Sorry if this is so vague, but I was thinking about space and my brain can’t comprehend how the universe is infinite. To my understanding the universe “model” is that it’s kind of oval shaped and we come back right where we started. But wouldn’t that make the universe finite because there has to be something beyond that? Maybe I’m missing something and that’s why I’m confused.
In: Physics
Infinity just means “larger than we can comprehend or detect.” The universe isn’t actually infinite per se, if we determine the estimated age of the universe (13.77 billion years,) we can theoretically determine the maximum area of the universe, but the Earth is only 4.54 billion years old, so it’s physically impossible for us to detect anything farther away that 4.54 billion light years away, the signal can not have reached us yet. So whether it’s 4.55 billion light years away or at the edge of the universe it doesn’t matter, we can’t detect it so it’s infinitely far away. Moreover based on other resolutions that “inifinity” may be closer than that.
We don’t know if the universe is infinite or not. We do know that it is mind bogglingly big.
We don’t know wether or not it is infinite because we do not know what shape it is. If it is saddle shaped then it is infinite, if it is spherical then it is finite.
It is not intuitive to think of the universe being finite because that would mean there is a boundary and if there is a boundary then our intuition says there must be something on the other side. This is why it is a very difficult question to answer. Our intuition is not sufficient to understand it. The people that have the best understanding of it do so through math.
To approach an understanding try to think of the universe as having two physical dimensions instead of three. If you imagine the universe to be the surface of a balloon you might see how it can be both unbounded and yet finite.
A person in this two dimensional universe would only be able to conceive of a third dimension through math.
So, the human mind cannot comprehend infinity. The universe *is* infinite, but you don’t have the ability to understand that. We use the model to conceptualize the expansion of the universe. The universe is infinite, and it is expanding. How can you have more than infinity? We just can’t conceptualize that
No expert, but it might depend on how you look at it. If you say the universe is all the matter, anti-matter, energy and so on, then I’d say that is a finite amount of stuff. But if you say the universe is the space that contains all of that, then I’d say that space is infinite. It’s just mostly empty.
While my brain can’t comprehend infinity either, I find it easier to “accept” an infinite emptiness than an infinite amount of matter. Because if there were a wall, I’d ask what lies behind the wall. But if there is no wall, if there is nothing, you don’t wonder what’s behind it. There is nothing. For it to end there had to be something at some point. But if there isn’t, then there is just more of nothing.
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