• Question: do you think that the universe has a limit?

    Asked by elliotmoore to Chris, Emily, Martin, Natalie, Tamsin on 24 Mar 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Chris Cooper

      Chris Cooper answered on 24 Mar 2010:

      This question is outside my expertise. The current view of people who know more than me is that we can’t tell whether space will carry on expanding continuously (as it is now) or contract into an inverse Big Bang (the so-called) BIG CRUNCH. If astronomers can’t agree, I am not sure how much belief you should have in a what I, as a biochemist, say.

      BUT it is a really interesting question!

    • Photo: Martin Coath

      Martin Coath answered on 24 Mar 2010:

      I think our universe might be bounded in some way – but there might be more than one universe! 🙂

      The idea (or hypothesis) that the universe is unbounded is very interesting, and people will continue to argue about it I am sure.

      But it is not, in some peoples view, STRICTLY a scientific one. For a question to be scientific (in this very strict sense) you have to be able to design an experiment that could show that it was wrong.

      I can see no way of disproving the idea that the universe is unlimited because it could always be argued that we just haven’t found the limit!

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