Thread: Could the inflating universe have exceeded lightspeed?

Originally Posted by RayTomes

From link: Velocity-addition formula - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



e.g. 0.9*c + 0.9*c = 0.9945*c

That seems to have taken NO time at all. Over in a flash !! If I were riding on the tip of a light beam would I be passed by expanding space/time ??

I'm curious what we mean here by universe? Are we talking about the fabric of space-time, or the matter created?

Are we asking did spacetime expand faster than the light and energy, or are we asking did the light and energy move faster than C ?

Originally Posted by JFalz1024

I'm curious what we mean here by universe? Are we talking about the fabric of space-time, or the matter created?

Are we asking did spacetime expand faster than the light and energy, or are we asking did the light and energy move faster than C ?

From my understanding, the fabric of spacetime would be similar to a skin. E.g., look at your arm, the blood, tendons,etc would be the "matter created" while the skin holding all these things would be the fabric of spacetime. As you age your bones, etc 'inflate' and your skin 'expands'. So as the Universe (aka "mattered created") 'inflates' so the fabric of spacetime 'expands' to contain it.

Only the fabric of spacetime (and anything embedded within said fabric) can exceed c; the 'mattered created", not being embedded in the fabrice of spacetime, cannot exceed c. YMMV....

Wouldn't the fabric of spacetime have to expand faster than the light so the light had a place to go? If space didn't expand faster, wouldn't light - even for a brief moment - have no movement at all?

Also if matter can get embedded within the fabric of spacetime, doesn't that imply space and time would have properties of a sort- since it's acting (metaphorically speaking) as a prison that the matter is embedded (trapped) in?