What is space?

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   janesixposted 9 years ago

   Is it nothing? Is it made of something? If not, how can it be "curved"?

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   awareposted 9 years ago

   The final frontier.  Smiles, i couldnt help it.

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   fandz legaspiposted 9 years ago

   Space is an empty or something. I think it can be curved due to the illusions that ours eyes creates itself or our imagination. May be, space has no definite shape at all and infinitely strange beyond our knowledge.

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years ago

   What is space?
   
   "In space, no one can hear you scream. This is because there is no air in space – it is a vacuum. Sound waves cannot travel through a vacuum.
   
   'Outer space' begins about 100 km above the Earth, where the shell of air around our planet disappears. With no air to scatter sunlight and produce a blue sky, space appears as a black blanket dotted with stars.
   Space is usually regarded as being completely empty. But this is not true. The vast gaps between the stars and planets are filled with huge amounts of thinly spread gas and dust. Even the emptiest parts of space contain at least a few hundred atoms or molecules per cubic metre.
   Space is also filled with many forms of radiation that are dangerous to astronauts. Much of this infrared and ultraviolet radiation comes from the Sun. High energy X-rays, gamma rays and cosmic rays – particles travelling close to the speed of light – arrive from distant star systems."
   
   "Scientists can also tell that there is some unknown material in the space between the stars, because its gravitational pull influences the path of starlight travelling towards Earth. Dark matter can even act like a magnifying glass, bending and distorting light from galaxies and clusters behind it. Astronomers can use this effect, called gravitational lensing, to map the distribution of dark matter."
   
   http://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/SEM2RDW2EM … rse_0.html
   ( I picked this one because it was easy for me to understand. )

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   wrenchBiscuitposted 9 years ago

   Space is what lies between the ears of most people. Usually referred to as  "empty space". Read and learn.

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      Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      @ wrenchBiscuit:
      Grump.
      There are only a few people on HP forums… a very teensy sampling of the whole. The world is full of knowledgeable intelligent people.
      I hope so anyway. 
      
      Actually, there are tons of really GREAT Hub/Article Writers here.

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   wrenchBiscuitposted 9 years ago

   Your optimism is endearing, but I can no longer believe in fairy tales.  Forrest Gump said," Stupid is as Stupid does". When I look at what's going on in the world, I can only understand that if there are a lot of intelligent people, then they all must be hiding somewhere.

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      Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Buzz Aldrin:
      
      He could tell us a thing or two about space.
      Aldrin cycler
      "In 1985, Aldrin proposed the existence of a special spacecraft trajectory now known as the Aldrin cycler. A spacecraft traveling on an Aldrin cycler trajectory would pass near the planets Earth and Mars on a regular (cyclic) basis. The Aldrin cycler is an example of a Mars cycler."
      
      "Aldrin proposes a pair of Mars cycler vehicles providing regular transport between Earth and Mars. One cycler would travel an outbound route from Earth to Mars in about five months. Another Mars cycler in a complementary trajectory would travel from Mars to Earth, also in about five months. Taxi and cargo vehicles would attach to the cycler at one planet and detach upon reaching the other. Aldrin details use of such a system in his science-fiction book, Encounter with Tiber." Wikipedia

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      janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      With your superior intelligence, why don't you actually take a stab at answering the actual question?

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         wrenchBiscuitposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         
         I'm flattered that you have humbled yourself, but that is not necessary. I will  answer your question in part, for two very good reasons. First of all, as I have often said, a ten gallon bucket can only hold ten gallons of water. In the same manner, the human mind is only capable of a finite understanding, beyond which there can be no comprehension. It is only human arrogance that allows men to believe in the fiction that human potential is limitless.  And I will not tell you the second reason.
         
         Having explained myself, I will only reveal that, as others have also agreed, time and space are actually one and the same thing. It becomes confusing because we are encumbered with the illusion that it "takes time" to move through what we have mistakenly defined as space. But what we consider to be space is simply an aspect of time. For everyday human discourse, making a distinction between time and space can serve a useful practical purpose, but it can also hinder our ability to understand the nature of time if we take this distinction too seriously.

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            janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I disagree. I think time is an abstract concept, while space is a physical reality. Time is only the order of how things in the universe happen. Space, though, has physical properties. Matter and energy might be physical properties of space. It makes sense to me, because space has geometry,and can be bent.
            
            If you are willing, I would appreciate it if you would elaborate on what exactly you think time is,and how it relates to space etc.

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   Gwyn Buchananposted 9 years ago

   Space is a void. A lack of what we perceive to be matter.
   
   Outer space is essentially a vast, open 4 (arguably 5) dimensional extent between celestial bodies. As I understand it, and bear with me most of my knowledge comes from Star Trek and Stargate reruns, the fabric of space is governed by gravity, time, momentum and matter (and/or anti matter) or lack there of. I don't see why it couldn't be curved, though our ability to perceive that is seriously limited by our current level of technology.

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      janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      What is the fabric of space made of?

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         goegoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Your gonna give yourself a brain-bubble, we're just programs in a virtual reality processor, boredom has brought you to this body & your mind can't believe it, soul we'll just have fun looking into the sun, numb???

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   Gwyn Buchananposted 9 years ago

   According to Einstein: a geometry of space - time. I've added the element of momentum above because of the expanding universe theory and gravity as that appears to be a driving force of celestial objects (how they move and the degree to which they do). So I think what I'm saying is that the fabric of space is a tapestry of different forces. Not a tangible material you can touch and feel.
   
   Which is also essentially what all matter is in the end: electrons circling nuclei making up atoms, atoms interacting to form molecules and crystal lattices. All of that is governed by physical forces.

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      janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Now you have to explain what a force is.

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   awareposted 9 years ago

   Parking spot

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    Gwyn Buchananposted 9 years ago

    Er... defining force... that's sort of where I run out of steam. Each individual 'force' Can be defined, for example:
    
    Gravity is the attraction of 2 bodies to each other. The degree of which is dictated by their mass and the distance between them.
    
    I've used the word force as a catch all phrase that is not really definable in the general way that I've used it in previous posts.

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       janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I think all "forces" are related to the geometry of space. Like gravity is defined by some as the curvature of space near a mass. Perhaps the strong force is just the same, an extreme curving of space around the quarks or protons. It's the fabric of space itself that is affected, and there really are no "forces".

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          Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          What is dark matter? Is this the "fabric?"
          or not? if not, what is the evidence of this fabric besides the gravitational pulls. Or there is no evidence and actually is space.
           
          (dark matter is "unknown material" in the space between the stars.
          But, it can be detected because it acts like a magnifying glass. It bends and distorts the light of the galaxies and clusters of galaxies behind it. This effect is called "gravitational lensing.")
          
          BTW It stands to reason, (to me) that time is a measurement of the movements of matter in/through space. With nothing to measure, there would be no time.
          Also space would be dark without the lights of stars. What if there were absolutely no stars churning hydrogen into helium anywhere in the universe.
          Where did the universe come from again? "...space for the universe came from nowhere - for at the big bang there was no space." http://www.answers.com/Q/Where_did_the_ … _come_from
          
          good grief. life is a trip. I feel dizzy.
          thanks for nothing, janesix.   

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    goegoposted 9 years ago

    What is a curve???

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    Steven Rosenposted 9 years ago

    Interesting.
    What contains space, is space the distance between set points or is it unconstrained going on for infinity ?
    
    When considering space in my home for instance, it is the area between the walls and ceiling and floor.

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