One of the most beautiful early examples (in Lucretius, De Rerum Natura) attempts to show that space is infinite: If there is a purported boundary to the universe, we can toss a spear at it. If the spear flies through, it isn't a boundary after all; if the spear bounces back, then there must be something beyond the supposed edge of space, a cosmic wall that stopped the spear, a wall that is itself in space. Either way, there is no edge of the universe; space is infinite.
This example nicely illustrates many of the common features of thought experiments: We visualize some situation; we carry out an operation; we see what happens. It also illustrates their fallibility. In this case we've learned how to conceptualize space so that it is both finite and unbounded. Consider a circle, which is a one dimensional space: As we move around, there is no edge, but it is nevertheless finite. The universe might be a many-dimensional version.
im not sure what this is supposed to illustrate, but it had an attractive picture with it.however i am unable, it seems, to paste it into here which is irritating. its probably because i am in communications and the computer is angry that im not writing an essay on What Makes A Building Beautiful...coincidently, ideas on what actually does make a building beautiful are welcome :)
Note: Picture Added (was it this one you were thinking of Rhiannon?)
Note: yay thats it thank you, mystery note leaver.
1 comment:
Space may be infinite, but curved.... infinite like a Mobius strip.... infinite like the edge of a Pac-Man screen.... infinite like the recursive God of some forms of Pandeism, whose last act at the end of the Universe is to turn the energy of that event into the beginning of the Universe back at the beginning of time....
It's a hard concept to wrap the brain around, but a curved Universe may lead us walking in an infinite circle!!
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