Is our universe only a small part of what’s actually out there?

 

The Universe is known to be infinite by most people but is it really? Or could the universe we live in be one of many? Could it be both? There is nothing new about the idea of there being a parallel universe or “multiverse” but they are known to be almost impossible to travel to due to the laws of physics so the question is, could it be possible to actually travel to a whole other universe? There are two types of people. People who think that the universe is finite and people who think the universe is in fact infinite. I will try to give you a point of view from wether or not you see the universe to be finite or infinite because that is a really main factor of these theories and the answers for both could be drastically different. Finite universe means that the size of the universe is limited and there is an exact measurement to it. One of the biggest reasons that us humans on Earth think of the universe to be finite is because the universe has only been here for a finite amount of time. (13.7 billion light years.) An infinite universe means that the universe is never ending and goes on forever which a lot of people also seem to believe.

The universe is known to be expanding by many scientists but is that really the case? What is it expanding into then? If we look at the point of view of the universe being “infinite” the answer would be that instead of the universe expanding into something, its simply just becoming bigger within itself, or as you might want to call it “stretching.” What that means is that every distance between a pair of galaxies is becoming stretched but the universe’s size does not change. On the other hand, if we think of the universe as being “finite”, there might actually be something “outside of the universe” and our universe is expanding into something. But since we are known to be “stuck” in our universe by most scientists, we really don’t know what out universe is expanding into if it is.

Another way we can look at it is that if the universe really is infinite, it would have to start repeating at some point because the number of ways particles can be arranged is finite. In fact, there are infinite versions of you out there and some are even doing and thinking the exact same things as you. So could you call that alien life? A “parallel version” of you is reading these exact same words right now and thinking how insane this actually is. Crazy right? That University you declined that would transfer you to Asia, a “parallel version”of you could’ve actually accepted it and it would show the outcome of what would actually happen if you decided to actually accept that offer. If arguing against the chances of there actually being a parallel universe, the problem is that the universe is just under 14 billion years. So the universes age could happen to be “finite”. This means that the number of possibilities that particles could be arranged could be even smaller and sadly means that there is less of a chance for you to actually take the trip to Asia in a parallel universe.

If the observable universe only extends 13.7 billion years as said by scientists, that would be 13.7 billion light years. So the space-time beyond that could be considered a whole other universe. If that is the case, once the light will pass the dividing point of the “universes,” they could then be considered one universe. In 2015, a cold spot was discovered in our universe that is 1.8 billion light years wide and it was estimated that there is roughly over 10,000 galaxies missing in that area. The area contains 20 percent less matter than it should and scientists believe that it’s that a possibly that another universe that has bumped into ours. Does that mean that our universes or “all” universes move? Or are they actually all inside something else and are getting bigger?

In the end, you can’t just take a space ship and fly to the edge of the universe and see if its touching another. It’s takes a lot of work and time for scientists and astronomers to research and answer the age old question of the possibilities of a “multiverse.” And who knows if the government and or scientists will actually allow that information to be released to the public. Maybe the question has already been answered all this time. But I guess were just going to have to wait and see.

Watch this video if you would like to get more information about the possibility of a “multiverse.”

Reflection

What questions did you need to research in order to research your topic?

For my topic even though I had one big question, there were many small questions I needed to answer and research to lead me to the big answer. I had to ask questions such as “is the universe infinite or finite?” and “why hasn’t anyone found out if there was another universe?” These smaller questions took more time then my big “wonder” question but they did teach me a lot and helped me in the end. I figured out that we really don’t know if the universe is finite or infinite so that made my big question slightly more harder because I would have to research and look into it even more. As I was doing my research I also figured out why there is no exact answer to a possible multiverse because there is so many answers out there and so many more questions needed to be answered.

What new or familiar digital tools did you try to use as you worked through this project?

As I was researching and writing this project I had to use a variety of different digital tools and sources to get the most accurate information I could get. One of the main digital tools I used was Google. I searched up a variety of different websites using Google but made sure that the authors of  all the articles I used were in the science community and/or had very good knowledge of science.

What was the process you used to investigate your topic?

To investigate my topic and find the most accurate information I could get my hands on, I followed a lot of steps. First, I searched up my question to make sure that there wasn’t an immediate answer to it, and Im happy there wasn’t because If there was, it wouldn’t be a “big question.” Then I proceeded to research using different websites and I gathered information that I would be useful for when I would write out my “wonder assignment.” After gathering all the information I thought I needed, I thought of my structure of my write up and how I was going to bring upon the information I learned in the most affective way possible so other readers would understand easily. Writing the post took a lot of time and effort because I really wanted the readers to experience the same wow factor as I had when researching.

How did you verify and cite the information you found?

Since I used Google I was extremely careful when researching to get accurate information. I made sure that all of the websites I was using had an authors name on it. I also searched up the names to make sure that they were either in the science community or had very good knowledge of science in general. I also made sure that all of the articles I used had dates on them and I made sure not to use older articles to get the most updated information I could get. I used scientific websites and encyclopedias when writing my research as well.

How did the process of completing this challenge go? What could you have done better?

The process of this challenge wen’t really well. It opened me up to so many other questions even though science isn’t even an interest topic of mine. I genuinely enjoyed researching and writing all of this information and Im glad I got to learn so much throughout the project. If I had more time I think I could’ve gone in deeper into the question and I could’ve researched even more theories of a “multiverse” because when researching I stumbled upon much more information that I didn’t include in my actual post. Even after I was done my project, I found myself scrolling through science related videos on YouTube.