Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowperson
The observable universe is the portion of the universe which we can ever hope to see due to the speed of light. The actual universe appears to be larger, though how much larger who knows.
To break this down into simpler terms, the paragraph above tells me you view this conversation as centering around everything related to the Big Bang. The Big Bang and the results of that event IS the Universe, seen or unobservable.
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Yes, and this is how cosmologists use the term I think as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowperson
I might see the Universe as this particular Big Bang and all other potential Big Bangs, with the knowledge I can only study this one Big Bang . . . . . but all of them within one dimension. In your definition, I might say "What lies beyond this universe?"
That is why I see a contradition in paragraphs 1/2 versus 3 in the earlier post while you see those paragraphs as compatable.
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Ah ok I see where you are going. In that case I would totally agree with you, although I wouldn't use the term universe to refer to the results of our big bang and other big bangs, terms like the multiverse or the manifold are usually used to refer to those kinds of things (though those terms usually have their own definitions as well).
Our universe may not be expanding "into" anything, but it may very well be spawning child universes, or there might be an infinite # of universes if you like the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowperson
Is my imagination too big for my britches?
Cowperson
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Not at all, the famous quote is something like, the universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we can imagine.
Another fun link with more speculation on the topic:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/co...niverse-start/