universal boundaries

[chad_621]

Let me preface by stating I believe our universe is finite. In terms of mass, I do not believe in infinity. Everything is finite.<br />I agree you can travel the universe fo trillions of light years and never reach the end because you would circle around without knowing it.<br />All that said, I am convinced our universe, as grand as it is to our minds, is simply a 'bubble' of existence laying undiscovered in the equivalent of a forest on a much more grand scale.<br />I have a hard time getting people to open their minds to this. <br />Just wanted to see if anybody here shares in the same ideas

 

[dragon04]

There are several theories that mesh with what you believe to some degree.<br /><br />Some cosmologists believe that our Universe (and ostensibly countless others) come into existence due to contact between branes.<br /><br />Others believe that our Universe might be the result of a "white hole" that's spewing matter through a rip in the fabric of space-time caused by the singularity of some monstrously massive BH in another Universe.<br /><br />Yet other cosmologists have hypothesized "bubble universes" similar to countless bubbles in some Multiversal bubble bath.<br /><br />Is our Universe "finite"? I'm inclined to believe so, but by the current model, it's expanding with every character I type in this reply, and doing so at an accelerating rate.<br /><br />"Infinity" to me is a very clumsy description to use in a physical Universe. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>

 

[chad_621]

another fun theory I have:<br />the universe was created in a similar manner as a tumor in the body. There is a host that supplied the building blocks. The universe continues to grow as long as there is energy from the host.<br />In my mind, the 'host' is the equivalent of fungus on a forest floor...nobody notices it. It's everything to us, but nothing on a much more grand scale.

 

[themage]

<font color="yellow">Others believe that our Universe might be the result of a "white hole" that's spewing matter through a rip in the fabric of space-time caused by the singularity of some monstrously massive BH in another Universe. <br /></font><br /><br />What theory is this called? I would like to read up on it for personal interests.

 

[weeman]

Chad,<br /><br />I agree with you as well. I just finished a post under the 'big bang' thread in Ask the Astronomer, talking about how an inifinitely old universe seems impossible. <br /><br />The funny thing about infinity, from what I've noticed on this board, is how many ways it can be defined. I believe that anything in infinity is absurd, nothing applies to it, it is simply a theory.<br /><br />Most of us see infinity as never ending, boundless, something that goes on forever. However, infinity can explain Earth. A sphere is technically infinite, because you can travel in a straight line forever and never hit a barrier that stops you. You might know that you are going in circles, but in a way, we can define Earth as being infinite. <br /><br />Also, like you said about our universe, it is finite in matter, but infinite because it has no boundries. It's not that the universe has infinite matter, it's just that it has no physical barrier; you can travel forever and never hit an 'end'. So, this is where the idea of curved space comes from. Space is curved because you travel forever, without hitting a boundry, yet you keep going in circles over and over again. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[trumptor]

Disclaimer: The following I say under the influence of booze, vodka in particular, so I may not agree with my present train of thought tomorrow <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /><br />I believe in an infinite universe and an infinite timeline because it seems impossible to be otherwise. Of course you can say space is curved and we live in a closed universe, but what is outside of this bubble? There will always be an outside to everything you can conceive as being finite. Our universe may be one of many, but in general I believe there are still an infinite number of possibilities. If we're a bubble in a forest, then this forest is one of many on a planet and there are many planets in our solar system, and solar systems in our galaxy, etc, etc, etc.<br /><br />Also I do believe some things in the bible did come from a higher intelligence, be it God or a superior race. It does state that first there was darkness, then light, then water, then land, then animals, then man...pretty uncanny for an ancient people that never heard of the big bang or that heard of darwin's theories. I believe the bible might have had a more accurate description of events before the stories were told from father to son, father to son, etc.<br /><br />I see a quote in the bible where it says that all things shall come to pass as a direct assertion that the universe is infinite because with the universe being infinite, there would be an endless number of planets identical to ours, with an infinity of planets with our species on them, with an infinite number of them containing you, me and everyone else on the planet and an infinte number of planets and us diverging at every second that a different outcome can occur (eg. I bend my finger, elsewhere I do not, and again elsewhere I do, but only halfway, and an infinite number of positions in between. Infinity is a very powerful word, and I don't think as human beings our brains are developed to the point where we can really picture infinity. W <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font color="#0000ff">______________</font></em></p><p><em><font color="#0000ff">Caution, I may not know what I'm talking about.</font></em></p> </div>

