The Universe

[Perseus]

What do you think you the universe is like? flat (goes on for ever), round like in a sphere ( like the Earth), or open?( i dont really know what this one is like)

[iJack]

All 10 dimensions:
HvgwR9ERCBo

[Perseus]

Gravity?

[iJack]

I misunderstood it.

[Perseus]

oh..

[Oblivion]

Open
They one way it could be flat or spherical is if it ended at one point,
And the universe is endless
So open :)

[Perseus]

I think that it is flat since that it expands constantly and the fact that we do not know if there is an end to the universe since because of inflation we cant see that far.

[theOperaGhost]

Open. It's infinite (as far as we know) and until we know whether it is infinite or not (which is impossible to prove, since we're dealing with infinity here), I will think it is infinite. And flat doesn't make any sense...that would make it two dimensional, wouldn't it? We know there are at least three dimensions.

[Perseus]

technically you could never go to the 5th dimension because if you somehow create a time machine you could only go back to when it was created unless you can break the laws of physics or time basically.

[Perseus]

but it being open wouldnt make any sense since it'd be like wrapping around but im sort of ignorant on the open subject though, so i technically cant say.

[Aηdy]

This is something that always amazes me. If the universe has an and, then there has got to be something beyond that, but what?! If it does have no end, there's a damn good chance that there's life elsewhere I think.

Or perhaps we're all some part of a kid's sim city game!

[Perseus]

that'd be cool and weird

[ThatCanadianGuy]

yD1LhIm5ncI

These guys (actual scientists) seem to think the universe is infinite, "flat" technically, and blah blah. Enough of me. Just watch the video.
You can watch the rest on youtube after the video ends (just look at the list).

[Zephyr]

Open. It's infinite (as far as we know) and until we know whether it is infinite or not (which is impossible to prove, since we're dealing with infinity here), I will think it is infinite. And flat doesn't make any sense...that would make it two dimensional, wouldn't it? We know there are at least three dimensions.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

It would have to be open and infinite,
Otherwise what would be outside of that box that we call existence?
Non-existence can't exist outside of existence,
Otherwise we couldn't exist if we existed inside of non-existence,
Thinking about it logically.
Either that or I'm just not wrapping my mind around this correctly.

[Antares]

I think our universe is a part of a HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE multiverse :D

Its also impossible to figure out how big our universe is because we cant go faster than the speed of light.

[Jean Poutine]

I think it's good to keep an open mind on this. Who's to say that our universe isn't inside another one? Who said that beyond our universe, there was definitively nothingness?

If our universe is closed, the Big Crunch follows, which is quite unpleasant, though.

[curiousteen]

i want to be an astronomer when i grow up and i think its open.

[Perseus]

i agree with saturn on the whole multiverse thing because it makes a lot of since if you think about it.

[Requin]

What do I think the Universe is like??
One word...

BIG and Black.:D

[Perseus]

I did some research on the universe and it being open and here it is what i have recieved so far.

The term open universe refers to a universe which has no physical or practical barriers to it's continued expansion. If the universe is indeed open, then the universe can continue expanding forever. If the universe cannot expand forever, then some barrier must exist to prevent the expansion.

Normally, conventional theories would declare that the opposite to an open universe would be a closed universe. The closed universe would have a sufficient mass so that the contents of this universe would eventually collapse upon itself after some given period of time.

The C-R theory would propose a third alternative. An exactly balanced critical-mass universe. Such a universe could appear to be on the threshold of expansion forever, but would be closed at some boundary. (An outer Schwarzschild Radius.)

The C-R theory does not allow the universe to be open. Since we observe the red-shift at the outer edges of the universe; can the cause of that red-shift be the gravitational time-slowdown. We should easily be able to explain why there is more curvature at the edges of the universe. Most of the curvature-producing mass in this universe resides further inward from this boundary. If we can allow the universe, by definition, to have exactly enough mass to close off (or curve to the maximum) spacetime1 then this universe is inside a very large Black-Hole. Therefore, the universe is prevented from expanding forever.

www.geocities.com/recycling_universe/ed_openuniverse.htm

[Perseus]

If at every time, space at every point looks the same in every direction, then space has to have constant curvature. If the curvature was different at any point, then space would look different in that direction from every other point. Therefore if space is maximally symmetric, the curvature has to be the same at every point.
So that narrows us down to three options for the geometry of space: positive, negative or zero curvature. When there is no vacuum energy present, just matter or radiation, the curvature of space also tells us the time evolution of the spacetime in question:


A sphere has constant positive curvature.
Positive: The unique N-dimensional space with constant positive curvature is an N-dimensional sphere. The cosmological scenario where space has positive constant curvature is called a closed Universe. In this spacetime, space expands from zero volume in a Big Bang but then reaches a maximum volume and starts to contract back to zero volume in a Big Crunch.

Zero: A space with zero curvature is called (no surprise here) a flat space. A flat space is noncompact, space extends infinitely far in any direction, so this option also represents an open Universe. This spacetime has space expanding forever in time.


