Astronomy / Space Do you think the universe is flat or spherical ?

Universe flat or spherical ?

  • Flat

    Votes: 6 26.1%

  • Spherical

    Votes: 17 73.9%
  • Total voters
    23
  • Poll closed .

usafirebird

usafirebird
Since retiring from the U.S. Army I have decided to take a few college courses to fill up my days. One of the classes I am taking is a Astronomy class.

Currently in this class we are having a debate on if the Universe is flat or spherical. The Professor states there is evidence that the Universe is flat and will show us at the next class.

I myself being a supporter of the Big Bang Theory find it hard to believe the Universe to be flat. After such a explosion matter etc should have gone in ALL directions.

I am curious.. what do you guys think?

Is the Universe flat like they used to believe the earth was or spherical like a ball?
 
Last edited:

AJW

AJW
I think you need to define your terms - unless you are proposing that 'flat' and 'spherical' should be taken literally.
 

Caramel Clown

Caramel Clown
I don't think anybody ever believed that Universe is flat literally...there's definitely more than 2 dimensions in our reality as we know it. Case closed :)
As to the actual 'shape', it's a difficult question. Even if it expanded in all directions it doesn't mean it's spherical. It will depend on a shape of space itself, distribution of matter within it doesn't matter that much.

I'd argue that it can be in a shape of a Klein bottle, or something similar.

P.S. Not an expert here by any means, just speculating.
 
Last edited:

SMcA

SMcA
usafirebird said:
Since retiring from the U.S. Army I have decided to take a few college courses to fill up my days. One of the classes I am taking is a Astronomy class.

Currently in this class we are having a debate on if the Universe is flat or spherical. The Professor states there is evidence that the Universe is flat and will show us at the next class.

I myself being a supporter of the Big Bang Theory find it hard to believe the Universe to be flat. After such a explosion matter etc should have gone in ALL directions.

I am curious.. what do you guys think?

Is the Universe flat like they used to believe the earth was or spherical like a ball?
Click to expand...


It depends how you look at it, I would think.

As for a flat Earth. That is a stance taken by some people who just want to seem different. We have known that the Earth was round for almost two and a half thousand years and suspected it for a couple of hundred before it was proved.
 

ShiMan

ShiMan
According to my logic thinking - the universe must be sphericat. If it wouldn't, then why the explosions on earth goes spherically? :p
 

Sapyx

Sapyx
To see the "shape" of something, you need to step back far enough away so you can see it in its entirety. There is no "outside" of the universe where you can go and look back to see what physical 3-D shape the universe is. So in that sense, the question of the "shape of the universe" is as meaningless as the question, "What's north of the north pole?". There is no "north of the north pole", and there is no "shape of the universe".

When people talk about the universe being "flat" or "spherical", they're really talking about the curvature of spacetime. This is "curving" in dimensions other than the 3 dimensions of ordinary space. We know that mass causes localized positive curvature of spacetime - we call this "gravity" - but the question is, what is the overall "shape" of the universe as a whole?

If the universe is "flat", this means that there basically are no higher dimensions impacting the "shape" of our universe: parallel lines remain parallel for eternity and the Big Bang will eventually slow down and stop - resulting in the "heat death" of the Universe.

If there is "positive curvature" (the so-called "spherical universe", then parallel lines eventually meet and the Big Bang expansion of the universe will eventually stop and contract again, into a "Big Crunch".

If there is "negative curvature", (the so-called saddle-shaped universe) then parallel lines eventually get further and further apart and the expansion of the universe will accelerate until eventually every atom in it is receding from every other atom at lightspeed - the so-called "Big Rip".
 

Sterlino

Sterlino
i am not worried about this universe: flat, spherical, open, closed... i don't care...

because my real concern is about the other universes/ the other realities...

::fhear
 
Last edited:

ozzyneil

O
If the universe has had an infinite history of big bangs which could be from the last biggest black hole sucking in all the other black holes which sucked in all the planets and stars and then there is a singularity would it explode in the opposite direction to which everything was sucked in (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction or something like that) and therefore making a cone shape. Solved [big grin]
 

Minonian

Banned
Minonian
I think is...
hqdefault.jpg

Sorry, but i can't take this question seriously. :D

Okay, stepping out of the fun part? Neither!
I think it's a surface of a 4d sphere. Empirical evidence? Big bang inflating universe are means our 3d universe must be the surface of a 4d object.
 
Last edited:

Sunleader

Sunleader
usafirebird said:
Since retiring from the U.S. Army I have decided to take a few college courses to fill up my days. One of the classes I am taking is a Astronomy class.

Currently in this class we are having a debate on if the Universe is flat or spherical. The Professor states there is evidence that the Universe is flat and will show us at the next class.

I myself being a supporter of the Big Bang Theory find it hard to believe the Universe to be flat. After such a explosion matter etc should have gone in ALL directions.

I am curious.. what do you guys think?

Is the Universe flat like they used to believe the earth was or spherical like a ball?
Click to expand...


Neither.
The Universe has no Boundaries and thus also no Shape.
 

Flimley

Flimley
More pressing than just simply theorising flat or spherical universe(s). It's possible we may be living within a sophisticated simulation. I recommend usafirebird if you have time and are interested, watch these two presentations.

The first is delivered by Dr James Gates. He describes how compelling evidence is being discovered to support this theory. And in particular binary computer code is being observed and running within nature itself, in the form of error correcting codes.
https://youtu.be/6CLpuPsarxo

In this second presentation (The simulation hypothesis), a development on the double slit experiment (Delayed choice quantum eraser) satisfactorily answers the question of why photons 'when observed' revert to waves. This is really fascinating and suggests that at the smallest levels of matter all eventualities are ran simaltanously.
https://youtu.be/VqULEE7eY8M (experiment begins at 34.50, however I would recommend watching this in its entirety)

As for voting in the poll? Well, we may not even exist. Ha
Flimley
 
Last edited:

Robin of Spiritwood

Robin of Spiritwood
Voted for flat.

Flat is the spacetime shape, not the form of the universe an imaginary external observer "would see" since there cannot be such an observer beyond the putative boundary of the universe. If there were observers beyond the boundary, no matter or energy from within could reach, anyhow.
Viewed from our perspective though, we see a sphere of observable stuff with a light year radius equal to the age of the whole thing. So I guess Sphere is an equally good answer, as there's no observable contradiction.

Spacetime has to be flat so that there can be equilibrium between gravity and expansion or ... Something like that, I read somewhere.
 

lysan

lysan
We don't know, its all speculation. Its like discussing if we went to the moon or not, non of us knows for sure as WE didn't go there, so we repeat OTHER peoples information :D
 

We Are Groot

We Are Groot
The universe is probably flat.
[video=youtube_share;veU6hK3jMH4]https://youtu.be/veU6hK3jMH4[/video]
I am pretty sure the universe has always existed. If it had a beginning then there must have been a time when absolutely nothing existed and if there is no place for an event to occur then how could it ever occur? By universe I don't mean the visible universe. When I say universe I mean everything there is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom