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07-22-2009, 01:46 AM
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Location: Memphis, TN
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Is there an end to space
This is going to be deep.
I am thinking about space and the universe. I have always wondered what is beyond everything . Beyond galaxy's. In our own 3 dimension world, there just have to be an end to everything.It just have to be a beginning to everything. When you walk in to a room the end is at the wall. If you jump into a boat on one coast the end is at the other coast.
But the universe or space is endless. It has to be? If there were and end, what is behind that end? Not to mention, when did it all begin. And what was before the beginning. More space? Space contains millions and millions of galaxy's that are millions of light years apart.
How did it all get there. And what was there before. And before that, and before that??
Our galaxy is just a tiny little part of the whole Universe. The BIG BANG was just one of trillions of explosions in the universe.
As far as life on other planets I am confident that they exist. Maybe not in our galaxy but maybe in a galaxy a million light years away.
( light year means, as far as the light can travel in one year )
So, are you sleeping yet?
Last edited by glass_of_merlot; 07-22-2009 at 02:02 AM..
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07-22-2009, 10:55 AM
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I'm still awake.
It's not an unusual thing to wonder about. It's also not an easy thing to understand.
Let's look at your question, "Is there an end to space". You gave an example of walls to define the end or boundry of a room. It's not quite the same thing for space or the universe. Imagine you have a balloon full of air. The balloon create a boundry. Inside of the balloon is the space. Now imagine removing the balloon.
In a sense the universe has a size, but the size is just the space of it. If you could go to the edge of the universe, there would be no wall to define the edge. That's because all there is of the universe itself is the space of it. Although this sounds kind of confusing, the universe does have an end. The problem is that there is no boundry to mark that end.
Here's another example. Imagine you decide to travel east. How far do you have to go until you reach the line of west? You can't because you're traveling in a direction. The universe is getting larger as it expands, but it's expanding in all directions.
As for the Big Bang, the Big Bang wasn't actually an explosion, at least not like stars or bombs explode. The term, "Big Bang" was coined by Fred Hoyle as a sarcastic remark about the "Big Bang" theory which had no name for it. Hoyle's name for it stuck and has been used ever since. However, it really describes a massive expansion that is still expanding. Exactly why this expansion began is unknown, but there are some theories about it.
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07-22-2009, 11:04 AM
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res ipsa loquitur
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Hopewell New Jersey
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I ran out of space years ago
I need a bigger work shop.

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07-22-2009, 11:34 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JBrown
I ran out of space years ago
I need a bigger work shop.

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You can do that by expansion. 
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07-22-2009, 05:39 PM
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Senior Member
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Location: Sarasota, Fl.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot
This is going to be deep.
I am thinking about space and the universe. I have always wondered what is beyond everything . Beyond galaxy's. In our own 3 dimension world, there just have to be an end to everything.It just have to be a beginning to everything. When you walk in to a room the end is at the wall. If you jump into a boat on one coast the end is at the other coast.
But the universe or space is endless. It has to be? If there were and end, what is behind that end? Not to mention, when did it all begin. And what was before the beginning. More space? Space contains millions and millions of galaxy's that are millions of light years apart.
How did it all get there. And what was there before. And before that, and before that??
Our galaxy is just a tiny little part of the whole Universe. The BIG BANG was just one of trillions of explosions in the universe.
As far as life on other planets I am confident that they exist. Maybe not in our galaxy but maybe in a galaxy a million light years away.
( light year means, as far as the light can travel in one year )
So, are you sleeping yet?
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As I understand the Big Bang it was an "explosion" of space and time.....not exactly an explosion within space....it created the space we now inhabit. I think as you, that one cannot get to the "end" of space since space is expanding all around us....even at light speed the "edge" of our universe would therefore be impossible to reach.
We're not asleep yet...LOL...  your question was interesting. Some theories postulate about the multiverse and branes...we are probably just one of many future and past possibilities for a universe; some Brane advocates think there is a possibility that you can find out some information of what came before our universe's last Big Bang.Other posters will probably have other insights(and better....lol) pertaining to your question. 
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07-22-2009, 10:53 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Memphis, TN
936 posts, read 305,056 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NightBazaar
I'm still awake.
It's not an unusual thing to wonder about. It's also not an easy thing to understand.
Let's look at your question, "Is there an end to space". You gave an example of walls to define the end or boundry of a room. It's not quite the same thing for space or the universe. Imagine you have a balloon full of air. The balloon create a boundry. Inside of the balloon is the space. Now imagine removing the balloon.
In a sense the universe has a size, but the size is just the space of it. If you could go to the edge of the universe, there would be no wall to define the edge. That's because all there is of the universe itself is the space of it. Although this sounds kind of confusing, the universe does have an end. The problem is that there is no boundry to mark that end.
Here's another example. Imagine you decide to travel east. How far do you have to go until you reach the line of west? You can't because you're traveling in a direction. The universe is getting larger as it expands, but it's expanding in all directions.
As for the Big Bang, the Big Bang wasn't actually an explosion, at least not like stars or bombs explode. The term, "Big Bang" was coined by Fred Hoyle as a sarcastic remark about the "Big Bang" theory which had no name for it. Hoyle's name for it stuck and has been used ever since. However, it really describes a massive expansion that is still expanding. Exactly why this expansion began is unknown, but there are some theories about it.
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But how can there be an end when there most be something beyond that end. Lets immagane that we could travel at the speed of light *1000. We would travel so fast that we could "out run"space. What would be there, at the end. More space?
Are we talking different demmentions here? Just too complex for our brains to grip?
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07-22-2009, 11:04 PM
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Senior Member
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Location: Sarasota, Fl.
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Space appears to be curved so you would theoritically return to your starting point. We are essentially "trapped" in our universe(like inside a bubble) there is little hope of knowing what, if anything exists past this boundary.
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07-23-2009, 12:33 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA
Space appears to be curved so you would theoritically return to your starting point. We are essentially "trapped" in our universe(like inside a bubble) there is little hope of knowing what, if anything exists past this boundary.
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It is all too big to grasp I guess. It drives me nuts 
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07-23-2009, 04:16 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 2008
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And don't forget about the fabric of space time.... space bends (or so one theory goes) and can wrap around itself.
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07-23-2009, 10:29 AM
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80's Music & Working Out
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Join Date: Dec 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA
Space appears to be curved so you would theoritically return to your starting point. We are essentially "trapped" in our universe(like inside a bubble) there is little hope of knowing what, if anything exists past this boundary.
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Exactly PITTSTON2SARASOTA......as that's my understanding as ''some'' scientists think that the Universe curves or bends. Kind of like the Pac Man game where he leaves the screen on the left side only to appear on the right side of the control screen  .
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