Did the universe begin?

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FacELesS.

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Not quite sure if this belongs in Science or Philosophy but here goes.

Did the universe begin?
Many people are much more concerned by how it began, while we aren't sure whether it even had a beginning. I have only researched this question very briefly and I found it quite hard to get hold of noteworthy arguements.

Many state the big bang as being the beginning, but (if it really happened) might the big bang not be just a phase that our universe went through?

Then there is the idea that we live in a multiverse. Again was there a beginning for our universe? Or more importantly was there a beginning of the multiverse?

Is the acceptance of our universe as being eternal, a given constant if you will, a viable option to believe?
 
A recent edition of Popular Mechanics has an article written by Prof. Tobruk (I think) from Wits University. He has his own idea about big bang and the universe and according to a discussion on Radio 702, one of the more recently launched satellites has instrumentation to prove or disprove the theory.
 
If the universe has no begining then it has been around for an infinite period of time. If that were the case then the light from stars that we cannot see (because they are too far away and their light has not reached us yet) would have been traveling for infinity and we would therefore be able to see them. In fact becuase there are so many stars in the universe when we look up at the night sky we would see no dark areas at all, we would not have a night sky so to speak. As this is not the case the universe has not been around for infinity and so logically must have a begining.

I personally believe in the multiverse theory, in fact I think there are an infinite number universes, one for every choice we make and one for every choice we dont make. Which universe we live is really a matter of choice and is therefore relative to the the individual who experiences it...

I can prove none of this of course..:)
 
SSurfer said:
If the universe has no begining then it has been around for an infinite period of time. If that were the case then the light from stars that we cannot see (because they are too far away and their light has not reached us yet) would have been traveling for infinity and we would therefore be able to see them. In fact becuase there are so many stars in the universe when we look up at the night sky we would see no dark areas at all, we would not have a night sky so to speak. As this is not the case the universe has not been around for infinity and so logically must have a begining.

I personally believe in the multiverse theory, in fact I think there are an infinite number universes, one for every choice we make and one for every choice we dont make. Which universe we live is really a matter of choice and is therefore relative to the the individual who experiences it...

I can prove none of this of course..:)
Click to expand...

Why not take it one step futher and say that there exists a universe for every possibilty. Now it comes down to if we can prove that there are an infinite amount of possibilities or not?

BTW You can also reason the other way with infinity. If a star was infinitly far from us the light would never reach us and thus we would never know that the star exists.
 
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I think there are in infinite number of possibilities.

There would also be an infinite amount of time for the starlight to reach us...sounds like a bit of a paradox actually...the wonders of infinity
 
SSurfer said:
If the universe has no begining then it has been around for an infinite period of time. If that were the case then the light from stars that we cannot see (because they are too far away and their light has not reached us yet) would have been traveling for infinity and we would therefore be able to see them. In fact becuase there are so many stars in the universe when we look up at the night sky we would see no dark areas at all, we would not have a night sky so to speak. As this is not the case the universe has not been around for infinity and so logically must have a begining.
Click to expand...

True, if the universe has no beginning then it has been around for an infinite period of time.
The universe having existed for an infinite amount of time doesn't mean that it is infinitly big and hence it doesn't mean that there is an infinite amount of stars in the universe. There are billions and billions of stars in the universe currently yet night exists. The number of stars in the universe doesn't so much affect our day and night as the distance they are from us. The greater the distance the stars are from us the less light reaches us. There are dark spots in the night sky (to the human eye) because we are not sensitive enough to see the faint light and not because the light hasn't reached us.
 
Actually come to think if it, the universe would be infinitely big...but only if it continued to expand, as we are currently observing...and had been doing so for infinity.

The thing with infinite time is that it allows for infite possibilities.....becuase there is enough time for every possible thing to happen no matter how small the probability of it happening was. So there would be a star for every possible possition in the sky... both near and far ..that would be a lot of light.:)

The whole concept of infinety leads to some serious impossibilites, and since the lack of a begining requires infinity, I reckon the universe must have started.
 
We know that it's currently expanding outwards in every direction. Working backwards, the logical conclusion would be that at some point in time it all converged to one point, i.e. singularity.
 
Seems like you are leaning towards the idea of the big bang being the beginning of it all. But could the big bang not have been a phase in the universe's ever lasting life?

The idea that all energy/matter just came into existance from nothing with the big bang doesn't feel right to me, less so than the idea that all energy/matter just existed for all time.
 
There is a theory that suggests the universe is cyclic. It begins with a big bang then expands and cools. It eventually looses enough energy and then begins to contract again, back to a singularity after which another big bang occurs and the whole cycle is repeated. There is no real idea (as far as I know anyway) of what started the start..or what started that start..or what started that start and so on and so on...........hmmmm seems like this could fall into the realm of the infinite again.

I suppose what we really need to do to keep sane, is concentrate on the start of our universe and once we have the answer to that then move on to what is was that started our start.
 
All i can say is that these are all theory,just wait another 200 years and some one still wont know,go figure.Believe in your own universe.uni----->
 
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