Did the universe have an absolute beginning, or is it eternal?

[Into the Night]

The universe has no center.

The big bang is often thought of incorrectly as an explosion with matter moving outward and away from a point source.

What is actually happening is that cosmic matter like galaxies aren't moving. It is space itself stretching - everywhere and all at once. Expansion and stretching is an intrinsic property of space itself, so in a certain sense everywhere appears to be the center of the universe, no matter where you observe the expansion from. .

What 'expansion'?? What's expanding?? There are no known boundaries of the Universe.

 

[Margot]

By that definition, there is no universe. Just a duoverse.

Whatever you want to call what happened

 

[T. A. Gardner]

What 'expansion'?? What's expanding?? There are no known boundaries of the Universe.

So, is it, in your opinion, expanding, contracting, moving, or stationary? That's really the only four options here.

 

[Into the Night]

Whatever you want to call what happened

I'm not calling it...YOU ARE.

 

[Into the Night]

So, is it, in your opinion, expanding, contracting, moving, or stationary? That's really the only four options here.

Nonsense choices. The Universe has no known boundaries.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Nonsense choices. The Universe has no known boundaries.

Doesn't change the choices. Either stuff in the universe is moving around or it isn't. Unless the movement is random, then there is a pattern to it. What's the pattern if there is one?

 

[Cypress]

What 'expansion'?? What's expanding??

Why don't you do the hard work of actually taking some university-level physics and astronomy classes?

We don't have the words in English to really adequately describe what is happening. It has to be described mathematically. The universe doesn't care if English has the right word to describe it, or not.

In some sense, space itself is stretching, because the frequency of radiation is decreased and its wavelengths stretched as it travels across the universe. That's why we see red-shifted faraway galaxies. That's why the light from the cosmic microwave background has been stretched into the microwave spectrum of the EM frequency.

On the other hand, 'stretching' implies thinning, and that is not precisely what is happening either. The net inherent energy density of space is staying constant, which implies that 'new' space is being created between the galaxies, and that is what is causing matter density to decrease and make galaxies to appear to be moving away from us.

But for purposes of everyday colloquial language, stretching or expanding are useful words to describe the Hubble expansion and redshift phenomena we observe in the universe.

 

[Into the Night]

Doesn't change the choices.

Nonsense choices.

Either stuff in the universe is moving around or it isn't. Unless the movement is random, then there is a pattern to it. What's the pattern if there is one?

There is no known boundary to the Universe.

 

[Into the Night]

Why don't you do the hard work of actually taking some university-level physics and astronomy classes?

Physics isn't a class. The Universe isn't a class.

We don't have the words in English to really adequately describe what is happening.

So how can there be a class, if you can't adequately describe what is happening??? You are lock in another paradox, Sybil.

It has to be described mathematically.

What math? The Universe simply exists. It has no known boundary.

The universe doesn't care if English has the right word to describe it, or not.

You are still locked in this paradox. You cannot argue both sides of a paradox.

In some sense, space itself is stretching

A nonsense statement. There is no known boundary of the Universe. It is not possible to calculate a volume of the universe.

because the frequency of radiation is decreased and its wavelengths stretched as it travels across the universe. That's why we see red-shifted faraway galaxies. That's why the light from the cosmic microwave background has been stretched into the microwave spectrum of the EM frequency.

Only in the little part we can observe. What is happening elsewhere? Who knows? Compositional error fallacy.

On the other hand, 'stretching' implies thinning, and that is not precisely what is happening either. The net inherent energy density of space is staying constant, which implies that 'new' space is being created between the galaxies, and that is what is causing matter density to decrease and make galaxies to appear to be moving away from us.

'New' space?????

But for purposes of everyday colloquial language, stretching or expanding are useful words to describe the Hubble expansion and redshift phenomena we observe in the universe.

What we can observe is only a tiny part. In an infinite universe, that means what we can observe is effectively NOTHING. Compositional error fallacy.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Nonsense choices.

There is no known boundary to the Universe.

Makes ZERO difference. We can observe some portion of the universe and measure whether things are moving and in what direction relative to us or if they aren't.

 

[Matt Dillon]

Was OP molestered by Uncle Sydney, or did OP molester Uncle Sydney?

 

[Litmus]

That's not the right question. The question is not to ask what was happening before time. The right question is to ask why matter and energy blinked into existence out of nothing.

why does it matter?

 

[Litmus]

Clearly you didn't comprehend the OP. According to Vilenkin, the BGV theorem postulates that if you roll the clock backwards you eventually run up against an absolute spacetime boundary dividing physical existence from non-existence.

sounds dumb.

 

[Into the Night]

Makes ZERO difference. We can observe some portion of the universe and measure whether things are moving and in what direction relative to us or if they aren't.

Compositional error fallacy.

 

[Cypress]

why does it matter?

I never expected this to be of interest to high-school dropouts, crack addicts, MAGA morons.

 

[Matt Dillon]

I never expected this to be of interest to high-school dropouts, crack addicts, MAGA morons.

When was the last time you were kicked right in the mouth?

 

[Margot]

I'm not calling it...YOU ARE.

Melchizedek-Files.com explains what's up

 

[Cypress]

When was the last time you were kicked right in the mouth?

Never.

You seem like the type who has had a baseball bat shoved up your ass and your head stuffed in a toilet.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Compositional error fallacy.

No such fallacy fallacy.

 

[Litmus]

I never expected this to be of interest to high-school dropouts, crack addicts, MAGA morons.

why does it matter in your smart person world?

keeps you from doing real work and ignoring actual morality?