Infite Universe...

DM007 wrote:

Kazza wrote:

DM007 wrote:

Kazza wrote:

DM007 wrote:

The Ghost Of Yeah Well Fi wrote:

DM007 wrote:OK. I'll play. ('bout time I jumped in...first post here)

Define: Universe

Good question.

Hey, think of it this way. Do know that even the cleanest of human beings have 'mites', right? Well, to them, your skin would be their universe, and they would not 'think' that there could be anything beyond that.

*Welcome on, btw*

Thanks for the welcome, YWFT....

What is the Universe? Are we referring to the matter (tangible, dark, or otherwise quantified or theorized) that has been expanding for 14 billion years? Or the space that matter is expanding into?

It refers to both. The matter isn't expanding into space. Space itself is expanding.

As for the definition of universe, technically I believe it refers to everything that exists, so it doesn't make sense to talk about other universes because there is only one by definition. In common use, though, I suppose it refers to everything that we could ever reach by travelling through regular, 3+1 dimensional spacetime.

Somewhat agreed. However, what is this space expanding into? Nothingness? Another dimension? Like a balloon as it's inflated. It must be displacing something. The "Universe" we don't know (yet), methinks. Or, is it exchanging outer-Universe for inner-Universe (like the balloon)? There was a time (not so long ago) when man believed accelerating beyond 60 MPH would cause death. Not long before that, we drowned and burned witches. It isn't as simple as we see it through our eyes (minds), now.

There are answers for many of these questions, but I sure as hell don't understand most of them.

Mathematics is much better at describing this than words are. I can't imagine how space itself could expand, but I can work out the mathematics for it, and based on that make predictions that agree with reality. Whether or not we are expanding into another dimension, however, may be something that will be answered when the LHC gets up and running.

Mathematics is only a very small part of the answer. Mathematically, the Universe, as generally accepted, is only ~14B years old. If nothing can accelerate beyond the speed of light, why is the vastness ~93B LY? Sure, space/time can be "folded" (theoretically), but surely not the majority of the mass, over such a great distance, and so uniformly???? Or can it?

That goes back to something I said earlier. Nothing can travel through space faster than the speed of light, but space itself can expand at any speed it likes. There are various estimates on the size of the universe, but they all put it at greater than 14B LY. If you're interested in how that's possible and consistent with special relativity, pick up any book on General Relativity and it should have a chapter on the expansion of the universe - will give you a better explanation than I can.

Kazza wrote: Nothing can travel through space faster than the speed of light

.....as far as science knows at the moment, right? New information could well come to hand that would change that outlook, right?

The Ghost Of Yeah Well Fi wrote:

Kazza wrote: Nothing can travel through space faster than the speed of light

.....as far as science knows at the moment, right? New information could well come to hand that would change that outlook, right?

Possibly, but it's not likely.

It's not like there's just this speed limit and we say that nothing can go faster than it. It comes down to the very nature of space and time. They kind of warp in such a way that even though you think you're going faster and faster, everyone else sees you just getting closer and closer to the speed of light. As you get faster, time slows down for you, and space contracts in the direction you're travelling. If you can find some way around that, then perhaps it will be possible.

You would also be travelling back in time, however.

Kazza wrote:

The Ghost Of Yeah Well Fi wrote:

Kazza wrote: Nothing can travel through space faster than the speed of light

.....as far as science knows at the moment, right? New information could well come to hand that would change that outlook, right?

Possibly, but it's not likely.

It's not like there's just this speed limit and we say that nothing can go faster than it. It comes down to the very nature of space and time. They kind of warp in such a way that even though you think you're going faster and faster, everyone else sees you just getting closer and closer to the speed of light. As you get faster, time slows down for you, and space contracts in the direction you're travelling. If you can find some way around that, then perhaps it will be possible.

You would also be travelling back in time, however.

what if you were travelling in reverse? Would that mean you would be traveling forward in time?

catch-22 wrote:

Kazza wrote:

The Ghost Of Yeah Well Fi wrote:

Kazza wrote: Nothing can travel through space faster than the speed of light

.....as far as science knows at the moment, right? New information could well come to hand that would change that outlook, right?

Possibly, but it's not likely.

It's not like there's just this speed limit and we say that nothing can go faster than it. It comes down to the very nature of space and time. They kind of warp in such a way that even though you think you're going faster and faster, everyone else sees you just getting closer and closer to the speed of light. As you get faster, time slows down for you, and space contracts in the direction you're travelling. If you can find some way around that, then perhaps it will be possible.

You would also be travelling back in time, however.

what if you were travelling in reverse? Would that mean you would be traveling forward in time?

Lol. No, but travelling forward in time is easy. You just gotta freeze yourself for long enough, like on Futurama.

Either that, or travel really fast to a distant star and come back again. Only a small amount of time will pass for you, but much more for everyone on earth.

Kazza wrote:

catch-22 wrote:

Kazza wrote:

The Ghost Of Yeah Well Fi wrote:

Kazza wrote: Nothing can travel through space faster than the speed of light

.....as far as science knows at the moment, right? New information could well come to hand that would change that outlook, right?

Possibly, but it's not likely.

It's not like there's just this speed limit and we say that nothing can go faster than it. It comes down to the very nature of space and time. They kind of warp in such a way that even though you think you're going faster and faster, everyone else sees you just getting closer and closer to the speed of light. As you get faster, time slows down for you, and space contracts in the direction you're travelling. If you can find some way around that, then perhaps it will be possible.

You would also be travelling back in time, however.

what if you were travelling in reverse? Would that mean you would be traveling forward in time?

Lol. No, but travelling forward in time is easy. You just gotta freeze yourself for long enough, like on Futurama.

Either that, or travel really fast to a distant star and come back again. Only a small amount of time will pass for you, but much more for everyone on earth.

where is a really good warp drive when ya need one huh