February 17th, 2014, 05:51 PM
http://www.phinds.com/balloonanalogy/
The Balloon Analogy is a simpleminded way to HELP describe (but not completely describe) two facts of cosmology that are difficult for many people to see, namely that the universe is expanding uniformly and that there is no center.
The analogy is disliked (often intensely disliked) by serious physicists because it causes at least as much confusion as it is intended to avoid and is often badly misunderstood and/or incorrectly extrapolated to ridiculous points of view.
Presented here is the simpleminded balloon analogy and then a discussion of cosmology and why the balloon analogy is so flawed. There are many other aspects of cosmology that can get drawn into discussions of the balloon analogy, but I have for the most part resisted discussing any that are not immediately relevant to the analogy, lest I get carpal tunnel syndrome while having this page turn into a textbook on cosmology (which I am not qualified to write anyway). I have given a couple of links at the bottom of the page to further discussions.
more at link.
Sometimes it is better not knowing than having an answer that may be wrong.