How is the universe expanding.

Question

I would like thoughts on this topic. I've heard that the universe is infinite in time and space. I've also heard that the universe is expanding. My question is how can something that is infinite be expanding?

Answer 1

the universe is not merely composed of things we can perceive with out instruments and five senses. We are very limited in our capacity to understand something so complex and vast as a universe.

Scientists think that it is due to something they are calling "dark matter" or "dark energy" which makes up more than 95 percent of the universe.

Answer 2

universe is not infinite. if u believe in big bang theory (u should, because steady state theory is all non sense), u will believe that the universe was packed in a small atom. steady state theory says that the universe is infinite. if its infinite, it cant expand. but the redshifts in the spectrum of many stars proves that the stars are receeding from each other at a tremendous rate. this suggests that the universe is expanding, and the steady state theory, which says that the universe is and will remain always the same is non sense.

Answer 3

The universe is not infinite, in any sense, regard, or meaning.  Infinity is a mathematical concept.  It does not exist in any real way whatsoever.

The universe is large.  The universe is old.  But its size and age are most certainly, unquestionably finite.  For them to be otherwise is a logical impossibility.

Answer 4

An October 2006 public lecture by Alex Filippenko is available on the internet.  It's a bit long, and short on detail, but it might help frame the current ideas about the expansion and evolution of the Universe. Don't miss the questions and answers at the end.  Some really smart people asked questions.  Alex does an incredible job with the answers.

I'm not aware that the size of the Universe has been determined.  There's the visible Universe, and there is the larger minimum size that the Universe must be, but outside of that is speculation, i think.

But the Universe can be infinite and still expand.  It's the space between things inside that grows farther apart.  Infinity math is funny.  Two times infinity is infinity. Two plus infinity is infinity.

But Albert Einstein famously said this: Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.

Answer 5

Smart kid. Of course it is finite. Always think for yourself and outside of the box. Always question the 'perceived reality'.

Answer 6

Good question, (most) cosmologists agree the universe is finite.  The people who say it is infinite are giving their uneducated opinion.

Answer 7

The universe is still the same. It's not expanding.

Humans just keep figuring out more stuff about the universe.

Like you said, something that is infinite does not expand. It's humans' knowledge that is expanding.

Answer 8

Chuckle...

Seems to me that you are mixing several words and theories into an incomprehensible mess... Let me try to help you...

The size of "SPACE" is infinite.

The "UNIVERSE" is finite, but none of us knows its extent due to the definition..."Everything that is in space is part of this Universe."

Now the things we can see in the Universe are moving away from each other - known - measured fact. No problem with that because there is a huge amount of empty volume in

Space.

No one ever said that the Universe is "infinite," only that it is truly immense. We can see out into deep space to a distance of 13

Billion Light Years in all directions from Earth with our very best

optical telescope equipment. That is not the extent of the Universe...

It is just the limitation of the equipment we are presently using.

Using Radio Telescopes of the largest size we can "detect" objects

out in deep space to distances of 40 Billion Light Years. Again, the

limits are only limits of the equipment we are using... Space and the

things within it go on and on and on out there...with an unbelieveable amount of empty space also out there.

As an easy to understand example...

The nearest star to out Solar System is 4.5 Light Years away...

Remember one light year is about 6 Trillion Miles.