If the universe did not exist would space itself still be there?
601185
Space is the absence of matter, so if the universe didn't exist, there would still be space.
751203
Another way of asking that same question is what existed before the Big Bang?  Did space even preexist then?  The Big Bang is believed to have originated from a singularity (similar to the center of a black hole) that included all the energy and matter of the entire universe.  The "dot?" containing the universe was so dense that none of the laws of physics as we know them likely existed.  Therefore, was it possible for space as we know it to exist?.  We know that space can be bent by nearby mass which is the reason the moon orbits the earth without a string attached like spinning a model plane.  Would a singularity so immense bend and suck in all the space?  The fact that we can measure out a cubic space with a yardstick merely means that we can create a mathematical model of a space or a practical space to fill but does not mean that we know the origin of the space or complete nature of the space.  It is likely that the Big Bang created its own space and it extends no further than the matter and light energy that has expanded to fill it.  Hope you don't want proof.
396914
Outer space is not nothing. Even without the presence of matter, it is teeming with quantum foam, particle-antiparticle pairs, space, and time. For all we know, spacetime may not exist outside our universe."\nAlso, the universe may not be bounded. The only way to "exit" may be to find a "fourth direction". Ie., think of a point in an unbounded plane. The only way for the point to exit its universe is to somehow find the "third direction".
1113632
What is beyond the borders of the universe?\nIs it truly possible for the universe to go on forever? If there is an end, what’s on the other side?\n \nBefore we can address these questions, we must first define universe.  The word universe denotes all space and everything (matter, energy) contained within it.  The prefix uni means one.  The root verse means word, turn, or whole.  Thus our universe has traditionally been thought to be the one whole of all substance or matter.  Questions regarding our universe persist today.  Does it have a beginning and end, or does it go on forever and ever?  Is it linear or curved?  If it has limits of length or curvature, then what lies beyond the Universe?  If something lies beyond the Universe, then can’t we accurately call that the Universe?\n\nSome lay people and some scientists conceive of the universe as infinite space.  Others define the universe as finite, or limited (perhaps curved), space.  Still others incorporate the elements of matter and/or energy into their definition of the universe, as opposed to the space beyond matter and energy.\n\nGiven these concepts of our universe, some scientists conclude that the “totality of space could be infinite. Shrink an infinite space by an arbitrary amount, and it is still infinite. (Scientific American March 2005).”  \n\nAs to the notion that we live in an ever expanding universe, moving away from every other universe on the fabric of space-time, some scientists are careful to point out that “Andromeda, our nearest large galactic neighbor, is actually moving toward us, not away. Such exceptions arise because Hubble's law describes only the average behavior of galaxies (Scientific American March 2005).”\n\nIn accordance with your supposition that our universe is in another universe, “it has been hypothesized by some scientists that the universe may be part of a system of many other universes, known as the multiverse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe).” Modern astrophysicists talk about multiple "pocket" universes that branch off from one another.  Stephen Hawking points out that parallel pocket universes can have no effect on a real observer inside a single pocket, so, according to Hawking, they are theoretical baggage that should be eliminated from cosmology, the study of the origins of the universe.\n\nSome string theories define the universe as a three-dimensional space in an invisible space having more dimensions. This is, in essence, a universe within a universe.  Our zone, a “braneworld” could periodically bounce into another parallel braneworld.  This may create what would appear as a Big Bang from one perspective or a Big Bounce of alternating expanding and contracting universe from another perspective.  Such a cataclysmic event is thought to occur 300 billion years from now, resulting in the rearranging and creation of a new universe.\n\nBeyond the borders of the universe, there are other universes moving through a multiverse.  While scientists do not commonly believe that our universe goes on for an unlimited distance, despite its present expansion, they allow for the possibility that the multiverse may go on forever.  If there is an end to our universe, what’s on the other side is called the multiverse.  If there is an end to the multiverse, another term may need to be coined to describe what lay people commonly refer to as infinite space.\n\nSteve\n:-D
1018508
Space doesn't exist. There are things IN space. Matter makes up the stars and planets and gasses and eveything you see. Everything you DON'T see, I.E. the large black void, is nothing. There is no matter or antimatter or anything there. It's just....emtpy. Therefore, it doesn't exist. Only the things in it exist.
1057782
If all matter is over 90% empty space, then there should theoretically be small vacuums throughout the entire universe.  However, such a vacuum would be impossible to detect, contain, or sustain.\n\nPerhaps beyond the edge of the universe, a perfect vacuum exists.  All the matter/energy ever can only take up so much space.  However, there is no way to observe or reach that vacuum either.\n\nMmmm... uncertainty!
