what was there, before the universe?

[TheGoodGuy]

what was there before the universe?

[nerdvincent]

Since the begening of the universe is thought to be the begining of time, saying "before the universe" is like saying "colder than 0K".

[TheGoodGuy]

so nothing existed before the universe? The universe is infinite?

[Jack]

Under the conditions of the Big Bang theory as commonly understood, there was no time before the advent of space/time, as nerdvincent said. Since infinite is a measure of time, there was no infinite either.

[ruksak]

Quote by: ISH Under the conditions of the Big Bang theory as commonly understood, there was no time before the advent of space/time...

I have heard theories concerning a big bang before the big bang. Or possibly multiple big bangs occurring as we speak somewhere unfathomably distant.

From an article I recently read;

The three possible types of expanding universes are called open, flat, and closed universes. If the universe were open, it would expand forever. If the universe were flat, it would also expand forever, but the expansion rate would slow to zero after an infinite amount of time. If the universe were closed, it would eventually stop expanding and recollapse on itself, possibly leading to another big bang. In all three cases, the expansion slows, and the force that causes the slowing is gravity.

If the universe is "closed" (by what? Who knows.) than it may collapse. If it collapses, than it may lead to another big bang. We may be the star-up of a universe that died long ago.

I find this intriguing. So to answer the OP question "what was there, before the universe"? I'd say, another universe.

If the universe is flat or open, than we might see the universe become to sparse, gravity would collapse and send galaxies hurling into one another. A massive black hole would eventually consume the whole mess and lead lead to another big bang (Matter cannot disappear. It can only transform).

A brand new stompin ground for galaxies to form and do the whole thing over again.

[Milton Bradley]

Quote by: TheGoodGuy what was there before the universe?

A slightly different Universe with a higher energy state.

[bishop]

guys, let's try not to have so many redundant threads..

Re the Big Bang

[Nemiroff]

the big bang is not the beginning of all time, its the beginning of this time. time and space are interwined, therefore, another time is possible, with another space attached to it. there could be other space/time combos elsewhere, right now, before, and even after. before is a funny word when talking outside time, but i believe that (since the big bang did happen a finite time ago) it is perfectly possible for something to exist "before" and outside of it. we would not be able to measure that time outside of time, except that it happened "before" the big bang