How can the infinite universe expand?

Unless there's a universe outside of our universe, technically it can't expand. If the parts inside the universe appear to see it expanding, it's probably because everything inside is actually contracting to make space for new information.

And it's not infinite, it's potentially infinite. In other words it can go on forever but it can never reach "forever", because it would take an infinity to do so.

reply to post by Kruel


unless you ask a question inside a loop ' )

the universe is finite the question on the other hand is not..

riddle!

simple question here:

What is the meaning of life?

I will give you a star if you notice the most important word in that sentence.

Originally posted by symmetricAvenger

simple question here:

What is the meaning of life?

I will give you a star if you notice the most important word in that sentence.

i know you didn't address this to me, actually...but do you mind if i give an answer, too?

i don't want a star
but you can always give me one if you wish

the meaning of life is to LIVE

reply to post by queenannie38


nope sorry you was incorecct no star for you!!

tho i will agree living life is a good thing, tho you didnt answer the question in the way it was asked

look at the question, not the answer ; )

The Mobius Strip and The Möbius Strip

sprott.physics.wisc.edu...

a mandlbrot


mobius and möbius stips



infinity



[edit on 24-4-2009 by warrenb]

reply to post by symmetricAvenger


hhhmmmmmm...
is this one of those braniac tricks, then? so to speak, that is?

here's my second go at it:

life (lf)
n. pl. lives (lvz)
1.
a. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.
b. The characteristic state or condition of a living organism.
2. Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life.
3. A living being, especially a person: an earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives.
4. The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: the artistic life of a writer.
5.
a. The interval of time between birth and death: She led a good, long life.
b. The interval of time between one's birth and the present: has had hay fever all his life.
c. A particular segment of one's life: my adolescent life.
d. The period from an occurrence until death: elected for life; paralyzed for life.
e. Slang A sentence of imprisonment lasting till death.
6. The time for which something exists or functions: the useful life of a car.
7. A spiritual state regarded as a transcending of corporeal death.
8. An account of a person's life; a biography.
9. Human existence, relationships, or activity in general: real life; everyday life.
10.
a. A manner of living: led a hard life.
b. A specific, characteristic manner of existence. Used of inanimate objects: "Great institutions seem to have a life of their own, independent of those who run them" New Republic.
c. The activities and interests of a particular area or realm: musical life in New York.
11.
a. A source of vitality; an animating force: She's the life of the show.
b. Liveliness or vitality; animation: a face that is full of life.
12.
a. Something that actually exists regarded as a subject for an artist: painted from life.
b. Actual environment or reality; nature.
adj.
1. Of or relating to animate existence; involved in or necessary for living: life processes.
2. Continuing for a lifetime; lifelong: life partner; life imprisonment.
3. Using a living model as a subject for an artist: a life sculpture.

that's from freedictionary.com, btw

It can expand, because it is infinite.

If the universe is infinite, which I believe that it is, it means that it can expand forever..that is the meaning of infinite.

Just because we cannot understand the term 'infinite', that does not mean it is impossible.

Our brains are limitied to the finite. We cannot comprehend the concept of 'infinite'.

reply to post by queenannie38


hehe nice try! ok ill give you a star for that

Now lets look at the question

What is the meaning of life


do you see what it in fact is the main word? "WHAT" is the question

That is the riddle.. the universe is not infinite but the QUESTION is.. its a very big riddle..

The more you ask WHAT WHO WHY WHEN WERE ect they all lead to the same place

infinity they have infact NO answer to them they PROPAGATE answers

some of another part.. the universe IS a big big question WE my friends "life" IS its answer

logical solution to a e logical question


have fun im done with reality .. got boring ; )

reply to post by warrenb

Good thinking. But are these examples of real infinity? I think not.

Make a Möbius strip out of a strip of paper by holding it at both ends, giving it a half-twist and gluing the ends together. Now take a pencil and draw a line along the strip. The line will eventually meet itself. A Möbius strip is not infinite in length, any more than the circumference of a circle is.

As for the Mandelbrot set, I grant that in abstract, mathematical terms its boundary is of infinite length. You'd never get that in real life, though. In a physical sense you have to stop zooming in when you reach the individual molecules and atoms. It really is true that infinite quantities don't exist in nature.

