Infinity: What on Earth Are We Thinking?

Have you ever wondered how large the universe is? And if it really is infinite? Whilst it is still unknown, it looks very likely that our universe is infinite, but what about the possibility of infinity in both directions, from the infinitely large to the infinitely small? We used to think that the atom was the smallest element, now we know of many smaller particles. Has science found a limit to how small things really can be? There is so much more beyond our visible universe.

It is thought that the big bang was the beginning of space, matter and time, and that all space and matter were created from absolutely nothing. How can we conceive of something from absolutely nothing? New understanding suggests that this might not be the case, and there could have been something before the big bang. Could time have been created with the big bang, as our current theory suggests, or has time always existed? Some scientists now believe there could be more to the big bang theory and think it is possibly only part of a very complex story.

This episode asks the question of whether the universe is indeed infinite or finite. Could the universe be contained by some sort of an edge or boundary, and if so what is beyond, if there is a beyond? Can there be truly nothing? What are the possibilities? Perhaps there are an infinite number of other universes, possibly existing in different dimensions. This intriguing episode will expand your thinking about our possible realities.