The Universal Big Picture!!!

[theundeadhero]

Okay, I'm not sure if I belive this or not but it's 4:04 in the morning and I have nothing better to think about. Sometimes I think to myself, what if the universe is round? A lot of people believe it's really vast and huge, but what if they're wrong? What if the farthest our telescopse can see West is only like 10 feet from the farthest we can see East, but we don't know because we can't see that far? You could argue that if your looking straight then your vision isn't going to turn with the universe, but you have to think that when their's nothing else out there, it would have to turn with it. I've added a picture to help you understand the concept. What do you think?

[Super Christ]

I can't remember what shape it's mathmatically suggested to be, but yeah, when I imagine the universe, I generally picture it as an enormous 4 dimensional sphere.

[Big D]

When I think of the universe, I imagine a sphere of matter - the physical universe, all the stars, planets, nebulae etc in their respective galaxies - expanding out into an infinite, boundless emptiness. Perhaps this infinite endlessness is filled with other physical universes. It's infinite, so why not?

I realise this model is perhaps not entirely accurate or consistent with theory, but it suits my needs for now. The 'expanding sphere' component is pretty accurate, though.

[fire_of_avalon]

I remember attending this seminar once with a guy who told us what shape the universe was supposed to be, but that was two or three years ago and I don't remember anything but people being really really rude to him.

[Doomgaze]

As I recall, for some reason any point in the universe will appear to be the center of the universe to that observer. I don't remember why.

EDIT: Big D - that's mostly right, except it may not be a sphere, and there's NOTHING outside the universe. It's not just empty, it doesn't exist.

[Super Christ]

Think of the universe as a big balloon, with little dots drawn in marker all over it. These dots are the galaxies. When you blow up the balloon, if you were a two dimensional being in one of these "galaxies", it would appear as though every galaxy in the universe was moving away from you, and as though you were in the center. Which, of course, would not be true - the center is in a higher dimension than you could comprehend.

So take that analogy, and apply it to the universe at large, only instead of being on the two dimensional surface of a 3 dimensional balloon, we're on the three dimensional surface of a higher dimensional sphere. That also explains why closer galaxies don't seem to be moving away from us very quickly, and why the furthest galaxies appear to be moving away at nearly the speed of light.

[Doomgaze]

Oh, right.

[Denmark]

This sort of stuff makes my head hurt. It's just...THERE. Something has to exist everywhere. There can't be nothing outside the universe, it wouldn't make sense. But then how can something be infinite? Incomprehensible. *dies*

[Erdrick Holmes]

I don't think the universe has an ending. It's infinite, either that or the if the universe has a limit then it's expanding through time, as time moves then the universe grows. That's what I think.

[Levian]

I'll just eat a cookie and pretend this thread doesn't exist. Universe = bad. Cookies = good. Now how cool wouldn't it be if the universe was an infinite cookie? No? ok...

[Denmark]

I don't think the universe has an ending. It's infinite, either that or the if the universe has a limit then it's expanding through time, as time moves then the universe grows. That's what I think.

What's it expanding into?

[kikimm]

Even more universe.

I don't know....I get confused, and frustrated when I think about this. I thought that maybe, like the earth, the universe has an "atmosphere". But then, what's beyond that? There's so many unanswered questions that'll neveer get answered...

I think I'll just leave now, and save my sanity while it's still, partially, in existence.

[Doomgaze]

There isn't an "outside the universe" for it to expand INTO. Not in the dimensions we can perceive, at least. The universe just gets bigger, it's not displacing any nothingness.

[Yamaneko]

Donut-shaped universe.

[krissy]

spilled milk

entropy
eventually everything will be so far apart and so cold, no energy reactions will take place?? ro soemthin, rite?

theory 'Oscillating Universe'

when this happens, it all compresses in upon itself into that speck of matter and big band all over again.

read it on a laminated sheet. has to be a valid theory.