what is outside space??

Hello everyone, thanks for clicking on this subject, this might be a stupid question but it deserves answers! right, the universe is constantly expanding right? that means that there is a point of end where it has not yet expanded.....correct? ........ so... what exists beyond this point?? it cannot be 'nothing' because 'nothing' dosent exist if you know what i mean.... so what is there?? is it just a mess of protons/neutrons and electrons that dont have a purpose??? im quite sure no one really can answer the question, but id like some light to be shed upon it, btw im not a physicist or astronmer so i might not understand the jargon some might unleash, but please feel free to help quench my thirst for knowledge.

thanks again.

That's a good question Mr. Lukas.
I've wondered myself IF the universe is expanding what would be
outside of it?
A void of nothingness perhaps?

this is a very damn good question
heres a theroy i have dont think its true but just a thought

think of our universe like a spot on a ball the expanding and covering more of the ball with if it expands so much that it start intersecting our galaxy would be able be close to other galaxy that were on the other side of the universe is this was true or maybe it would intersect with multi-verses or whatever who the hell knows we wont for a long time or...then again who knows lol

It could very well be NOTHING... all the matter that exists in our universe came with the big bang. And our universe is a result of that. As far as we know.

If something existed beyond the phyical boundry of our universe it would likely be an alien physical particle.. outside our laws. If that were true the result of the expansion would be a change in our laws as it interacted with this alien substance.

However that is not to say that something we attribute to the big bang.. was not already here... then it would have interacted right away and already be a part of our laws.. and we just don't know it.

But even if something was there how an interaction would occur? As empty space not belonging to our universe would have no dimensions... so on what level could it interact?

^i agree. i used to debate this question when i was younger till the point i thought my head would blow up LOL



btw terapin, are you from umd?

Heaven is what is beyond the universe. Probably hell to

In scientific theory, the multiverse is whats outside the universe, it itself is infinite aswell, and contains an infinite amount of other universes.

Perhaps a wall is not reached or any divider of sorts, but maybe it would be like never getting out, just getting lost and perception becomes somewhat illusionary at such depths and distances.

I hate this question.Perfect thought to have while stoned though eh?
I hate to ponder on this as all I can figure is everything has two sides,so there has to be something if there were a 'wall' of sorts.But to think about what could be on that other side,you have to first think about just where is this 'wall',and that is where the pondering starts to get really good.
Just how long does one travel to get to this point,and what is on the 'other side'

Perhaps we do not have this 'wall' and what we think of our universe,could end up being multi worm holes leading anywhere in this vast universe.

My head hurts...................

Nobody's mentioned yet, that practically ALL physicists who believe the Big Bang Theory will also tell you, not only did the Big Bang create Matter, it also created the Space, Time, and Energy.

SO, something besides nothingness could "exist" outside the Universe...but wouldn't it then qualify as the Ultimate Nothingness?

Or, how's this? Just in case Quinessent Energy really DOES exist, it might be that our Universe is expanding because the Universes around ours are SHRINKING, causing a "sucking" effect. (At least I THINK that's what Quinessent Energy is.)

Presto...expanding Universe!

Well, those are MY best quesses so far...I'll let ya know if something better comes up.


[edit on 23-2-2005 by Toelint]

This is a very good question Yoda says. My feeling is that where our universe ends something has to be there at that point on the other side. I just do not beleive that at the meeting point it just fades to black period. It could be the entrance to another dimension or another universe alltogether. It also may be something we at this point in our time may not even know.

no one can tell you that because we don´t even know exactly what is the "inside" space...

M-theory is probably the one that pictures best what you call the outher space, but even with it´s 11 or 12 dimensions it´s only a theory...maybe this is all a dream of god, maybe god is our inconscient try to understand what´s arround us...

one interesting thing is that the most advanced theories to explain the universe have some kind of link with some aspects of religion....tath M- theory talks abous a membrane that links everything in our dimensions like an omnipresent force...the holographic universe theory talks about a connection between particles or atoms that are very far from eachother...


maybe in the beggining religion was our best effort to compreend the universe and it gave us some non scientific but good ideas about things but now with the advent of science and the need to quantify everything we forgot that maybe we should try to reinterpret the religions in order to recall tath forgoten way of thinking.

