Are we alone?
- Thread starter Rusty Blade
- Start date
sɐǝɹpu∀
riverrun
Distances between things are increasing. That's how the universe is growing. And they have been (and are) increasing quite a lot. 13.8 billion years ago everything (the whole universe) was pretty much "zero" away from each other and now the universe is actually rather large and will become much larger still, but not infinitely so. A weird, yet wonderful place.
halvor
a most elusive fish
There’s a grocer on the way, stop there for a bag of nuts. Or crisps? And a couple of beers, maybe? Or not? These are the big questions in life.
You were saying?
Boru62
Shaving Boar
I can't remember now Halvor.
I'm pondering more important questions like, do I want peanuts or cashews and, do I want ale or stout?
Boru62
Shaving Boar
It's still in the balanceStoutView attachment 34348
Benz3ne
Forum GOD!
Concurred to an extent. I, personally, reckon 'space' is infinite. Even if we do find out eventually, somewhere down the line, that it's not we're limited by conception - we as a species cannot see the 'end' of it or hypothesise what the 'end' of it will be, or will be like. In short, it will certainly be infinite for me.
Where is the distinction made between the universe and space? Doesn't the universe encapsulate space and it's belongings/planets/stars etc.? Everything we can currently see in the universe is moving away from each other (seen as red shift) if I remember rightly, so who's to say that it isn't also happening elsewhere towards 'our' stuff that's moving away from our point in space? Would they eventually collide at a point down the road? Would there be a gravity influence instead at some point? What would this gravity influence end up as? Perhaps, a 'refresh' of solar systems whereby life has to start 'from the beginning' again?
Conversely, if we say 'the universe' is just the belongings bit (the matter/gases/not empty space) then it's fair to say that, given there is empty space, it won't become infinite at some point as the space exists and the universe surely cannot expand into that space. I.e. we cannot make something out of nothing and empty space with nothing occupying it cannot equal matter. Ergo, this definition of the universe is finite.
Hot diggedy damn I love science.
Boru62
Shaving Boar
So what you're saying is, there could be another universe expanding into empty space like ours and eventually they could both collide, thus rendering the universe and the empty space finite?
If so, I don't see anything wrong with this hypothesis but.....
That @pimple8, he's a hoopy frood who really knows where his towel is!
So if the universe if expanding into unoccupied space, and "universe" is commonly accepted to mean "all of space" what do we call the space that's not part of space and therefore apparently not part of the universe?
I read the other day that NASA reckons there are 100 billion planets in our galaxy, and of those 10 billion would theoretically be capable of supporting life. On that basis I cannot believe that only ours is inhabited. In terms of contact human history has shown that when two civilisations meet the less technically advanced gets the rough end of the stick. Granted aliens are, well, alien and therefore may be more benevolent than us but then again...
So if the universe if expanding into unoccupied space, and "universe" is commonly accepted to mean "all of space" what do we call the space that's not part of space and therefore apparently not part of the universe?
I read the other day that NASA reckons there are 100 billion planets in our galaxy, and of those 10 billion would theoretically be capable of supporting life. On that basis I cannot believe that only ours is inhabited. In terms of contact human history has shown that when two civilisations meet the less technically advanced gets the rough end of the stick. Granted aliens are, well, alien and therefore may be more benevolent than us but then again...
Benz3ne
Forum GOD!
...which could collide with another universe in the opposite direction, which may collide with another along the chain, ad infinitum. I'd guess that it could make finite the (our) individual 'universe' as we can see it*, but the absolute picture would be infinite in all directions... if you see where I'm coming from?
*as a single entity.
This is why I tried making the distinction between 'space' as the empty bit and 'the universe' as the not empty bit.That @pimple8, he's a hoopy frood who really knows where his towel is!
So if the universe if expanding into unoccupied space, and "universe" is commonly accepted to mean "all of space" what do we call the space that's not part of space and therefore apparently not part of the universe?
Benz3ne
Forum GOD!
I'm sure I saw a white wide-body Evo X doing some the other day...
If "universe" is accepted to mean "the not empty bit" then that makes sense and I'm happy to accept that the universe is not infinite, which also makes sense if it's expanding as it would surely need somewhere to expand *to*, in this case the empty bit.
So, if the empty bit is infinite then there could indeed be another universe, in which case what do we call the empty bit and any universes it may contain collectively?
Boru62
Shaving Boar
The number of universes is unknown but being a mere apeman I find it hard to get my head around infinity.
It's all space, some of it occupied, some of it vacant.
The empty bit is the space not occupied by bits of an universe.