A hyperboloid has constant negative curvature.
Negative: The unique N-dimensional space with constant negative curvature is an N-dimensional pseudosphere. To compare this funny word with something more familiar, a hyperboloid is a two-dimensional pseudosphere. With negative curvature, space has infinite volume. The negative curvature option represents an open Universe. This spacetime also has space expanding forever in time.

What determines whether a Universe is open or closed? For a closed Universe, the total energy density r in the Universe has to be greater than the value that gives a flat Universe, called the critical density r0. Let W = r/r0. So a closed Universe has W > 1, a flat Universe has W = 1 and an open Universe has W < 1.
The above analysis only takes into account energy from matter, and neglects any vacuum energy that might be present. Vacuum energy leads to a constant energy density that is called the cosmological constant.
Which behavior represents our observed Universe? To discuss the most recent observations, first we need to look at dark matter and the cosmological constant.

I found some information on all of the possible types of the universe, but it may not be totaly accurate.
http://www.superstringtheory.com/cosmo/cosmo21.html
If you want to keep reading about it and darkmatter just follow the link.

What's the final answer?
The Big Bang began with a radiation dominated era, which accounted for the first 10,000-100,000 years of the evolution of our Universe. Right now the dominant forms of energy in our Universe are matter and vacuum energy. The latest measurements from astronomers tell us:
1. Our Universe is pretty flat: The cosmic microwave background is the relic of Big Bang thermal radiation, cooled to the temperature of 2.73° Kelvin. But it didn't cool perfectly smoothly, and after the radiation cooled, there were some lumps left over. The angular size of those lumps as observed from our present location in spacetime depends on the spatial curvature of the Universe. The currently observed lumpiness in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background is just right for a flat Universe that expands forever.
2. There is a cosmological constant: There is vacuum energy, or something that acts just like IT, to make the expansion of the Universe accelerate in time. The acceleration of the Universe can be seen in the redshifts of distant supernovae.
3. Most of the matter in the Universe is dark matter: Studies of galatic motion show that ordinary visible matter in stars, galaxies, planets, and interstellar gas only makes up a small fraction of the total energy density of the Universe.So right now the density of vacuum energy in our Universe is only about twice as large as the energy density from dark matter, with the contribution from visible baryonic matter almost negligible. The total adds up to a flat universe which should expand forever.
The Universe at our current epoch has (approximately)321

[Antares]

yD1LhIm5ncI

These guys (actual scientists) seem to think the universe is infinite, "flat" technically, and blah blah. Enough of me. Just watch the video.
You can watch the rest on youtube after the video ends (just look at the list).

I agree.
I love The Universe series.

And there is...a lack of scientific proof proving that lol

[goofball]

i love these types of discussions where everyone has a theory, but nobody knows the answer!

[Perseus]

im disprovin their theories because mine makes the most since and i have facts on my topic(and some opions)

[iJack]

im disprovin their theories because mine makes the most since and i have facts on my topic(and some opions)
You really shouldn't just copy and paste, because I bet you have no idea what you just posted, then you come and post at the level of a fucking 8 year old.
You didn't disprove any theories, the people who get paid to do this haven't come to an agreement. The other people who posted in this thread actually wrote theirs up. You, on the other hand, wanted to seem smart, so you copied and pasted someones hard work, and then your next post had spelling, capitalization and punctuation errors.

[Perseus]

i all ready knew some of things that i put in the copypasta, i was proving my point with what most astronomers believe. I guess i shouldnt put that everything was a fact in what i copiedpastaed because i dont know if everything is true, if i wouldnt of believed it, i wouldnt of put it. I know what i put in that because believe or not i want to be an astronomer and also i put it might not be accurate, so no need to get mad, when you probally didnt even read it.

[CaptainObvious]

i all ready knew some of things that i put in the copypasta, i was proving my point with what most astronomers believe. I guess i shouldnt put that everything was a fact in what i copiedpastaed because i dont know if everything is true, if i wouldnt of believed it, i wouldnt of put it. I know what i put in that because believe or not i want to be an astronomer and also i put it might not be accurate, so no need to get mad, when you probally didnt even read it.

...this is garbled.

[Perseus]

garbled? im mad at him when he thinks im stupid kid that doesnt understand things i posted and thinks i just want to sound smart.

[Aηdy]

Fuck me this is complex! >.<

I don't know. I'd love to know, but in 10 words or less :)

[Perseus]

know what?

[Aηdy]

The shape..

[Perseus]

Well... iJack is not seeing eye to eye about my opion and my researching to back up my opion because i like the subject but i guess im wrong, because noone knows and its hard to prove.

[Bobby]

We are NOT fighting or insulting in this thread.

Back on topic.

[Oblivion]

Hmmm i cant decide what I think...
I thought open, but I could be wrong.
Im with Andy... I need a simple statement with evidence :D

[Halibut]

i think it goes on forever

[Talia]

I misread the question, I though you were asking about the earth lol, so I put round. But I think the universe is open and endless, but at the same time has an end (not like a circle).

[Tiberius]

The universe takes no definite shape. It is too spread out

[Cloud]

its open becuase it is endless and if it was round or flat it would have an end so its open

[Stark]

I think it's open.