Does space stop?

[Mich Caine]

I was watching a documentary on space yesterday and I was quite baffled by two questions.

Does space have an ending? And did space have a beginning - like surely it can't have been here forever? Everything has to have a beginning.

I mean surely space must have to stop, you can't just keep going in any direction and keep going and going. But then if it did stop what would be the other side of the stop?

[TANGODANCER]

I was watching a documentary on space yesterday and I was quite baffled by two questions.

Does space have an ending? And did space have a beginning - like surely it can't have been here forever? Everything has to have a beginning.

I mean surely space must have to stop, you can't just keep going in any direction and keep going and going. But then if it did stop what would be the other side of the stop?

Probably a burger bar.

[Mansell Way]

not being god i am unable to answer the above question/querie

[communistworkethic]

space itself is theoretically limitless . If you abide to the "big bang" theory then the contents of space have a boundart beyond which only exists vaccum, the boundary moving ever outwards from a central point.

[knobpolisher]

I mean surely space must have to stop, you can't just keep going in any direction and keep going and going. But then if it did stop what would be the other side of the stop?

My guess Mich is that on one side of its stop is your left ear and the other side of the stop will be your right ear.

[Mich Caine]

I mean surely space must have to stop, you can't just keep going in any direction and keep going and going. But then if it did stop what would be the other side of the stop?

My guess Mich is that on one side of its stop is your left ear and the other side of the stop will be your right ear.

Very good, I'll give you that one, you have just custard pied me.

[TANGODANCER]

I mean surely space must have to stop, you can't just keep going in any direction and keep going and going. But then if it did stop what would be the other side of the stop?

I just realised the answer: Chuck Norris!

[chris]

We perceive the world in three dimensions. In this sense, space should have an ending.
But there's probably many more dimensions, you cannot considering an 'ending' in the spatial awareness we use in everyday life..

[Dujon]

Mich, no one really knows. Perhaps it is because of our limited understanding combined with our inability to understand, whether that be a multidimensional thing or not. Try and imagine a two dimensional being living upon the surface of Earth and, because of its make up, cannot comprehend why if it moves around the world it finishes up back where it started.

Of course it's hard to imagine such a situation as we live in what we call a three dimensional world where everything we know has length, breadth and height.

Nevertheless, depending on to whom you listen or read, current wisdom advises us that there is no edge to the Universe and space is just that - space. There isn't anything at all outside space - it's not just another vacuum, it just doesn't exist. We are told that space is expanding and recently it has been hypothesised that it is also accelerating in its expansion.

Hard to get one's head around, that's for sure.

Of course it's not expanding into anything as there's nothing into which it expands. It's not as though a country, by annexing a neighbour's territory, expands its borders thus depriving the said neighbour of some territory.

If you don't understand all that I can assure you that you are not alone.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

We perceive the world in three dimensions

four including time, which bends itself during injury time!!

[communistworkethic]

so injury time is in fact a black hole!!!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

so injury time is in fact a black hole!!!

of the soul.

[Worthy4England]

so injury time is in fact a black hole!!!

Injury time is in fact a red hole - specially if Sir's team area one down.....

[Bench]

Just for the opportunity to quote Blackadder.......

Please please please STOP.

[finlayson]

Another interesting question..

When matter is sucked into a black hole, where does it go?

It can't just cease to exist, as matter cannot be destroyed (ie. there is the same amount of matter in existence now than at the start of the universe).

[communistworkethic]

not true strictly - you refer to the constant composition of mass, you can destroy matter but it's constituent parts would ultimately remain eg, you start with a kilo of water, splitting it you end up with a 1/3 kilo of Hydrogen and 2/3kilo oxygen.

With a black hole the magnetic forces, theory suggests, are so strong that matter could be crushed in to a fraction of its original size, thus taking up less "space".

Alternative, it has been postulated that there's an arse-end of a blackhole elsewhere in space-time, so something sucked in would be shat out elsewhere as a cosmic turd.

Commie- science explanations for the common man.

[finlayson]

I understand about the breakdown into constituant parts. When we die our bodies rot and revert to carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, calcium etc.

But if we can see the 'mouth of the black hole, why can't we see it's 'arse'?

Maybe dark matter is it's shite?!?!

[communistworkethic]

it's a long way away and very dark, like Beyonce's

[Dujon]

You can't see a black hole - you can only recognise its existence by the effect produced by its presence. The gravitational environment within the 'event horizon' of a black hole is so strong that even light cannot escape; hence its name. Matter does still exist, it's just (basically) broken down - even atoms - into its constituent parts. Gravity is said to be the weakest force, but its affect is cumulative. This means that, if you get enough mass in one area, what we would call normal matter behaviour breaks down.

White dwarfs and neutron stars are examples of celestial bodies which are incredibly dense but which have not quite made the transition to black hole status.

[superjohnmcginlay]

Thats all cobblers. Have you not seen the film? You end up in hell. With Sam Neill and him out the Matrix.