Model describes universe with no big bang, no beginning, and no end.

[Showd0wN]

And the idea of artificial universe's is intreging.Havent seen that one on NASA.

NASAs main interest is in space exploration and development, not theoretical cosmology nor particle physics (so to speak).

In other words there may be no limit to speed outside the known universe,

That's not what it says, the metric "defines" distance, so what is expansion is actually an increase in relative terms of what a given unit of distance is. Since speed is measured by these units you are still constrained by the speed of light, yes I know this is a bit of a head$@^! but unfortunately that's relativity.

Basically space is "allowed" to expand "faster" than light as technically it's not doing any travelling. I think the balloon analogy works here. Imagine inflating a balloon - the surface can expand at ANY speed as it stretches, however things living on the surface may only travel at a certain maximum speed. Maybe that helps.

[jackripped]

So the balloons edge is expanding faster than light itself, everything in the balloon is limited to a speed under that of light and its waves, and l come back to, the edge of the balloon is matter, travelling into the unknown at over light speeds ?
Isnt that matter, even if unrestricted by our universe's laws, moving faster than light at the edge ?
And isnt the expantion effect, in effect undetectable, as all particals expand at the same rate.
So in effect it could be several times the speed of light, we just cannot test to tell what the expantion rate is properly ?
Are these two things not seperate things ?
l assumed that expantion didnt have an effect on our speeds because everything is expanding at the same rate, and we dont see it because of this.
Our universe being a bubble still expanding, and from what we can tell faster and faster, if the edge can beat light speeds, one would then assume an utter mother CRAP LOAD of dark energy yet unseen out there.
omg, the GOD partical popped into my head !

lm used to seeing explosions inside our universe, they have alot of unseen energy released, expand and dissipate, the particals inside the explosion dont expand expedentually, but the edge of the explosion, if we take a nuke for exsample, will expand rapidly [shock wave] and roughtly 3/4 through the explosion the energy will start to dissipate.
The big bang, an explosion, expanding into nothing has no restrictions, that we can see anyway, how can we tell if our matter/particals are actually getting bigger metrically or if they are travelling at beyond light speeds ? All theory ?

Yes relative ! no relativity ! LOL ! Time expantion along a metric dimention, only moving in one direction.l grasp it, just find it mindboggling !

[Mr. Pedantic]

Bump.

The nature of the universe: Ye cannae change the laws of physics | The Economist

I'd never heard of the fine-structure constant before, but given the terms used to make up a are all constants themselves, if a is variable across space then that means at least one of those constants would have to change too.