence it must be a edge/ending of it.
That's what I think.

the universe has no end!
its infinit...
and even if it did well... what IS an adge? you could say that you'd end up on the other side (if you were going in a straight line) but that means you have a universe which is ball shaped but what's out side? nothing?
nothing is something right
its space... it's in a dimention...

so maybe what's outside is another dimention?
or just another universe that borders with our own (and there are endless other universes out there... and maybe they act like electrons and protons only way way way slower )

and then you could say that our universe is infact REALLY small (cuz well... just becouse the smallest things we know are electrons and wussnames does not mean that nothing is happening in them )
as much as the universe is infenetly BIG is also infenetly SMALL !

Space has to be infinite. Nothing cannot be "Not there". It isn't physically possible. Something must always be somewhere, you cannot view "Nothing".

Well there could just be space going on forever. All space really is, is a big thing of "nothing". You normally have stuff floating around but there is no reason that as you get farther out that stuff slowly drops off untill there is just empty space.

Please explain what you think this empty space will look like.

Originally posted by Joseph_Stalin
Please explain what you think this empty space will look like.

It would look empty, but if their is empty space then there still is space. If there is an edge then what is beyond the edge, empty space? But empty space is still space.

I have confused myself

Maybe there isn't an end. You just keep going untill you fall off the edge and end up in a different dimension.

You can't "fall" into a different dimension. Such things require complex quantum physics and the like, that is, if different dimensions actually exist as we think they do.

This kinda reminds me of what no color would (asuming black and whites a color). It keeps you thinking for hours.

Wow. Thats wacky. the last three posts are posted like minites after.

Well I said fall because I wanted to keep it simple. Maybe you get sucked in, maybe you just fade away, or maybe you hit the edge and you implode. Maybe everything is inside a giant field and if you run into the edge you just go splat.

So I'll just give you my idea now so hopefully some people catch on. There are a couple of understood "facts" involved with this.
-The Universe is made up of matter and energy
-The Universe takes up a volume
-There is a fixed amount of matter and energy
-The Universe is expanding

Ok, here it goes, I'll try to make it as clear as possible.....

Everything in the universe is "held" together by bonds, gravitational, eloctro-magnetic variety, chemical, nuclear, etc. I'm going on the "Big Bang" theory here. Saying that ALL matter and energy originated in one focal point in the "center" of everything. It explodes (thus the large "bang"), and proceeds to expand outward. Now, these bonds are going to be MUCH stronger near the original "center" due to the amount of mass and energy present there. The weakest, of course, would be at the "edge". I believe that as the edge of the universe expands, matter and energy sort of.....whisp out in a manner of speaking. There just isn't enough energy PRESENT to hold things together anymore, not matter, not light, nothing. Almost like the edge of a whispy cloud. So, this universe of matter and energy, occupies this ever-expanding volume. So whats on the other side of the "edge". A void--to put it simply. NOTHING exists there, there is no matter, no energy(thus no light), no volume (volume implies matter). Now, thats about the best I can explain without using metaphors......so on to the metaphors!

Imagine a tub full of water.....(infinately large tub). This tub represents the Void. Now take a drop of dye...this drop represents the universe, its matter, energy etc. The drop of dye starts in the middle of the tub, and diffuses outward (like dye does in water). And spreads away from the center, thinning itself out more and more and more. Eventually there just ISNT enough dye left to expand any more. Thus, the universe stops expanding.

I don't believe in other "dimensions" or the pac-man theory of the universe. And after spending sooooo much time thinking about this subject, this is my own best explanation to myself. After reading this over, it sounds a lot better when I explain it verbally, but hey, I tried.
I'm open to comments/criticism/insight, thats what this thread is for!

Yea thats what I was thinking, was just being silly with the imploding thing. The reason I was though is because there isn't a real answer. The "void" can't go on forever. There "should" be no such thing as infinite, we use the word to explain things like the world which is so large we will never see the end.

Assuming that sooner or later you have to get to something else and as far as we know there is nothing else to get to, we run into some problems. Whats on the other side of the void?

See, thats the thing
the Void doesnt EXIST. It IS nothing. Its not matter, not energy, not even a volume. It is just something the universe expands into. It cannot be quantified. And besides that, the human mind cant comprehend it, which is the only flaw that I personally can see in my reasoning.

You all should research the various theories about the universe (ie string, super string, quantum, and so on).

Basically the theory is that there are 10 dimensions in our universe. but 7 of them are so tiny that they're invisible to us. So basically just by moving you're moving through different dimensions. So theoretically space in space could be Dark Matter. Dark Matter is a theoretical concept right now because mathematically Dark Matter exists, but on the flip side it's also mathematically undetectable. On top of that, mathematically Dark Matter exists only in extremely minescule amounts. But if the void of space were Dark Matter, that would suggest that Dark Matter is infinitely thin (Infinitely non-dense). If it were extremely thin that would also suggest that is why it's so easy to travel through space. Theoretically there has to be friction in space, even in nearly undetectable levels.

