The Universe: Why is it as big as it is?

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SporeFreak

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Why is the universe as big as it currently is? Or rather, why is the universe so big while we're so small? It certainly isn't there for us to explore, as far as I know since nothing can travel faster than light. (Except tachyons.) I've been pondering this question for some time. Could someone help me out with this? :?
 
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SpaceTas

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Just answered a similar question under "A question about direction". See if that helps.
 
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origin

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SporeFreak":14o1nnfa said:
Why is the universe as big as it currently is? Or rather, why is the universe so big while we're so small? It certainly isn't there for us to explore, as far as I know since nothing can travel faster than light. (Except tachyons.) I've been pondering this question for some time. Could someone help me out with this? :?

This is a question that arises because we are egocentric. What I mean is that we tend to think of ourselves as THE most important thing in the universe. Acutally it is even more than that, we tend to think of ourselves as so important that the universe is something other than us. It is sort of like there is me and then there is the rest of the universe. So that naturally leads to the question of why is the universe so big - it ain't doing me any good!

Well the simple fact is it ain't about you (or me) so the question is meaningless.
 
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SporeFreak

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origin":1fci3qdn said:
SporeFreak":1fci3qdn said:
Why is the universe as big as it currently is? Or rather, why is the universe so big while we're so small? It certainly isn't there for us to explore, as far as I know since nothing can travel faster than light. (Except tachyons.) I've been pondering this question for some time. Could someone help me out with this? :?

This is a question that arises because we are egocentric. What I mean is that we tend to think of ourselves as THE most important thing in the universe. Acutally it is even more than that, we tend to think of ourselves as so important that the universe is something other than us. It is sort of like there is me and then there is the rest of the universe. So that naturally leads to the question of why is the universe so big - it ain't doing me any good!

Well the simple fact is it ain't about you (or me) so the question is meaningless.
I'm not asking this from an egocentric point of view. Sorry. :oops: What I'm asking is why did God create such a large universe? :geek:
 
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origin

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I'm not asking this from an egocentric point of view. Sorry. What I'm asking is why did God create such a large universe?

You are still asking this from an egocentric point of view.

Look at it this way - The universe is large compared to what? The answer is it is large compared to you (egocentric).

How big should it be?

If God created the universe then we must not be that important to him or else he had a lot of time on his hands a decided to whip up a few extra billion galaxies to kill the bordem.
 
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rfoshaug

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Origin has a point.

We humans tend to ask questions like this. Why is the universe created so big when WE can't explore it all? Why did God create caves on a planet in an orbit around a star in a different galaxy if no human will ever see how magnificent they are?

My view on the matter is that God did not create it, because there is no God. The fact that the universe is so big and that the Milky Way galaxy is not at its center (and the Solar System is not at the center of the galaxy and our planet is not at the center of the solar system) tells me that we are not significant in terms of the universe's creation.

It's not all a show for us to admire. It is in our nature to admire and explore what we can, but this is not the reason the universe came into existence. So yes, there are caves and waterfalls and magnificent views and double-star sunsets and violent explosions and life forms out there that we will never encounter. But look at the bright side. There are probably a lot of life forms out there (with big teeth) that we don't want to encounter. So maybe we're better off. :lol:


So to your question: Why is the universe so big? The answer is: it just is...

When you say: "I'm not asking this from an egocentric point of view. Sorry. :oops: What I'm asking is why did God create such a large universe?" you assume that God exists, that he created it and that we (humans) are God's favourite (or even the only one) civilization in the universe. And that everything was made for us. So Origin is right. We tend to look at the Universe from a very egocentric point of view.

Not against you in particular, SporeFreak, but we (humanity) still unconsciously think of the world in a "medieval" way of layers. Earth is center. The universe is elsewhere. We still ask questions like "is there life or intelligence in space"? Most people would agree that if we discover one intelligent civilization in space, we can safely conclude that there are more. But we have already discovered life and intelligence in space. On a planet called Earth. Earth is a part of the universe just as much as any other planet out there. It's only a couple of decades since scientists actually aksed the question if planets could exist around other stars than the Sun. Of course they do!

By now we are finally starting to learn: The Earth is not a unique planet. The Sun is not a unique star. The Milky Way is not a unique galaxy. We are not all there is and the Universe (or even the Earth) was not created for us to live in. We just happen to live here. But there was no plan, no intelligent design, no God that decided to create us and a universe for us to admire.

That doesn't mean that our existence is meaningless. Our existence and our planet is extremely important to us. But if we one day encounter an alien intelligent speices, don't expect them to accept that WE are the most important ones. ;)
 
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R1

Guest
Do the Pioneers or Voyagers have enough fuel in them to make them unable to
escape the solar system and have them eventually return?
 
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rfoshaug

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R1":7zt4e2t9 said:
Do the Pioneers or Voyagers have enough fuel in them to make them unable to
escape the solar system and have them eventually return?


