Some people lose sleep over worry or excitement for the days ahead. Am I so lucky? Oh, no. Not even close. OK sorry for being dramatic, I just wanted to joke around for a bit.
Since as far back as I can remember, my mind gets caught up in deeply philosophical questions as I doze off at night. I remember going to be Sunday nights, watching WWF followed by Star Trek: The Next Generation and then American Gladiators. Sometimes I would dare turn off the TV and try to fall asleep, but my mind would race with all sorts of thoughts. In the end I would feel more awake and alert than before bedtime. So, I’d turn that TV back on to distract my brain as I fell asleep.
I’d like to share some of those thoughts that have stuck with me up till this very day. Maybe some of you out there in Steemsville will have some thoughts and ideas of your own to add.
I just finished cleaning the house and I was lying in bed, soaking in the silence. I started reading through my Steemit feed and came across an original poem by @robyneggs “From Outer Space.” The poem reminded me of one of my favorite childhood musings.
Before I go on, keep in mind these are just some thoughts I was to share. No citations here.
Beyond the furthest atom that has ever traveled away for the center of the universe, beyond the edge of matter, does space and time exist?
Time and space are intimately linked. Time is essentially a measure of the movement of matter; whether it be atoms, electrons, and protons on the microscopic scale or planets, asteroids, and people on the macroscopic scale. Without time, matter remains stationary and the entire universe would still remain in a singularity. No time = no big bang. Space is the area occupied by matter. It can expand or contract, thanks to time, and it has a theoretical limit.
How could space have a theoretical limit? Think of the first atoms shooting out from the center of the universe. How far have they traveled in ~14.5 billion years? Definitely farther than we can detect with modern technology. There must be some that never got caught up in stars to form larger atoms. These lonely atoms would be pushing the edge of space deeper into emptiness.
Is there an actual finite edge of the space-time continuum? If you could somehow get to the edge of the universe, could you measure anything beyond? All of our measurements are taken between two or more points in space or time. How do you measure the distance between two points in an area that has no points? You could make yourself into a point to get that measurement. Hook up your tape measure to that last hydrogen atom and boldly thrust yourself out beyond the edge of space. Maybe you could measure something that way, but what’s the point.
Now this is assuming that the laws of physics work the same at the edge of the universe as they do within the visible universe. We already know that things like black holes mess with physics, so why assume that the edge of the universe would follow standard rules? How would physics act between you, a few dozen hydrogen atoms, and truly empty space. Most of what we know as “empty space” is actually full of gases. Well maybe not “full”, but it sure isn’t empty.
So, what are the properties of this completely empty space, let’s call it “null space.” Do physics act the same in “null space”? Can time function here if there is no matter? How can we measure the flow time of time here if we cannot measure length, rate of oscillation, or radioactive decay? Likewise, could three-dimensional space exist in this “null space”?
Without any matter to act as a reference, how could we define that space in the X-Y-Z plane? Think of it like a map. A one-inch line on a map could represent one-inch, one-hundred feet, or 10 million miles. It’s all based on the scale. Without any matter, we lack any scale in this “null space.”
“Null space” is probably not the best description here. Maybe “absolute void” would be a better description. Regardless, our current understanding of the universe requires some sort of end of the universe. As far as we can tell, no new matter or energy is being introduced into the universe. If the universe is expanding and matter is finite, then there must be an end to the universe.
Now I’m no astrophysicist, if you couldn't guess,my knowledge and vocabulary is limited on this topic. It doesn’t seem to stop my brain from keeping me up at night wondering about the edge of the universe. If you know more about it than me, then please enlighten me in the comments down below. This is a great topic of conversation, at least in my mind, so feel free to comment for any reason. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