So assuming space is Dark Matter and that the universe is expanding, one could draw the conclusion that the edge of space where the universe is expanding, that the edge could be an extremely dense build up of Dark Matter still pushing outward, expanding the universe. This also suggests that if you were to ever reach the edge of the universe, you'd run into the extremely dense build up of Dark Matter and crash, causing you to just die in the middle of space inexplicably.

What if there was another universe some where else in the "void" that was created in a big bang and is expanding outwards. What if they go all the way across and touch each other?

If its just floating in a void I don't see why there couldn't be another one.

well...
when i said another dimention i did NOT mean the TV kind of dimentions (like in "Sliders" or some shit like that )
i was talking about entering a 4 dimentional world (we live in 3D right? but there could also be a 4th dimention to this which we simply can not detect or comprehand at all...)

also if we use the bathtub metaphore then the real problame (what we're all talking about) is what's actualy the water...

i think it maybe nothing... and still metaphorically speaking it's water thus it IS something

and when you consider that these water are infinit there is no reason to assume that there is only one drop of iodine in it but more likely infinit drops...
but then you can ask the same question about the (lets call it multiverse) where does that end and what consists of the waters byond that...
it never ends
but lets say there was another dimention to all this... then you can ask why not 10 other dimentions... and how about infinit number of dimentions?

and it goes on forever...
i dont think time or energy were made in the big bang... i think they always were there and it's pretty weird to think about it but the fact is we'll never really know (unless there is life after death and we really are souls and not just energy which happened to have conciousness)

and this is a part of a song called "Never ending math equation" by Modest Mouse and i think it fits right into this thread

The universe works on a math equation
that never even ever really ends in the end
Infinity spirals out creation
We're on the tip of its tongue, and it is saying
Well... we aint sure where you stand
You aint machines and you aint land
And the plants and the animals, they are linked
And the plants and the animals eat each other

There must be matter in a place at anytime, it's not that we can't comprehend it, it just doesn't equate. There is no light (you might then think black, but there is no mater either), and no matter or mass of any kind. No gravity of course, because there is no matter. Using this as a basis for this edge, we can assume that a human cannot physically exist in this plane of nothing.

Another thing hypothesized, which I have told to you in another post, is one in which the universe is actually shirinking. That's right, it may actually be getting smaller. It is sort of an infinite paradox of the universe. According to this theory, the big bang started with in the absolute expanding of everything. But also according to this theory, the cycle will start again after everything becomes "squished".

---->O<----
<----O---->
---->O<----
<----O---->

Etc., Etc., Etc....

Originally posted by simisu
well...
when i said another dimention i did NOT mean the TV kind of dimentions (like in \"Sliders\"

I'm NOT talking about sliders, there are legitimate scientific theories that suggest that there are 10 dimensions in our world. We can only see the first 3, the other 7 ARE curled up too small for visibility.

For an easy to understand referrence read, Stephen Hawkings The Universe in a Nutshell.

If you take a rock and throw it into the void, since there is nothing to stop it, wouldn't it keep going forever? Infact isn't that what the big bang did? Threw everything into the void to make space. And if that is true, wouldn't it mean that our universe is throwing stuff out into the void all the time?

i guess i should read it then

but still... I think there are infinit number of dimentions
this thread is by all means NOT about facts!
what you can prove goes as far as 10 dimentions... ok!
but does that also prove there arnt any more?

i'm not saying that as a fact...
it just makes sense to me...
i wouldn't mind if you proved me wrong

i think if you go to the very edge of the universe you'll disappear and reapear on the exact opposite side. like in super mario bros 2

i was looking for these other dimentions you mentioned and ended up reading this....

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/mysteries/...tml/guth_1.html

this is what i was thinking about when reading this thread (i remember watching some TV show explaining this subject...)

anyway it still does not give an answer to "what's byonde"
and I think there can never be an answer
its infinit
its everything
anything
and nothing all togather

Originally posted by lucid dream god
i *think if you go to the very edge of the universe you'll disappear and reapear on the exact opposite side. like in super mario bros 2

Bawhahahahahahahah!!!!!! Thats freaking hilarious.. I actually love it.


Now in reference to this universal theory. This is how it goes. The universe is infinite it has no begining. Regardless of Einstiens BIG BANG theory, which is now under investigation. The Loop Theory is the only sound reasoning to complete understanding of the known universe. We live in a world where things around us has either some form of creation, or some form of a begining. Human Nature allows us to believe this concept applies for everything, when it's just not true. We cannot comprehend anything that has no begining or an end, when everything around us either begins or ends. It's great brain work to try to understand it, Bottom Line is, no one alive will ever grasp this concept because it's beyond us all.