5 ms·
This is my favorite possibility, that space has a “finite volume but no edges: if you travel farther than the scale of the universe, you end up back where you s
by Keegs 2y ago
This is my favorite possibility, that space has a “finite volume but no edges: if you travel farther than the scale of the universe, you end up back where you started.” It’s comforting on an existential level to imagine the amount of stuff around us is finite.
- fredski42 2y agoSo how would you explain the fact the galaxies are moving away from each other with an ever increasing speed in this kind of shape? Edit: To answer it myself: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-implications-of-the-three-torus-model-of-the-universe https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-implications-of-the-three... “ The torus moves into itself and comes out at the other end, where the locations of ‘coming out’ could be what is driving what we observe as the expansion of the universe.”
- wongarsu 2y agoThe donut is getting bigger (but is still finite)
- notjoemama 2y agoIt's also possible particles increase causing expansion, this is just theoretical still. But if that's true, then it is finite but perpetually increasing. Potentially infinitely.
- tengbretson 2y agoBigger relative to what?
- mr_mitm 2y agoRelative to what it was before. It has an intrinsic size. Think of it in terms of matter density if you find it more comfortable. The density simply goes down over time; distandes between galaxies increase.
- tengbretson 2y agoDensity has the same issue. Density can only be measured against a baseline established outside of the medium being measured.
- Doxin 2y agoJust because you can't measure something directly doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There's plenty of things we only know only through indirect measurement.
- nabla9 2y agoIntrinsic expansion. Distances between objects in space grow. That's what metric expansion of the universe is. Distances grow at speeds that are proportional to their distance from the observer.
- mr_mitm 2y agoThis would also be the case on a hypersphere, which would also satisfy the cosmological principle. A torus is not isotropic.
- marcosdumay 2y agoAny closed curve does this. And if that's your only information, the simplest encoding for it is a sphere, not a doughnut.