What is the Universe expanding into..

Do you think there was anything before the big bang?

  • I don't think there was anything before the Big Bang

    Votes: 56 12.5%
  • I think something existed before the Big Bang

    Votes: 200 44.7%
  • I don't think the big bang happened

    Votes: 54 12.1%
  • I think the universe is part of a mutiverse

    Votes: 201 45.0%

  • Total voters
    447
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If you are accusing scientists of intellectual dishonesty, that is not a thing.
Such behavior will be quickly found out these days, and the person's career would be ruined.
There are mistakes of course, and these are corrected when found.
No, what I'm suggesting is the models or collective Model comprising accepted theories must be built upon with building blocks that suit it until whatever one comes up with must be true because it fits. And it does appear that the pieces of the puzzle do get trimmed to make them fit.
 
it does appear that the pieces of the puzzle do get trimmed to make them fit.

Sure, a model often gets adjusted by its modelers to better conform to observations.
This is called fine tuning (at least in physics). Free parameters that can be adjusted indicate an incomplete theory,
such as the "standard model" of particle physics. That sucker has around 18 or more free parameters.
Few scientists confuse a model with reality.
 
Normally, I'm an acoustics, music and audio guy. But this "space/universe" topic has always fascinated me, ever since I was a little kid.

Skipping past the "near universe", such as our galaxy, and go out to seriously deep space - other galaxies, where does it end? Does it end? What is "space"? Is it a physical thing of some sort? Or, is it beyond our current ability to understand what it is? Really, what is "space"?

I'm just sayin'/askin'.
 
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Does it end?
What is "space"?

Definitely there's no physical end to space, though it could curve back on itself, and be closed instead of open.
We don't really know. Space (and time) could have been formed together from "something else".
We have to speak of "spacetime" rather than space or time separately, since they are intimately related (Einstein).
Present theory has an error of 10^120 for the vacuum energy, so there's some way to go for improvement.
 
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No, what I'm suggesting is the models or collective Model comprising accepted theories must be built upon with building blocks that suit it until whatever one comes up with must be true because it fits. And it does appear that the pieces of the puzzle do get trimmed to make them fit.
Your first sentence is simply describing the 'Scientific Method'.

I can't entirely disagree with your second sentence as there have been instances where experimental results may have been 'selected' to match a hypothesis (Robert Millikan's selection of his oil drop results comes to mind).This Month in Physics History

Fortunately, subsequent experiments are always carried out to confirm or deny the results of the original experiment.
 

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I don't think we can destroy planet earth even if we tried. Well, it could be a nasty place for "a while" but would for sure do a come back once the humans are gone. To me it doesnt maytter so much - I could see a more successful variant of life... or rather.. mind, for an "intelligent" specie.

As it is believed that the universe expanded rather than really exploded, there should be matter even in "ground zero" as opposed to an explosion where GZ is pretty empty after the bang. In any case of an expansion or a explosion, I think we can assume that it was spherical symmetric. Why wouldn't it? So our observable universe is at the most something like half of the involved matter/energy looking at the direction towards GZ. Surely there must be a direction towards GZ and from GZ. But if it is circular both directions point to the same place...

I'm getting tired... gaaasp... 🙂

//
 
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"I don't think we can destroy planet earth even if we tried. Well, it could be a nasty place for "a while" but would for sure do a come back once the humans are gone."

Yup. And, "a while" could be several million years - but you're right - it'll come back and start all over again - probably a little differently.
 
As it is believed that the universe expanded rather than really exploded, there should be matter
even in "ground zero" as opposed to an explosion where GZ is pretty empty after the bang.

It's space itself that is expanding, not the material within space. Expanding space carries matter
along for the ride, balloon analogy again. There is no center of the expansion. On the largest scale,
the universe is uniform.
 
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It's space itself that is expanding, not the material within space. Expanding space carries matter
along for the ride, balloon analogy again. There is no center of the expansion. On the largest scale,
the universe is uniform.
If there's no center and it's uniform, there must be a geometric model. If not, in what context/definition is there no center and uniform. You simply cannot have expansion in every direction without a singularity in a physical realm and the Universe is a physical realm. So please describe how you visualize this in your mind's eye.
 
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