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Is the universe finite or infinite? That is, does it go on forever in at least one direction, or is there unlimited detail in at least one place? This question has been asked as long as we’ve understood the concept of infinity, and many feel we are making substantial progress lately. In particular, many cosmology papers consider the differing physical implications of infinite vs. finite space or time, and these papers are often reported on more widely as perceptibly changing our estimates about whether the universe is infinite.
But if we continue to frequently make perceptible progress on an ancient open question, that question cannot long remain open. So the future will long remember our era as one that either settled the physical infinity question with 90% (or even 99%) confidence, or as one that was overconfident about its rate of progress.
I can see two kinds of evidence here. First we gain evidence that the universe goes at least so far in particular directions, and has at least so much detail in particular places. Second, when we compare finite versus infinite versions of our current best theories of physics and cosmology, one may appear to be conceptually simpler, while the other may seem more an awkward ad hoc modification.
But both of these forms of evidence seem to at best offer only very weak new evidence on physical infinity. If, in the "1, 2, 3, infinity" spirit, we had a prior expectation that a universe larger than a certain size threshold was probably infinite, we should have long since passed that threshold. Even a single continent that lasts a millennium is large enough to surprise most children. And the modifications used to turn a finite theories into infinite ones, or vice versa, have so far required only modest changes to the conceptual simplicity of our best theories, with no clear pattern on which side tends to be favored.
So it seems to me that overconfidence is the more likely explanation for recent perceptible changes in our expectations about whether the universe is physically infinite. This question will likely remain open for a very long time, if it was not already mostly settled for rational minds a long time ago. In our arrogance we think otherwise.
1, 2, 3, Infinity
Here I give a simple proof from the Vedic theories that the universe is finite in size, and periodic in time. (a) It is clear that the life is periodic on earth. We take birth, die, remain dead for some time, and then reincarnate [1] with a new life. Thus the life of every human has a living period and a dead period.
We next use another Vedic theory: (b) every object in the universe is created by its own individual soul [1]. Therefore all objects in the universe will have the same life cycle as described in item (a) above. That means every object will be periodic with a living time and a dead time.
Now we use a common sense that (c) summation of all periodic waves will be a periodic wave. Therefore the entire universe must be periodic with a living time and a dead time. Thus the universe is eternally existent in time.
Finally we conclude that: (d) since the dead time of the universe is finite, all objects in the universe must die in that time. Therefore the universe must be finite in size. For more details take a look at [1] https://www.academia.edu/38...
How big is the observable universe in light years? How big is the suggested universe in light years? What is the tenable size (and also the observable size) of the universe in terms of lights years? quantized units of space-time? mass? particles? galaxies? stars? Planets? From our best knowledge. Inquiring minds want to know.