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Infinate space

I have a question:

Modern science acknowledges that space is infinite. (I can't really get my head around the concept of something having no end but that's probably due to my tiny linear existence)

Some people think that life on earth is unique because the chances of it happening are so infinitesimally small.

If the universe is infinite, does that not mean that infinitesimally small sparks of life will crop up in infinite numbers of planets throughout an infinite universe.

Are we alone in the universe? I don't think so. I just think that alien life is so far away from us that we will never make contact.

Your thoughts?

16 Comments:

Macheath said...

May I recommend 'Extraterrestrial Civilizations' by Isaac Asimov?

He draws the same conclusion as you(I suppose that's technically a spoiler, sorry!) but works it out step by step through a series of investigations from first principles - and it's a damn' good read.

By astounding coincidence, I happen to have a spare copy - since sending you things seems to be the fashion among discerning bloggers, if you let me have an address, I'll put it in the post.

macheath01 AT gmail DOT com

JuliaM said...

Not just so far away, but so unlikely to be anything like us that we wouldn't even recognise it as life...

Anonymous said...

Depends on your view of the universe.
Some theories may pertain to Alien intelligence being pan dimensional.
Potentially occupying the same area of space that we do.
Now that's a weird if slightly uncomfortable concept.
Who knows?
Yes I do agree with Azimov too.
The distances are mind boggling well in three dimensions anyhow.

Bucko said...

Thanks Macheath, I'll drop you an email. ;-)

Good point Julia. Aliens in the movies always have 2 arms and 2 legs.

Anon m- Don't be throwing other dimensions in the mix, my brain may explode :-)

JohnRS said...

In an infinite universe then there's room from pretty much anything to happen - including this same conversation happening somewhere else we speak.

So I think the idea of other forms of life existing somewhere "out there" is pretty much a certainty. Just a shame that I can't see us ever managing to communicate with them.

D-Rex said...

Ah yes but if space is infinite then ther MUST be an infinite numeber of life forms exactly like us???

D-Rex said...

And therefore an infinite number of fuel injected mooses. Now what do u suppose would happen if we gave all those mooses a typewriter?

Bucko said...

So we could have alien life that is so different from us we wouldn't recognise it, and there might be other us's out there.

I bet we never find out in our lifetime though

"Now what do u suppose would happen if we gave all those mooses a typewriter?"

We would probably have a lot of broken typewriters :-)

Anonymous said...

Surely anything that exists cannot be infinite? The universe must have a beginning and an end,the only infinite thing is nothing.

Ripper said...

"Surely anything that exists cannot be infinite? The universe must have a beginning and an end"

Not neccessarily - a circle is infinite in the sense that it has no beginning or end. Mind you, it also has a diameter and circumference which I guess you could relate to being the 'end'

Seeing as how the universe started life as an exploding particle (or so they say), it can't be infinite since it's still expanding and the rate of expansion has been measured. Anything which is expanding obviously has a size, which in turn means that its definitely not infinite, since anything which is infinite cannot grow or shrink.

My only question is, where did that particle spring from, and what environment was it existing in when it exploded?

Bucko said...

MIB - If it has an end then what is beyond the end? If there is only nothing beyond the expanding planets and gasses then that would be part of an infinate universe too.

Ripper - A circle may be infiite if you travel it's circumfrence, but if you travel accross it's diameter you will eventually arrive outside the circle.

Maybe the matter that created the expanding universes is what exeists beyond it?

Michael Fowke said...

Of course we're not alone! There are billions of suns with planets around them. Vishnu breathes them out or something.

Anonymous said...

But doesn't modern science also hold that there's a finite amount of matter in the universe? (otherwise it wouldn't be expanding, an infinite amount of matter would also produce an infinite amount of gravity and it would be quite cramped in that sort of universe!)

Other lifeforms, on the assumption that they're made of matter like us, would therefore have a limit on their number imposed by the limit on the amount of matter in the universe.

Bucko said...

I don't know. Can there be an infinate amount of matter and an infinate amount of room to put it in?

Can infinate matter be less than infinate space so there is some room left over?

Anonymous said...

Bucko,

Infinity can be defined as the limit of 1/ x as x approaches zero. Sometimes people say that 1/0 is equal to infinity, but technically, division by zero is not defined. Another notion is that infinity is a quantity x such that x + 1 = x . The idea is that the quantity is so large (either positive or negative) that increasing its value by 1 does not change it.

Apparently!!!!

Mrs Bucko said...

You've done it now MIB, Bucko is sitting in a cupboard, jibbering like an idiot and refusing to come out!