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Step to the Universe Curve - Triangles & Circles
by Jeanette Cain
It was Fritz Zwicky who discovered that orbits of distant galaxies would be impossible without a gravitational tug from some type of dark matter. The universe has a curve that is a space-time continuum, which can take one of three forms. In a positive curvature, the cosmos will be like a sphere.
Adam Reiss, from 1998 to 2001, helped to prove that Einstein's theory was correct. There is a mysterious anti-gravity force that acts like Einstein's cosmos constant. In 1916, Einstein invented this cosmological constant, which is a form of anti-gravity, to allow his general relativity theory to agree with the idea of a cosmos that did not participate in the expanding universe theory.
The universe has a curve that is a space-time continuum, which can take one of three forms. Einstein said these forms would be determined by the amount of matter and the amount of energy it contained. Physicist use a two-dimensional comparison to visualize these three forms.
In a positive curvature the cosmos will be like a sphere. A sphere is a round body with all points of its surface being at equal distances from the center, such as, a ball and a globe. When you travel far enough in a positive curvature universe you end up at the beginning point. If you were to draw a triangle, it would be greater than 180 degrees. The universe will slow without dark energy, eventually coming to a stop and re-collapsing, but with dark energy the universe will continue to expand.
The flat cosmos would prevent returning to your initial beginning point. A triangle has exactly 180 degrees, as in high school geometry. Although this flat universe may be lacking dark energy, it will expand forever, only growing slowly all the time. If the flat universe does have dark energy, the universe will expand quickly. The latest scientific evidence suggests that the flat universe is the shape of our universe.
With a negative curvature universe one would never return. In a negative curvature universe, a triangle will always have less than 180 degrees. Expansion will not really be slow, even when dark energy is not present. This is the type of universe scientists considered the Earth to be until recent developments and discoveries.
These new theories are not really new theories, but have come from past discoveries of scientists, physicists, and astronomers. It was Fritz Zwicky who discovered that orbits of distant galaxies would be impossible without the gravitational tug of some type of dark matter. Zwicky was ridiculed and took a great amount of laughing. History has a way of taking care of its own: Zwicky's idea is now the mainstream.
Source:
1. Lemonick, Michael D. Time: "The End." Time, Inc.: NY June 25, 2001 issue. pps. 48-56.
Further Study:
The Curvature of the Universe Background
We began our study of the shape of the universe by studying the shape of the Earth. Throughout these next few lessons it will sometimes be necessary to look to models or approximations to help us understand the characteristics of the universe we live in because many high school students have difficulty comprehending a space with more than three dimensions.
Geometry of the universe
We can describe the geometry of the universe in terms of the sum of the angles of a triangle drawn on its surface. The "curvature" of space-time is equated with whether the universe is open or closed:
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