 

[weeman]

<font color="yellow"> I see a quote in the bible where it says that all things shall come to pass as a direct assertion that the universe is infinite because with the universe being infinite, there would be an endless number of planets identical to ours, with an infinity of planets with our species on them, with an infinite number of them containing you, me and everyone else on the planet </font><br /><br />So then somewhere out there, in this universe, there is a real Luke Skywalker and a real Vader who are battling it out?<br /><br />If the universe is full of infinite possibilities, then anything can and does happen. This would also mean that somewhere out there, in this universe, Hilter won WWII and the Nazis are still in power over the entire planet. Of course it's not this planet, it's another Earth.<br /><br />So let me ask you this: If the bible states that everything comes to pass through an infinite system, then why did an old co-worker of mine, who was a devout Christian, believe that life was rare and uncommon in the universe? He strongly believed that life was unique on Earth, because the chances of it happening elsewhere in the universe are slim to none. There could be other Christians who might even disagree with him, but why (if he was a true follower of the Bible) did he think in this way?<br /><br />We got into long, deep conversations over this very topic because I didn't agree with him! We would pick each others brains forever!<br /><br />Here's what I think. Infinite probabilites most likely don't exist within a single universe; they exist within multiple universes. This means that our one universe isn't infinite in size with inifinitie possibilies, but rather for each possible scenario, another parallel universe is created. This of course is dealing a lot with a parallel/multi universe theory. So, this would mean that Hitler's army is still in power on this exact Earth, just in a different universe. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[the_prodigy]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Here's what I think. Infinite probabilites most likely don't exist within a single universe; they exist within multiple universes. This means that our one universe isn't infinite in size with inifinitie possibilies, but rather for each possible scenario, another parallel universe is created. This of course is dealing a lot with a parallel/multi universe theory. So, this would mean that Hitler's army is still in power on this exact Earth, just in a different universe.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Well... assuming that reality regularly branches off into multiple realities, there would be a VERY LARGE number of parallel universes, but not infinite. The scenario I always use is that if there are infinite parallel universes, somewhere 'out there' is an entire universe that consists of nothing but a moose in a room. A giant moose in a giant room. Nothing else. If infinite probabilities do exist, then the 'moose-in-a-room' scenario exists... but I'd bet twenty dollars it doesn't.<br /><br />Also, if reality does branch off at regular intervals, it won't be every time someone makes a decision, as most contemporary 'alternate history' speculative fiction seems to be based on; if Duckman woke one morning and had to choose between orange juice and tomato juice for breakfast, and ended up choosing tomato juice, I guarantee that <b>in every other reality</b> he would've chosen tomato juice. Human beings don't have as much free will as we like to think; for every 'choice' we think we make, there are a host of biological and environmental motivations that already made the choice for us long before we actively exercised it. Almost everyone reading at this point will feel an urge to do something completely random (shift a paper? touch an earlobe? say a phrase that has never been said in the history of civilisation? do nothing whatsoever?) just to reaffirm their belief in their own free will, but absolutely anything you do at t

 

[themage]

You guys are going pretty deep into theoretical physics. Here’s some full to the fire <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse<br /><br />There is a ton of good info in this article including a slew of links to theories that are being described in this thread as well as some that you may not know about.<br />

 

[chad_621]

good to know other people are as curious as I. <br />It would be a stretch to say I have a passion for any such theory. <br />I could never grasp infinite in a physical sense. Never made much sense to me. What do I know? I'm just a high school drop-out