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Geometry of The Universe

The document discusses the three possible geometries of the universe: 1) A positively curved, spherical universe that would be finite with no edges and lines would meet before going back to their starting point, like on a balloon. 2) A negatively curved, hyperbolic universe that would be open and without boundaries, like a saddle shape, with lines never meeting and getting farther apart over time. 3) A flat universe, with a critical amount of energy, that would expand forever with particles traveling in parallel paths that never intersect, resembling a torus or donut shape.

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189 views

Geometry of The Universe

The document discusses the three possible geometries of the universe: 1) A positively curved, spherical universe that would be finite with no edges and lines would meet before going back to their starting point, like on a balloon. 2) A negatively curved, hyperbolic universe that would be open and without boundaries, like a saddle shape, with lines never meeting and getting farther apart over time. 3) A flat universe, with a critical amount of energy, that would expand forever with particles traveling in parallel paths that never intersect, resembling a torus or donut shape.

Uploaded by

sharmaegayangos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Geometry of the Universe

Have you ever been outside in the night and stared at the sky and just be overwhelmed with the
beauty of the Universe? And has it ever occurred to your mind to find out what the shape of the
Universe is? We may think that the answer is as trivial as round and we can go on with our lives with
that knowledge. But scientists have different thoughts on that. Considering that this is the only home we
have ever lived for centuries and just a way of saying thanks for its intrinsic physical laws, it wouldnt hurt
if we knew more about the Universe itself!

When we think of the about the geometry of the Universe, it might cross our minds to ask about
what we might see if we look at it from the outside. Does it look like a donut or more of Pringles? And if
you have had too much Doctor Who series in your bloodstream, you begin to wonder if whether we are
just some planet for a television show! So what does our scientists know about the Universes geometry?

It is important at this point to take note that the curvature of space could either be positive,
negative or flat. We must know that it is different when we talk about the Universes topology (or shape).
Since we know it is at least four-dimensions, then there are a lot of topologies possible for the Universe.
Some topologies might even defy the rules we learned in our basic Geometry classes! But for now, we
will focus on the three most basic types: flat Universe with zero curvature, spherical or closed Universe
of positive curvature, and hyperbolic or open Universe with a curvature of negative.

Image via abyss.uoregon.edu

A positively-curved Universe would look like a four dimensional sphere. It would be finite in
space with no apparent edge. And for this particular curvature, two distinct points in two straight lines
would actually meet before going back to its starting point. To better illustrate this, think of a balloon.
Imagine drawing a line with a marker until this particular line meets its starting point. Try drawing a
second line from the opposite side and youll see that the second line will meet the first line before it
goes back to where it started! For it to be positively-curved or closed curvature, the Universe must stop
expanding. But based from the current observations of our scientists and cosmologists, the Universe
should expand forever. So for now, lets just put this as a possibility.

Meanwhile a negatively-curved Universe would look like a four dimensional saddle. Or four
dimensional Pringles! Here, it is open and without boundaries in space or time. For straight lines in this
Universe, they will never meet and as a matter of fact, they will get farther and farther away from each
other as infinite time goes on. And while particles from the narrow end might find its space too crowded,
the rest from the flared end would go on and on until they find themselves curiously going the other
way! With too little energy, the Universe would never stop expanding.

If the Universe is found to have a critical amount of energy, its expansion will stop after an
infinite amount of time. This is what we consider a flat Universe. Particles in flat curvature would go
along their own way in parallel paths and would never meet. A flat Universe can also be pictured like a
torus or to make it tastier, like a donut. But it is a flat Universe that is connected in multiple places. Some
scientists would believe that the large warm and cool spots found in the CMB (short for Cosmic
Microwave Background) could be used as evidence for the topology of the Universe as flat.

So the three basic possibilities for the shape of the Universe can easily be remembered: sphere,
saddle and flat plane. Or, we can also try think of them as balloon, trumpet or donut. There could
probably be various other possibilities for the geometry of the Universe. But we have our humble men
and women of science who are tirelessly studying the Universe and the cosmos to help us understand it
ourselves.

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