If the Universe is expanding ...

[joggerjayne]

Where is it expanding into ?

[jake-the-peg]

Democritus did

http://education.jlab.org/qa/history_01.html

[Old_Geezer]

The thing is that you have to twist your concepts, for want of a better phrase, when you get that small. Matter is made of atoms rather than vice versa, so at some point the idea of soild items is simply misleading. So this raather small thing, what is it ? Is it just fields ? From where ? All very interesting and worth buying the odd popular science mag to wonder at. Can't beat a good wonder.

Ummm .... errr ... this seems to have strayed from the subject in the title :-D

[society]

I think it's right on track. :-)

[jake-the-peg]

Not really

It's like that with the Universe - 100 years ago it was a a few hundred light years across (at the most) and empty space.

Now we know it's a very different, much more complex thing

Our words don't really apply to the concepts needed any more.

That brings me back to the "shape" - it's at least 4 physical dimensions and our vocablury doesn't really extend to that which is why we get into logical confusions like "what is it expanding into"

[rov1200]

I can understand that the universe is expanding like a round cake and our galaxy is just like one of the raisins on the surface. But when you get toroidal shapes or even a flat shape it does not make sense. The laws of expansion do not quite fit in.
If so then the big bang as we know it never existed.

[ChuckFickens]

could you tell me where I can read these laws of expansion you speak of?