bendvis t1_j1gqo13 wrote on December 24, 2022 at 5:23 AM

Reply to comment by polovstiandances in Did you know it will still take 46 billion years to cross the universe at the speed of light? 65 mph = 4.8 * 10^17 years! by NotAndroid545

According to one theory, during a time called Inflation, space expanded really fast. The volume of space expanded 10^78 times larger in 10^-32 seconds. That was way faster than the speed of light. This super rapid expansion explains why the cosmic background radiation is so nearly perfectly even - because at that time in the early universe, it was all in one point. If there is a limit, it would have to be faster than that.

polovstiandances t1_j1gqx97 wrote on December 24, 2022 at 5:25 AM

That’s fucking nuts. I need to know more. Thanks.

bendvis t1_j1gs98d wrote on December 24, 2022 at 5:40 AM

My wife and I just discovered a really well done YouTube channel called Astrum. Their video on black holes is fascinating and covers this stuff in a clear and straightforward way. Highly recommended!

f_d t1_j1gysd5 wrote on December 24, 2022 at 6:58 AM

>This super rapid expansion explains why the cosmic background radiation is so nearly perfectly even - because at that time in the early universe, it was all in one point.

It wasn't necessarily in one point, it was just extremely dense and homogeneous. Space could have been infinite even when everything was packed together tightly.