Is space really just infinity or does it come to an end/barrier/wall. What is on the other side??

Question

Size/the mystery/aliens/ or the way god intended it to be!

Answer 1

Strange as it may seem, it is possible for space to be finite but have no end. Think in 2D for a moment. A table is finite and has an edge. An ant (let's think of the ant as flat, two dimensional) on the table could explore his whole universe. He walks around until his footsteps cover the entire table. He says, "My universe is finite (about 1 square metre in area), and has an edge." An ant on the surface of the earth could eventually (in our imaginations) explore the entire surface of the Earth. But he finds no edge. He says "My world is finite (many square metres!) but has no edge."

Now we step up a dimension. Suppose you go way out in space, exploring. If space itself is "flat" you might come to an edge. Like the first ant you would report that your universe is finite (a finite VOLUME) but has an edge. Or you might never find an edge but keep finding places you haven't been. You'd say "My universe is infinite, without an edge." But suppose space (i.e. VOLUME) is curved (whatever that means for volume). You could eventually get everywhere in the universe but never find an edge, like the ant exploring the surface of the Earth. You would announce, "My universe is finite, but there's no edge."

I agree that the last one is hard to picture, and it's difficult for us 3-D organisms to imagine what curved volume is. But without doing the experiment, you shouldn't say IN ADVANCE that the universe can't be finite but without an edge. That's what the second ant thought about the Earth's surface, and he was wrong!

There are actual experiments we could do to see if space itself is curved. Google "curvature of space" and find out!

Answer 2

Okay well mostly everyone believes that the universe is infinite, that it never ends, but i think that it does end, i think that there might be energy that dominates the edges of the universe.

I once once imagine that there would be huge electromagnetic fields at the edge, kinda like lightning.

Answer 3

There is no end/barrier/wall.

But neither is it infinite.

Just like there is no cliff or waterfall at the edge of the world.

But neither is it infinite.

Just like the apparently flat Earth is actually round, space itself is mathematically described as curved in a higher dimension. This allows it to have a limited, although very large, volume, but no edge.

Answer 4

Searching space is like searching the world, it seems like you are going straight forward but in reality you are being brought in a circle by gravity.

At the center of the universe there is an anomaly that is forcing us to go around and around (American scientists believe its some sort of black hole), much like the core of earth forces us to go around and around.

Think of it like this, A rocket ship is actually more like a boat in space, it can only use one dimention, and can't go up or down, and it will ALWAYS circle the core.

However, we can build a "ladder" (a rocket ship) here on earth, so we can break that cycle and go *upwards*, using a new dimention and getting truly further away from the magnetic pull, and to stop going in circles.

In space, they can't figure out that ladder, since there is no up or down, so we are stuck going around and around. So regardless of the direction you are going in, you are still just orbiting that anomaly in the center.

Maybe someday we could technically make it to the "end" of the universe, but sadly, like Columbus, we'd realise we are just on the other side of a sphere.

The only answer would be to "rip" or fold space in the same way we do when we leave our atmosphere and the gravity of earth, but thats waaaay too sci-fi and won't happen any time soon.