Dont know if it has been discussed already, but what are your thoughts?
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
Infact,I also have the same doubt.What if there is a boundary,what would be that of?What would be the state of that?
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
yes, but i dont understand what makes some people think that universe is finite.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
Read up on the shape called Torus. It will make sense then to say that the universe is expanding yet at the same time it is finite.
For beings who can not comprehend or observe beyond 3 dimensions, universe is infinite. But for someone looking at it from a higher dimension, it would look finite.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
I don't know if its finite or infinite but it's is still expanding. All the stars and galaxies are moving away from each other farther and farther - nothing is finite though - we just don't know when it will end
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
For beings who can not comprehend or observe beyond 3 dimensions, universe is infinite. But for someone looking at it from a higher dimension, it would look finite.
ok, I think even if you understand it, it should be your own imagination. what is beyond that boundary, universe 2 or a universe with different laws of physics or reality of existence?
Is it like beyond that boundary is nothing? do you understand what is nothing? can you see/observe nothing?
well, as part of my belief, Allah created it as finite.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
Read up on the shape called Torus. It will make sense then to say that the universe is expanding yet at the same time it is finite.
I wonder if that read answers the question that what is beyond that limit. even if universe is expanding at greater rate than we can travel but there must be a boundary then. What should be beyond that boundary? Nothing?
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
See that is why you need to look up the shape torus. It will make sense how it could be expanding and still be finite and have a limit! Beyond the boundary is Cosmic background radiation which has been proven to exist. I just mentioned this in another thread. Weird. Beyond the cosmic radiation, it is possible that there are other universes. Here is a video on doughnut shaped universe:
Of course, this is one many theories proposed. I like this theory.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
Well some people say that the idea of explaining universe as finite is based on need that our mind cannot fathom infinity. but that does not mean the universe is really finite. then it starts a new debate that the number of universes in the universe/space are finite or infinite?
anyway any link to read shape tours?
ok, I think even if you understand it, it should be your own imagination. what is beyond that boundary, universe 2 or a universe with different laws of physics or reality of existence?
Is it like beyond that boundary is nothing? do you understand what is nothing? can you see/observe nothing?
well, as part of my belief, Allah created it as finite.
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If you believe that universe is finite, then there is a possibility of reaching its boundary one day, right? Then you answer your own question that what is beyond that boundary? My argument is that we don’t have to think of what is beyond the boundary, because for us, universe is infinite and has no boundary.
It’s like you take an ant and leave her inside a blown up beach ball. The ant could crawl till the end of time, but will never reach any boundary. But you sitting outside that system can easily see the boundaries of that beech ball.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
If you believe that universe is finite, then there is a possibility of reaching its boundary one day, right? Then you answer your own question that what is beyond that boundary? My argument is that we don't have to think of what is beyond the boundary, because for us, universe is infinite and has no boundary.
It's like you take an ant and leave her inside a blown up beach ball. The ant could crawl till the end of time, but will never reach any boundary. But you sitting outside that system can easily see the boundaries of that beech ball.
Well said.
@ajazali - I posted a link to a Youtube video. Google "Torus Universe" or "Toroidal Space". You can find a lot of useful links. Please share if you find something worth sharing.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
So you could not get what I was asking. What I said as my belief is one thing and how people use scientific explanations to make sense that universe is finite is the other thing.
What if i say the universe is infinite for human being and finite for Allah? after all that is my belief but I am interested to know the scientific explanations.
The limitation or condition is, the way we CAN observe things around suggests universe is infinite. I know there are different dimensions in mathematics but that cannot explain the existence. what could be the higher dimensions as you said in your post earlier?
@Theorist my point is If you are going to say that universe is infinite then it must have a boundary. Since we cannot fathom an absolute boundary then it must be a belief.
And you say beyond the universe is cosmic background. that may imply universe is not flat. What do you say?
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/curvature-of-spacece/
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
i'd say you have confused yourself with a few different things there.
And if you read my posts, this is exactly what I am hinting towards. You and me are like an ant inside a beach ball, crawling on a 3D surface. For us, this 3D space is limitless. For the being sitting outside the bounds of this 3D space (Allah, as you said), our space is finite in length, breadth, width and time.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
from my telescope its very finite. 
Of course monk.
Infinity is not a belief. It's more real than the mere limitation of your mind to comprehend something. A simple example is how many times you can add 1 to any figure? Is there a limit? No. You can do it infinite times.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
Huh? Did you read what you wrote here? CMR only proves there was some sort of a beginning, a BIG BANG. It doesn’t provide many clues to what the shape of the Universe might be. There are different mathematical models to explain possible shapes of the universe. We don’t really know but there are many theories. One of which is probably right but we can’t be sure unless we could observe it and maybe somehow test it. For us, finite may be as good as infinite since we can’t observe or test it yet. No, it’s not a belief. It’s called Science. It evolves, grows, and improves with time and brilliant minds.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
not to mention cosmic background radiation is contained within our universe, not what lies between multiverses as ajazali seems to think. i recommend picking up a book on modern physics before asking such questions on a forum - no one can direct you if you dont have the fundamentals right.
Re: Universe is finite or infinite?
well, as part of my belief, Allah created it as finite.
Dude one day I was in the book store, I was looking though books and saw oxforr version of English quran.I open it up at read at random and read... I was empty minded. But I got struck by this one ayat, real hard.. I think in surah aal imran.
I think. I read in my words some thing this "allah has finite measure of every thing."
So what is infinite for use may not be for him.
BOSS: We did not make universe, we made mathematics, so if it does not fit on our model we should not be too upset about it.
Also I know you have read flatland, so... u know...