trying to understand the "space" that the Universe sits within

[Armand]

Hi- Having read "A Universe from Nothing" a while back and having seen various documentaries on physics, I feel like I have rudimentary grasp of the theory that our Universe exists within a multi-verse of sorts (for lack of a better term) where universes are constantly popping into existence.

But- and here is where I get confused- do space and time exist outside of a Universe? In other words, is our Universe one of many bubbles of space-time popping up within a larger multi-verse. And, if so, what is the multi-verse made out of? Does that have space as well?

This stuff is fun to think about, but always leaves me feeling like I don't quite get it.

Thanks all for thoughts and feedback!

[Trike]

No, spacetime only exists inside a universe. Nothing exists outside of it.

It's impossible to truly grasp because we don't have the language for it.

Here's another brain-twister: the universe is infinite but information isn't. That means that everything repeats eventually. Somewhere out there in the universe there are people identical to us in every way having this exact same discussion.

[[deleted user]]

There are probably as many different opinions on this as there are people who have thought about it. One of the most interesting books I've read on the subject is Rediscovering the Universe: The beginning of the Final Revolution : Universal Theory of Relativity, by Javed Jamil.

I can't say I buy into all of it, especially energy applied from outside the universe, but it does put things in terms you can understand. Last time I checked, it was free on Smashwords and only 99 cents on Amazon, but that could have changed.

You can find my review of this book here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Armand]

Trike wrote: "No, spacetime only exists inside a universe. Nothing exists outside of it.

It's impossible to truly grasp because we don't have the language for it.

Here's another brain-twister: the universe is ..."

...It seems odd to me that there wouldn't be some kind of primary firmament into which a universe would expand...

[Faith]

You might try Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

[Armand]

Faith wrote: "You might try Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson."

thanks!

[Bruce]

Trike wrote: "No, spacetime only exists inside a universe. Nothing exists outside of it.

It's impossible to truly grasp because we don't have the language for it."

I have a problem with the universe-from-nothing idea. The phenomenon on which it is based exists within the universe, meaning particles pop into existence out of nothing. But they don't really come from nothing; they come from the fabric of space-time. We really have no idea if this can happen outside the universe where space-time does not exist.

[Trike]

The best analogy I've heard comes from James P. Hogan's Voyage from Yesteryear (I think that's the one), where they're discussing this very question and one character says something like, "If the universe were a candle flame and we were flame people, we couldn't conceive of the flame universe before the flame came into existence because there was nothing."

It's an imperfect analogy for the larger question in Armand's OP because the candle exists within a larger context, but for the "imagining something from nothing" idea, it's pretty good.

[Quantum]

I thought that Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos did an excellent job at explaining the multiverse as well as put forward a bunch of fun and speculative ideas. (I bought it and I bought one for my dad.)