Not by a longshot. ;)
 
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MeteorWayne

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R1":dol7kem7 said:
Do the Pioneers or Voyagers have enough fuel in them to make them unable to
escape the solar system and have them eventually return?

The Voyagers got all the boost they were evr going to get when they were launched, in the first hours. For the last decades they have been purely coasting, and will do so forever as they leave the solar system. They gained some velocity from gravitational assist from the Gas giant planets, but there are no mor eobjects out where they are going to gain any speed from. They have enough speed that they sill never return, no they'll never return, to the solar system .

They have no more fuel (in the changing speed sense). What little they have left is in steering jets used to align the spacecraft so the antenna points at earth.
 
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MeteorWayne

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I am temporarily locking this thread to allow me to create a new one suggesting that the Universe is alive. When the split is complete I will unlock it. The new thread will be found in The Unexplained

I am now unlocking the thread. Please stay on-topic with any discussion and stick to the topic The Universe, Why is as big as it is.

The side descussion "The Universe is ALive" is now in The Unexplained.

Any posts made here relating to that topic will be moved to that thread without notice.

MW
 
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rfoshaug

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"Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mindboggingly big it is." :)


America is big. I may never go there (who knows), and if I do, I'll definitely never be able to explore the entire continent in a lifetime. So what's the point of creating such a big continent if I'll never be able to see it all?
 
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R1

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Well, with the right technology, you could certainly visit plenty of the America continent.

I just wonder if maybe the Pioneers and the Voyagers would be better off returning.
Their technology and(/or) trajectory do not seem quite up to speed.

Speeding up a state of the art, next gen. probe to the speed of a lazy comet could easily reach
and pass Voyager I or II, for example.
 
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bdewoody

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R1":1qefdx78 said:
Well, with the right technology, you could certainly visit plenty of the America continent.

I just wonder if maybe the Pioneers and the Voyagers would be better off returning.
Their technology and(/or) trajectory do not seem quite up to speed.

Speeding up a state of the art, next gen. probe to the speed of a lazy comet could easily reach
and pass Voyager I or II, for example.
Better off for whom? They are just machinrs. They have done their jobs and will forever drift in the space between stars. We have all the information they collected and even if they could return there is nothing else for them to do. We might learn a little about wear and tear to hardware exposed to deep space but I doubt if there would be much else.
 
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MeteorWayne

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It's a moot point anyway. At launch, their initial velocity gave them a one way ticket out of the solar system. There is no way for them to return.
 
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ZenGalacticore

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Why is the Universe as small as it is?

Why is the Earth really big compared to us humans?

I gather that you are comparing the size of the Universe relative to the size of humans.

"Why is the Universe as 'big' as it is?"

Why is there a Universe at all?

Why why why!!!??

What what what!?

How how how?

That really hard question though, the old "WHY?" inquiry, will always be with us. (Us humans.)
 
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Fallingstar1971

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The only way to recover those probes is to overtake them and retrieve them manually.

However their job isnt done yet. They still have a bit of power and still are capable of doing some science. Not to mention they are our ambassadors to any alien life they may encounter.

Star
 
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rfoshaug

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Not to mention they are our ambassadors to any alien life they may encounter.

Said the brave little chicken as it sent a probe (complete with roadmap to the chicken house) toward the fox den. ;)
 
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BossFan

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I seen a show the other week, and one clever lady said, 'we are a spec on a spec'. that sort of summed it up for me.
 
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kelvinzero

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BossFan":podspukj said:
I seen a show the other week, and one clever lady said, 'we are a spec on a spec'. that sort of summed it up for me.

Yes, but we are a speck of bread mold, on a spec of bread, on a loaf of bread, in a bread factory. We are capable of exponential growth.
 
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origin

Guest
kelvinzero":2jguvdr4 said:
BossFan":2jguvdr4 said:
I seen a show the other week, and one clever lady said, 'we are a spec on a spec'. that sort of summed it up for me.

Yes, but we are a speck of bread mold, on a spec of bread, on a loaf of bread, in a bread factory. We are capable of exponential growth.

Yes, but the speck of bread is hermatically sealed, so we cannot 'infect' the rest of the factory. We are trapped and can only consume the bread speck.

How far can this analogy be taken? Clearly too far....
 
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origin

Guest
MeteorWayne":36bbhe3z said:
It's the yeast we can do... ;)

That comment goes against my grain.
You sure are a glutton for punishment.
I guess I should stop loafing and get back to work.

I got a million of em (and they all suck).
 
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R1

Guest
Actually there are science departments that will be exploring wormholes, spacetime fluctuation control,
European singularities (?), and so many things. Though it seems that Earth is hermetically sealed, it
really may not be, everything in the factory is very much entangled.
 
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Captain_Salty

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Given that we don't know how large the universe is, beyond the visible, are there any theories on its likely size based on its age?
Also, if it is possible for the universe to be infinite, would it have been so immediately from its creation?
 
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