This is a popular theory and one that I'm happy to go along with until I hear something better. There is nothing outside the Universe, it is circular and if you went out of it on one side you'd reappear on the complete other side entering it, there is no beyond.

i think only GOD knows.
i asked this question also myself and i think a lot
of people do the same.

Originally posted by John Nada
This is a popular theory and one that I'm happy to go along with until I hear something better. There is nothing outside the Universe, it is circular and if you went out of it on one side you'd reappear on the complete other side entering it, there is no beyond.

i was about to post the same thing...the total volume of the universe IS expanding, but there is no "boundary" to it, it's just...there...the universe has no shape, it just is, if the universe were your room, the room would be slowly getting bigger, but you would walk out one side of the room and come in on the other, there is no "outside" the room, there is just the room

I posted this topic the other day while i was drunk, luckly there isnt any spelling mistakes *i think*
whenever im under the influence of alcohol/drugs i always seem to think really deep, normaly me and my friends talk for hours about the universe and the meaning of life, im sure most of ATS members come up with great ideas for threads when under the influence
luckly i didnt post my 'destinys child recruitment theory' i had a great drunken idea that the new destinys child single 'solider' could be a govermnet backed idea to recruit new soldiers, who could resist beyonce singing 'i need a soldier!!' if i was drunk id probably sign up! but now im sober i shall refrain from posting such dribble.

for now

Good question.

Here's my answer.

Since space is defined as an emtpy region, then it would be logical that what is outside space would have to have something occupying the area, for instance, the Earth would logically be considered "outside space" would it not?

[edit on 23/2/05 by Intelearthling]

ok i did not read every single reply on this topic but i think if you watch this certian eposide of futurama you will see fry wants to see the edge of the universe so they fly and he gets those binocluers that you feed 25 cents into and looks and theres WHITE lol just playing i asked my science teacher that same thing and ( 7th grade teacher so not focusing on the stars and stuff the whole year we switch subjects) he said that no one knows so sry cant help you unless you believe in the Futurama theroy (good theroy) lol

I give you my speculations based on things I read.

Space is an infinite void with no end.

Matter formed thorugh some undiscovered quantum energies in the form of gas. Over billions of years this gas collected and created the first stars, which then created the first black holes, and then we had galaxies around these black holes. I believe this gas is only created in the absence of gravity. Once enough gas is formed to create gravity, space stops evaportating gas, inso far as the gravity effects the local empty space.

It is my belief that there never was a single big bang but instead the primoridal gas evaporated out of the nothingness of space through quantum enregies (yet to be difined and proven) untill enough was created to start the first gravity.

I believe the recent discovery of the dark matter galaxy will begin to show how this gas started it all and not a big bang. In this dark matter galaxy their has yet to be enough gas produced to spark a sun and create a normal galaxy but it could still happen some day...unless some gravity was introduced such as a rogue planet or rogue black hole that escaped another galaxy. I doubt there is a black hole though, as it probably would have caused enough of the gas to collect to creat a sun..

This is all uneducated speculation on my part that I came up with by just looking around nature and figuring out how it all probably work.

Outside what we see in the universe is just more gas and galaxies that we can not see with current tech.

No beggining and no end of the universe it is just there.

[edit on 24-2-2005 by Xeven]

My belief is that the universe is shaped like a doughnut. Then you get another doughnut and place that ontop of the first. You then get another and place it ontop of the second. Then imagine the doughnuts tilting on an angle and eventually placing all these doughnuts will eventually end up with one HUGE GIANT DOUGHNUT as it goes around in a circle (this is from the bible code extraction)

SO then you have this massive doughnut, made of smaller doughnuts...... you then do it again, and again, and then you have another massive even larger doughnut. This goes to INFINITY. And thus explained the universe. However, what is the hole in the middle? The hole in the middle is called 'Hyperspace' alternatively, you can call it the mind of God. It is possible to enter hyperspace (philedelphia experiment, the Ship went into hyperspace).

I use this example because i can visually see it, and understand it.......