Lets talk about my favorite subject....

[wompastompa]

INFINITY

Althoug it is my favorit subject, I am more than willing to admit my limited knowledge of the subject as I am still in High School(a little early maby)

these are some of the things I know just by the powerful tool called the INTERNET...

firstly, infinity is not a number but a concept and therefore any and all information is never exactly true

EDIT: another thing, as you might expect...Greeks came up with this concept and actually found a way to solve functions with infinite quantities(a subject left for college professors)

[Andromeda]

Now that you mention it....

I've always wondered is the universe infinite or is there an end to it? If it ends what is at the end? Questions man may never know.

[Spirit]

Nothing is infinite. There is an end to it somewhere, because there is a beginning.

[Ralath]

Numbers are infinite.

[Belaslav]

Graphs of certain functions (Ie. 1/x) have infinite asymptotes.

If infinity didn't exist, then why did people create the concept?

EDIT: Just remembered another infinite concept: Human stupidity.

[Spirit]

When people quit using numbers, they will end. When there are no more humans left, humans can no longer be stupid.

All those people that believe in the big bang theory should know that everything is always changing. Nothing stays the same, therefore nothing can be infinite.

[wompastompa]

Graphs of certain functions (Ie. 1/x) have infinite asymptotes.

If infinity didn't exist, then why did people create the concept?

EDIT: Just remembered another infinite concept: Human stupidity.

....your funny, but on to your question.....they create the concept to provide an answer to <things>(I cant find a better word srry) that are defined as infinite, before the concept, the <things> would be incomprehensable. But now with the concept of infinity, you can use the scientific method to work with these infinite <things>

[wompastompa]

Now that you mention it....

I've always wondered is the universe infinite or is there an end to it? If it ends what is at the end? Questions man may never know.

your on the right track, while the universe is not infinite, it is expanding at an infinite rate....confusing I know, but think of it this way


big bang->starts off the expansion of the universe

when we stop to look at a certain point in time we can very well define the universe as constant, but if looked over time, its far from that

as for calculating the actual size of the universe, its up to complex physics and with physics follows math(tons of it!)

Numbers are infinite.

your right and wrong, because numbers can be accumulated an infinite number of times, your statement has some truth, but if you replace infinite in your sentence(if you can call it that)
with the actual scientific definition, it would make absolutely no since(also there is a difference between scientific and linguistic definitions)

[Luna]

your on the right track, while the universe is not infinite, it is expanding at an infinite rate....confusing I know, but think of it this way


big bang->starts off the expansion of the universe
when we stop to look at a certain point in time we can very well define the universe as constant, but if looked over time, its far from that

as for calculating the actual size of the universe, its up to complex physics and with physics follows math(tons of it!)

I'm not asking to be flamed, but I don't think a random explosion just pops up and creates the universe, the stars, and the galaxies all alike. In some documentaries of the history of the Earth, they say the eath was created at the same time as the universe, and if infinity be true and the universe expands, wouldn't our galaxies expand and rip apart? Just a thought.

Nobody can calculate the rate of how universe grows/expands because as you said, it's expanding at an infinite rate. There would have to be some type of time paradox system that could freeze time, or atleast take us back to the beginning of the universe, in order to know whats causing the expansion to happen so fast, or why in human minds, Earth is the only place with current life...

(Off-topic-ish): People always think in the future theres gunna be conveyor belts to carry us everywhere, the free-will to go planet to planet paradise and fluctuate, flying cars, stores with mass quantities of things..They say once earth's resources run out, they'll just go find more on some other planet...but it's easier said than done.. I think people just expect to much, I mean..humans only use 10% of their brain..If every person used 100% we'd be dead.

(I think I just confused myself with this..)

[Hessah]

I'm not asking to be flamed, but I don't think a random explosion just pops up and creates the universe, the stars, and the galaxies all alike. In some documentaries of the history of the Earth, they say the eath was created at the same time as the universe, and if infinity be true and the universe expands, wouldn't our galaxies expand and rip apart? Just a thought.

The big bang is a theory, a concept... there's no "prove" about it yet (ie. it's not confirmed..) but this concept was derived from various research results which "suggest" that big bang may be the case. (something about the way rocks and stuff form @_@ that's beyond my brain capacity)

Maybe one day the galaxy will expand and rip apart... nothing says that it wont rip apart (i dont think)

in the scale of the universe.. we're only living in a split second of its life and its size...

So... with my limited knowledge.. I do believe in infinity.... even if / after our universe rips apart... time and space will still be on going...


EDIT: And yeah i didnt take it as flaming XD just discussion.. i'm sure no one is right or wrong.. coz if it was that easy, then we wouldnt need scientist LOL!