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Ask Dr. Wizzard: BIG Question -
06 Mar 2000
It's time once again for "Ask Dr. Wizzard".
Mandi Sink writes:
Dear Dr. Wizzard-
What holds up the universe??? Please answer this for me.
Thank you!!!
Mandi-
Whoa! Whoa! Slow down a little bit. There are other more important fundamentals
to debate before we begin to tackle such deep and immense questions as that
deceptively simple seeming one that you have brought to the table. First, we
must define 'universe'. Some would argue that the universe in comprised of all
of the matter that exists everywhere, and that there is true and absolute
nothing beyond and in-between that matter. Others, while agreeing that there is
nothing beyond the universe's boundaries, will claim that the light projected
and reflected by all of this matter is also part of the universe, and that the
universe is expanding at such a rate that such light can never escape the
physical boundaries to fill the nothingness. Still others will simply say that
the universe is everything, including the light AND the nothingness beyond the
matter. The word itself literally translates to "turning as one". From the Latin
'unum' (one) + 'versus' (turn). Any serious discussions on the topic are
impossible, as the scene will quickly degrade to a mere argument of semantics.
The second of the three possibilities seems to be most in line with the original
intent of the word, so let's go with that one for the purpose of your question.
Next, We must look at the ramifications of your word choices. It brings up an
interesting secondary question: Is there an 'up' from the point of view of the
universe? We define our world and our universe with three physical dimensions,
usually called simply: height, width, and depth. Calling something 'up' could
mean any number of things. Normally, it means that the item has a higher
measurement on the height dimension (or 'Y axis') than the viewer does. In this
case, 'up' always means: away from the source of gravity. On earth, of course,
the origin plane is spherical, making your interpretation of 'up' different from
that of someone who is a substantial distance around the curvature of the planet
from you. So, 'up' for our discussion will mean: away from the center.
So, Rephrased, you question is this:
What holds the universe away from the center of the universe?
or
What stops the universe from collapsing in on itself?
The answer to this question is momentum. The universe is expanding at an
incredible speed. It's a literal explosion of dirt, gas, and fire. It is an
explosion that has, so far, lasted much longer than The Earth itself has even
existed. The expanding universe is like a ball thrown strait up from the ground.
It can proceed away from the gravity source for as long as it keeps up its
velocity, but soon gravity will overcome the ball and it will plummet back
toward the ground if it was not thrown hard enough. If the force was sufficient,
the ball can escape the gravity of earth, and continue on into space. So then,
dear Mandi, we come upon an even more forceful question. Is the universe
expanding with enough momentum to escape its own gravity and continue expanding
forever, or will the universe be overcome by these forces and start to collapse
inward? I'll try to report back when I find the answer.
Thanks for the great question,
-Dr. Wizzard
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