The Shape of the Universe

[Removed_user_012521]

What do you think the shape of the universe is and what is your opinion on parrelel universe, wormholes, ect?

[MaximiIian]

It's probably shaped like an amorphous blob. Either that or it looks like a massive galaxy made up of trillions of galaxies.
Parallel universes- won't even go there.
Wormholes- haven't these been proven to exist? Or is it black holes? Some kinda space hole.

[Saint-Germain]

How can the universe look like anything? That implies an outside observer...

Most logical shape of the universe, I think, is like the surface of a balloon but with an extra dimension, so that whichever way you travel, you eventually end up in the same place.

[The White Knight]

I don't believe the universe has boundaries. Fun to think about actually.

[MoROmeTe]

There can be no shape to something that is infinite or even bordering on infinitness (plus the problem of thr outside observer allready noted)...

On the other point... Singularities, anyone? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_singularity

[Removed_user_012521]

Then how could there be the big bang if the universe has know boundires? The big bang was an explosion of all the matter in the universe, there couldnt be instantaneuos matter for infiniti, it violates general Relativity.
Also what is a "universe"? Is is matter/ethere? Maybe the boundrie of the universe is where the ligh matter, dark matter, dark energy, is absent. Maybe the woutside of the universe is nothing, it leaves room for exspansion like the big bang.

[Sam]

Then how could there be the big bang if the universe has know boundires? The big bang was an explosion of all the matter in the universe, there couldnt be instantaneuos matter for infiniti, it violates general Relativity.
Also what is a "universe"? Is is matter/ethere? Maybe the boundrie of the universe is where the ligh matter, dark matter, dark energy, is absent. Maybe the woutside of the universe is nothing, it leaves room for exspansion like the big bang.

The Big Bang wasn't an infinite amount of matter exploding, we don't know what exised before the big bang, its all purely speculation.
If the outside of the universe is nothing, then it would be a part of the universe, since most of the universe is, after all, nothing. If the universe truly is infinite, it must have occupied an infinite amount of space instantaneously, it can not be progressively expanding as that would make the universe's volume a function which tends towards infinity, and therefore can never reach infinity in any amount of time.

You see that where I think people go wrong in thinking about the universe. The universe is made up of visible matter, dark matter, and dark energy (dark energy is matter spread almost equally through the universe so it can not be dtected easily through effects of gravity and ect.). Basicly there is no wall between the universe and nothing, it is simply where the 'something' ends.

What you described there as dark energy is dark matter, which does not emit, absorb, or release radiation of any form, but does have mass. Dark energy is a purely hypothetical form of energy which scientists are (at the moment) using to explain why the universe is accelerating outwards.

i know that this is nothing to do with the original topic, but if the universe is infinite then this is happening somewere else exactly like this except with mabye one or two little differences - i may be ten times smarter - or mabye none at all. really anything and everything that is ever possible is happening at this second an infinite number of miles away.
correct me if i'm wrong... which i probably am

If the universe has infinite volume, that doesn't mean that there is infinite matter, which would be needed to make an infinite number of you. Its kind of hard to explain my thoughts here, but I hope you understand.

Anyway, to answer the original question, the universe, assuming it has infinite space, can have no form as it has no boundaries.

[Aetius]

It is impossible for the human mind to comprehend such things in my opinion. How can you explain what the shape of the universe is when you can't even relate to its infiniteness. There is nothing that has been proven to be infinite yet.

[Kanaric]

Well if you think of it it could easily be a sphere. Depending on what existed before the big-bang i doubt their would of been anything to obstruct movement to slow the advancement of the universe.

Or it can easily be infinite. Even if the "explosion" or whatever from the creation of the universe didn't reach some areas yet what is beyond that? Their HAS to be something even if its nothing its still the universe.

[Removed_user_012521]

You see that where I think people go wrong in thinking about the universe. The universe is made up of visible matter, dark matter, and dark energy (dark energy is matter spread almost equally through the universe so it can not be dtected easily through effects of gravity and ect.). Basicly there is no wall between the universe and nothing, it is simply where the 'something' ends.

[MasterAdnin]

If you want a really scientific explanation, then I can ask my bro tomorrow cause he reads all about stuff like this, and no, he is not a loser:laughing:.

[bdh]

I think the universe extends infinately and changes shape in a musical harmonic wave

[LSJ]

When someone mentions infinite space, I just stop reading before I get too confused. I will never understand how anything can have no end. I have this wierd idea that the universe is just like our planet: you go straight in one direction, and after many years end up where you started. What if space is a loop somehow? We travel at 5000x light speed and go across the universe. After many years we end up back at Earth somehow. But then that raises a question: what shape is the universe?
If the universe is a loop is must have some sort of end or boundary. A boundary means an outside observer is possible. So what is beyong that nothingness? Antimatter? But what about outside that? Is there an end to the universe? We shall never know...
And also - what are atoms made of and where do they come from? They can't come from nothing, and they can't be here since forever.

[Kanaric]

When someone mentions infinite space, I just stop reading before I get too confused. I will never understand how anything can have no end.

Its easy, if the universe is expanding as scientists say and their is no "edge" of the universe you can get to an area where their is just literally infinate void of nothing. Literally nothing, like outer space except without any sort of hydrogen or other matter.

[Erik]

I don't think time and space exist outside of the universe.
I think the time-space continuum, like the universe, is finite and expanding at the speed of light in all direction since the big bang.
So it's shaped like a perfectly round (possibly multi-dimentional) ball.
And noting can exist outside of space-time, not even a void, because it wouldn't have a location nor a time to exist.

[Lord Snibb]

If the universe is infinite it has no shape. If you base your assumations of the Big Bang Theory, it could well be perfectly shperical. If it expanded from a central point at a steady rate, of course. If it expanded at different rates in different places it could be quite oddly shaped indeed. There are a number of other less well known theories that would yeild different shapes, but these are not well not and many have been proven very unlikely. An interesting one that I have heard of (can't remember the name though) says the universe expands and contracts over time. As Hapsburg said, it's best no to get into parallel universes. After using to word 'universes' it occurs to me how stupid that word is. The word universe means there can be only one. Rhetorical Question: If there can be only one of something, what is the point of having a plural form of that word?

[Justinian]

If the universe is expanding at the speed of light, it is changing far faster then the eye can see. Thus, it has no shape that we as humans could comprehend.

[Lord Snibb]

The exact speed at which the universe is expanding is not easy to prove unless to can see all the way to the boundry of it and and tell exacty how far away something you are looking at is. Then your could figure out how fast it is expanding. But the matter in the universe is spreading out at the same rate the universe expands, isn't it? So the boundry would always be the same distance away, and we could calculate to rate of the expantion of the universe by calculating to rate at which we are moving toward the boundry of the universe. However, this too is impossible be movement is based on relativity and if all objects are moving the same direction a the same rate, all of them seem to be still. The only way we would detect movement would be if an object sped up or slowed down, and then we would dectect the difference in speed and not the speed itself. And interesting thought: if the universe is expanding at the speed of the, than unless the whole thing was lite when it started expanding, parts of the universe will be externaly dark.

[ohell11000]

i know that this is nothing to do with the original topic, but if the universe is infinite then this is happening somewere else exactly like this except with mabye one or two little differences - i may be ten times smarter - or mabye none at all. really anything and everything that is ever possible is happening at this second an infinite number of miles away.
correct me if i'm wrong... which i probably am

[Richard the Lionheart]

What do you think the shape of the universe is and what is your opinion on parrelel universe, wormholes, ect?

I think the most common theory is that the Universe is shaped like a sphere.