988250
space is not infinite  although to us it is pretty much,  confused  great.  the universe is currently expanding, whether it will always continue to do so is due to critical density and mean density of the universe.     if critical density = (3i x hubbles constant^2)/ 8piG      if critical density is greater than average density then the universe will contineue to expand forever although it wont ever become infinite because the recession of the galaxies is limited by the maximum speed of light, and the fact that the universe had a begining therefore has a limmited size. \nalso  if average denisty is greater than critical density then the universe will be closed (hyperbolic) and the gravitational pull of the galxies will cause the universe expansion to slow and eventually contract. if critical density = average density then universe expansion will slow down universe would be flat, Most cosmologists believe that the universe is open and will continue to expand, which is nice, heres something nice to think about that if the universe is exapanding at the speed of light and the universe has been around for 1/Ho   1/hubblesconstant then the unverse is about 13 biliion years old this is 4.16x10^17 seconds  times the speed of light  3x10^8 ms-1 is  1.248x10^26m  in one direction   if the universe is spherical  which it isnt but lets pretent it is for an easier calculation then the Volume of the Universe is  4/3 pi r^3    is 8.142x10^78m^3   which is quite alot of space. As the amount of volume that real mass takes up is insignificant at these measurement  we can forget about it.   On the other hand light follows the shortest routes as mass distorts space it is likely that this answer is a bit smaller.  Oh and the universe isnt spherical its more like a ball thats been sat on,    So in summary the universe is not infinite but it is pretty much as it is likely to be expanding at the invariant maximum speed of light so your never going to hit the edge, infact there isnt an edge im not sure would happen if you got to the edge before the first radiation from the beggining of the big band reached the edge,   But i dont think youd get there,  well about your car  at the moment if your car takes up 6m^3  then theres enough space in the universe to hold 1.3x10^78  cars   but theres not enough matter in the universe to make that much cars  for that so dont worry too much about it, also in 1 second the universes volume increases by lots  uhhh     ok if the universe was 8.142x10^78m^3   rite this second  and the universe is exactly 13 billion years  old  (which its not) then in one second later the universe would be bigger yeas thats right  bigger by           ok one second is too small to make any effect on the calcullation,  but if it was a billion years older then it would be 1.016x10^79m^3  thats 2.02x10^78m^3 more than it was a billion years earlier which means it expansion is well logarithmic exponential whatever, the next billion year the universe would expand even more in the same time,   soo  thats even more parking spaces, if u look hardenough im sure you wiil find some.    No wonder i dont have a girlfreind.
771397
Well....let's look at this logically:  The universe (including time itself) can be shown to have had a beginning.\n\nIt is unreasonable to believe something could begin to exist without a cause.  Stephen Hawking says this.\n\nThe universe, therefore, requires a cause, just as Genesis 1:1 and Romans 1:20 teach.\n\nNow - this is important to understand:  God, as the creator of time, is outside of time. Since therefore He has no beginning in time, He has always existed, so doesn't need a cause.\n\nGod did not "create Himself".  \n\nThink outside of the box.  Outside of dimensions.  There are many more than the "three" you see.
705669
it depends on ones perception of time,the universe may have ended already,but we exist in a dimension that does not recognize it.perhaps the universe as humanity knows it will never end...
1025562
My opinion through many meditative thoughts:\n\nI believe our universe exists as a point in what you call 'the void'. A point having the geometric meaning of no volume, dimensionless.\n\nI believe what you are considering the void is what I call space. Our universe is what we can view, touch and explain through science we have developed. Space on the other hand is an infinitely dimensional medium, in which our universe was born. \n\nOur universe is nothing more than a 'disturbance' in space, and in space our universe exists as a point. This point is a fraction of infinity, yet everything is a fraction of infinity. So in the humble realization that we are nothing (a fraction of infinity), we realize we are equal to everything we can fathom, as it too is a fraction of infinity no matter how large.\n\nSo, through the realization that we are nothing comes the discovery that we can be equal to as much as we can fathom. \n\nI believe this means everything that makes up the universe and space has its own existence or presence known to space and must exist.  This existence holds true for our universe and what we would consider other universes. The disappearance, or non-existance of any defined object and its position in space no matter how small, down to a point, would truly have mind boggling consequences. \n\nIf time travel is possible than there must be alternate universes, as we know it.  It is a deadening thought to ponder.  Almost pointless until we figure out gravity, which I believe will open the door to all other understandings.
215635
The thing is ... a parrallel universe may exist. We cannot prove it one way or another ......YET! :) How do we know that another universe and our universe and many other universes .... do not exist in a metaverse? And if so .... maybe something like distance etc. exists in that metaverse ... which imparts some of it's qualities to our own universe and indeed to any other universe within that metaverse. Hence ..... we may not even have a void outside our universe at all.
