Quote:
Originally Posted by ManWithAPlan
@rahl: Then wouldn't whatever it is that's beyond it be infinite? But anyway, I think this is really digressing from the point.
Is infinity a number (loosely), a unit, or something else?
I argue that it's a number, that is, it's numeric and requires a unit. In which case it follows that you can have: - ∞ meters
- ∞ seconds
- ∞ minutes
- ∞ revolutions
If you posit that the universe is limited, and nothing that is measurable can extend past the universe, that means that you cannot have an X that is ∞ meters.
In order to prove that infinity does not exist, you must prove that there cannot be ∞ seconds for something... ie that it can't be the case that the existence of A has a starting point (in time) and no ending point, ever. You must also prove that something cannot revolve, rotate, or otherwise move cyclically for an infinite number of times. (a corrolary of the second point)
I'm tired, so I'm sure there are some categories of measurement that i've left out; feel free to append to this list. |
It's almost 3AM, I just got off of work, and I'm pretty tired too.
Right.
- ∞ meters - Impossible, since the physical universe is limited
- ∞ seconds - Impossible, since time has a beginning that we can prove mathematically, and there must have an end, which math seems to uphold as well
- ∞ minutes - See above
- ∞ revolutions - Since time/space is limited, so are the revolutions of any object in our reality.
Basically, in our universe, there is no infinity. I can think of one
possible exception, however. This is high speculation on my part.
If:
the universe formed from the big bang
it is expanding
black holes exist
When a black hole dies, it explodes, giving off massive amounts of energy and particles
Then:
it is plausible that eventually the universe will collapse onto itself
if it does, the resulting black hole of everything would continue to exist until all matter was consumed
the resulting explosion would be the big bang of the next universe
And thus the cycle continues. In that, something could be infinite. Not time, not space, not particles, but something.