Originally posted by UM_Gazz
What if the big bang is correct, and all that there is in this massive universe was once crammed into a single point in space smaller than a single atom, and then BOOOM all that we know to exist came to be, and the universe is expanding and as some think will slow and then contract back to that single point in space once again.... then BOOOM it all happens again?

Maybe we have been here before ... Many Many times!

Gazz

I tend to like this theory and have thought about it many times before.
What eventually happens when the univese gets too big? The
gravity pulls back upon itself and the universe begins to collapse into
what is termed the "big crunch." I am sure you are familiar that it is
theorized that the universe will collapse into a single point, ever so
dense. Then BANG the universe starts all over again
Its interesting the Hindu creation story is very much like this.That the universe is a never ending cycle I think they say the universe has already been created and destroyed 9 times before.

As for the topic of this thread Today we
believe that the universe is after all finite, but ever-expanding. The
universe doesn't go on forever, as we had once perceived. It is
expanding into emptiness and taking over. Since today we believe that
the Big Bang occured some 14 billion years ago, the universe can only be
14 billion light years in radius. What lays outside? In this(HIndu)
mythology, what lays outside is nothingness. The universe is expanding
into nothingness.

The Hindu creation story is quite interesting and the way it can factor into modern views of the universe in uncanny

Originally posted by Darkblade71
whats between balloons?

I would guess, a balloon factory.

Truthfully, it's all just theoretical..Whatever satisfies the current mathematics.
Which are based on what we think we know, at the moment.

It's hard to wrap a 3 dimensional mind around something as big and as complicated as the Universe...ALthough it's fun trying sometimes...!

Originally posted by darkAngel
What do you think is at the end of the universe? Does it just stop or does it loop somehow making it have the appearence of being neverending?

I think there is no end to the universe (space), it's infinite. If there was any boundary, the question would be what lies behind the boundary! No one knows that answer. For the latest it has been analyzed from the WMAP data that there is around 96% of dark-matter-dark-energy and only 4% atoms in the universe. Thus, there is not enough gravity to overcome the expansion and so there won't be any big crunch. Thus, the universe will expand forever, is flat, and it will continually slow down.

Originally posted by darkAngelAnd since the universe is always growing how would we ever be able to work out what the actual distance is from one planet to the next?

The universe is growing in the sense that the distances between galaxies are increasing as each of them are moving away from the other. I don't think the distances between planets or between stars are increasing as they are gravitationally bound to the center of the galaxy and probably spiraling down to the center. But for sure, the distances between galaxies are increasing!



[edit on 22-7-2004 by jp1111]

[edit on 22-7-2004 by Adian00]

There is NO beginning, middle, or end (edge)....It is ALL energy...and quite simply... just IS...

human beings in order to feel comfortable with their surroundings and perception of reality, will continue to theorize and postulate as to the REASONS for something and completely miss the WHY'S of everything around them.

searching for answers is something we all should do...but sometimes the search takes away from the answers that are already there.

~oracle

[edit on 22-7-2004 by Oracle]