49086
This is a question that neither science or religion can ever "prove."  In our human capacity, it is unlikely anyone will ever know the answer to this.  How can you even take a scientific approach to this?  You can speculate how the universe appears to be created based off measurements in the space, but you can always ask the question "but what about before that?"  \n\nUltimately it comes down to faith, and I don't necessarily mean in a God.  You have faith that the universe was started somehow.  Either God or some unexplainable cosmic phenomenon that we will never understand.  Or both!
1067957
No matter how many 'experts' around here claim that there are alternate universes or other dimensions or a brick wall, nobody--repeat NOBODY--really knows. Tons of theories, but not one single shred of evidence to support any of them.\n\nScientific research has repeatedly indicated that our universe is infinite in scope, and that it will expand forever although its contents (mass and energy) will very, very gradually fade away to nothing.\n\nBefore our universe began, and right now, there's probably nothing else but an absolute and infinite void totally without energy, mass, spacetime, dimensions or anything else.
9649
It does not end and its growing, before you try tackling such a question, answer the micro-level questions of the same kind.  The universe encompasses all that exists, and by default then, it is largely unknown.  We don't know where the universe ends, and all evidence points to it being endless and growing, therefore we make a conclusion based on a portion of the information actually needed.
423943
The universe is basically everything.  The visible universe is the part of the universe that is known to us, it is the farthest we can see and, hence, the farthest we can study.  There may be more beyond this but it is kind of silly for us to worry much about it at this point because it is beyond our reach.\n\nVacuum (I'm assuming that's what you were typing), is supposed to be the complete lack of matter.  If you say that there is a vacuum inside a box then there should be no atoms inside the box.  We say that space is a vacuum but this is really a generalization.  Space is not completely empty but things thin-out the further you get away from the Earth, our sun, our galaxy...\n\nI'm not sure how one creates a real vacuum.  No one really knows how our universe came into existence but we have a very good guess that it started with the Big Bang.  There is some evidence to support this.\n\nHere are two websites that describe it better than I could if you are interested.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang\n\nhttp://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/b_bang.html
664661
Quite an interesting question.  Well, it's true that the Universe is expanding, has been expanding since the Big Bang, and always will expand.  Plus, it's been doing so at the speed of light, so unless there's some way for us to travel faster than that, we're already too late to actually go (or send something) and find out what it's expanding into.  Point B can never reach the end.  Having said that, we're fairly sure that 'nothing' is beyond space.  Space is expanding into nothingness.  Of course, this is a hard concept since most of space has nothing in it anyway.  Yet even  when space is empty, it's still considered 'something.'  This empty 'something' expands into the nothingness.  Confusing, I know, but I can't think of a better way to explain.  Anyway, I don't believe there's a container that would stop the Universe from expanding.  I suppose it could be theoretically possible, but I'm not sure how.  I believe it will keep on expanding forever.
31705
The best guess today: no.\n\nIn modern cosmology the topology of the universe appears to be open. "Topology" meaning the shape, although in the case of the universe to observe the shape we would have to exist in 4 spatial dimensions. Since we're stuck in 3-dimensions we have to get by on analogies.\n\nThe topology or shape of the universe is something which comes out of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. It depends primarily on the distribution of mass and energy in the universe. If the amount of mass-energy is more than a certain critical value then the universe would be "closed." Basically the mass would curve space-time back onto itself. In a closed universe you could fly off in the direction of the north pole and (after about 25 billion years) and circle the universe to land on the south pole.\n\nIf the amount of mass in the universe is less than this critical value then the topology of the universe is a bit more complex, but, to answer your question space would be infinite.\n\nBased on what we know today that is the case, space is infinite.\n\nHowever, we cannot see an infinite universe. When we see things that are farther away we also see them from deeped in the past. A galaxy we see that is 10 billion light years distant is actually a view of what the galaxy looked like 10 billion years in the past.\n\nWhen we look farther in space, and thus earlier in the history of the universe, we eventually run into the microwave background. For the first 10,000 years or so after the Big Bang the universe was so dense that it wasn't yet transparent. When the density dropped enough to be transparent then some of the light could escape for us to detect much later.\n\nHowever, while the universe is thought to be about 13 billion years old, we can actually see out a bit farther than that, I think around 20 billion light years, because the universe is expanding.\n\nWhat this boils down to is that there is a sort of "wall" beyond which we can't see. This wall corresponds to a time soon after the Big Bang. However, studies of the total mass-energy within the universe strongly suggest that it has an open topology - that it is infinite.\n\n(Of course it is possible that this infinity will be refined when we have a better theory of how Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity play togther. String Theory is one way to combine these two.)