[edit on 25/4/09 by Astyanax]

I am more inclined to believe that there is not a single universe.

But a multiverse if you will.



Check it out.

[edit on 4/25/2009 by Alexander the Great]

look at it this way: numbers are infinite. they go on and on forever, getting bigger and bigger. so, they are infinite. now lets say that one day you decide to count up every number until time ends (not really possible, if time ends then nothing happens here, ever, as time cannot be destroyed in one moment without destroying all time, including the beginning of everything, so we know that time will not stop. ever.) and assuming that you have found a way to make yourself live forever, you would never stop counting. now, lets say, you missed one number, let's say, 47,835. if you went on counting, you would still be counting to infinity, even though you missed a number. the point is, although infinity is endless, it does not contain everything. so even if this is something(or nothingness) outside of existence, the universe can still be infinite.

sorry if i warped your mind a little, i think it may have been a little complex for some

m^

(my signature, no meaning to it)

reply to post by gyoung88


The reason for numbers it to help your brain cope!

there is only one thing we have a question asking a question!

= infinity

the more you ask the bigger it gets

Badada bing! bada boom

reply to post by AntiConspirator


Do you mean the universe, or the observable bubble universe that we reside in?

reply to post by SpacePunk


its not a bubble... its a thought a question..

check this !

does your mind in fact have a shape? what happens when you ask a question ??

you expand your ? what happens when you ask the universe? "it expands"

it has no shape just like your mind..

Its a physical representation of a question.

if your mind looks in the mirror it reflects our universe ! its the very thing that keeps it going!


The question IS the answer !

How does the universe expand if it is infinite.
The infinite is an accepted assumption, but may not be a truth. Scientists may have discovered a 'limit' to the time-space contimuum against Einsteins theory.

This may be of interest to you
www.newscientist.com...

The part that I think relates is :

For many months, the GEO600 team-members had been scratching their heads over inexplicable noise that is plaguing their giant detector. Then, out of the blue, a researcher approached them with an explanation. In fact, he had even predicted the noise before he knew they were detecting it. According to Craig Hogan, a physicist at the Fermilab particle physics lab in Batavia, Illinois, GEO600 has stumbled upon the fundamental limit of space-time - the point where space-time stops behaving like the smooth continuum Einstein described and instead dissolves into "grains", just as a newspaper photograph dissolves into dots as you zoom in. "It looks like GEO600 is being buffeted by the microscopic quantum convulsions of space-time," says Hogan.

There was thread on it some time back.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by zazzafrazz


hey zazza :]

the point is why ask? ; )

its needed ! its the function

its hard to say wat i mean but the question we ask is the very reason why we are here and for the universe to expand into infinity is the same thing!

the universe is finite the question is not..

you body is finite your mind is not


same thing! ; ))

reply to post by symmetricAvenger


Hi SA, nice avatar, put some clothes on!

Well a tree is just a tree, a rock is just a rock and we accept these things as finite, and what you are sayng is correct, but I think the OP is asking the question because it is in human nature to question and discover, just as the universe expands, so does our mind. We are inexpicabley linked you have said before, so as the universe expands so must we.

I suppose its like telling a child, dont ask "where did I come from? or "who made icecream?" Not asking the question isnt a human capability.

The acceptance you speak of, ie living in the now, is a kind of Nirvana.



[edit on 10-5-2009 by zazzafrazz]

Thnx for your guy's answers. As far as i gathered, space isnt expanding, the galaxies are just moving around. But there not only moving away from us, they are moving everywhere. But why? can u answer that question now? TY

reply to post by AntiConspirator


they move because we are asking why and try to measure them

your mind has no shape but it expands with more understanding of the question

Likewise the question is the universe and every time we ask it gets bigger and more complex for its a question in a physical form

Hope that helps

ive always thought that maybe the universe is "X" billion trillion whatever light years big and the big bang actually created light, light only travels at a certain speed and has not yet uncovered the "dark" parts of the universe yet... hence giving the ullusion that the universe is getting bigger.

I think this is logical as you must remember that light travels in waves and we can only see what is has reflective, its just like when we look at a planet far away, we are not looking at it at this precise moment, we are seeing it in the past due to the light not reaching us yet

Mind bending stuff eh?