B Is there a lining to our Universe?

[Andre55]

TL;DR

Why does our universe have a limited capacity for mass?

I was wondering if someone could answer my question. I know I may be dumb but I don't really understand why our universe has a limited capacity for mass. If I remember correctly black holes occur when concentration of mass causes a hole in spacetime. I don't really understand I guess how space time could fail. I'm sorry if this question makes no sense.

 

[DaveC426913]

What makes you think our universe has a limited capacity for mass?
Where did you read this?
What does this have to do with black holes?

It is not spacetime that's is failing, it is simply our understanding of what happens in the presence of extreme gravity that fails.

 

[PeroK]

TL;DR Summary: Why does our universe have a limited capacity for mass?

I was wondering if someone could answer my question. I know I may be dumb but I don't really understand why our universe has a limited capacity for mass. If I remember correctly black holes occur when concentration of mass causes a hole in spacetime. I don't really understand I guess how space time could fail. I'm sorry if this question makes no sense.

It's not a dumb question, but sounds to me like a question arising from some popular science overly simplistic version of the General Theory of Relativity (GR). As such, the question appears to be based on a misconception of the physics and cannot sensibly be answered.

 

[Ibix]

I'm afraid the question makes no sense.

Black holes will occur (loosely speaking) when mass is compressed so far that spacetime is sufficiently curved that no paths into the future lead outwards.

 

[PeterDonis]

@Andre55 you need to give a reference for where you are getting these ideas from. None of them look anything like valid physics.

 

[Andre55]

It's not a dumb question, but sounds to me like a question arising from some popular science overly simplistic version of the General Theory of Relativity (GR). As such, the question appears to be based on a misconception of the physics and cannot sensibly be answered.

Thanks for clarification that makes more sense. I am not a physicist so popular science media is pretty much my only understanding of physics. The misunderstanding probably arose from there.

 

[Ibix]

Thanks for clarification that makes more sense. I am not a physicist so popular science media is pretty much my only understanding of physics. The misunderstanding probably arose from there.

You could check out Relativity For Poets, which is a freely downloadable book by Ben Crowell, a former moderator here. There's only so far you can go without maths, but this is an honest try. https://www.lightandmatter.com/poets/