How is the universe constantly expanding ?

614 views

I don’t understand the concept behind the fact that the universe is infinite and that it is always expanding.

In my mind: something expanding assumes that there is space for it to go into, and if that space existed previously, it can’t really be considered an expansion since it was already there.

Perhaps I have misunderstood what is meant through the term ‘expansion’ in this case or made an incorrect assumption, I’d appreciate if anyone could clarify the process for me.

In: 1

18 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

first of all, this concept is not easy to grasp, so its completely normal that you are confused.

basically, space is not expanding into anything, but rather space itself is growing. This is really weird. Imagine an infinitely large bed sheet getting streched. Everything moves further apart, because the space between stuff is getting “bigger”. Its not that you add fabric at the sides (since there are no sides, it is infinitely big), but the fabric itself gets pulled apart. Note that this is a very ELI5 explanation.

You are viewing 1 out of 18 answers, click here to view all answers.