• Question: How can the Universe go on for ever? And how can there be an end to time?

    Asked by professorofbadgers to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 15 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by cartridge98, littlechatterbox, avkoppula, smileysoph.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      A) we don’t know
      B) we don’t know
      C) sorry 🙁

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      Scientists thinks that the universe goes on for ever because that’s what the observations we make tell us. We just don’t know *how* it can happen, it might be because it curves and bends round on itself, like a big donut, or something. I find it really scary.

      Time is even more complicated! We know it goes in one direction, but as the universe changes, time can go at different speeds elsewhere, because time and space are all tied up together. It gets way more confusing the more you think about it. I am completely confused by it, but luckily, it doesn’t affect most people in their daily lives!

    • Photo: Karen Masters

      Karen Masters answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      It’s a hard concept isn’t it.

      But think about this. Either it goes on forever, or there is an edge – and then what’s past the edge? I’ve always been more comfortable with infinity than an edge….

      I’m not sure we do think there’s be an end to time – I think we think that’s infinite too.

      Great question though.

    • Photo: Nazim Bharmal

      Nazim Bharmal answered on 21 Mar 2012:

      The universe can be open or closed. But a big problem is that because light has a top speed, we can’t know anything outside of our “light cone” (Google that one) so we might never know if it really goes on forever. As for an “end to time”, I can’t even start to imagine how that would work except it will be a reverse of the big bang (if that could happen): the Big Crunch.

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