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When researchers reanalysed the gold-standard data set of the early universe, they concluded that the cosmos must be "closed," or curled up like a ball. Most others remain unconvinced.
A provocative paper published today in the journal Nature Astronomy argues that the universe may curve around and close in on itself like a sphere, rather than lying flat like a sheet of paper as the standard theory of cosmology predicts. The authors reanalysed a major cosmological data set and concluded that the data favours a closed universe with 99% certainty — even as other evidence suggests the universe is flat.
The data in question — the Planck space telescope's observations of ancient light called the cosmic microwave background (CMB) — "clearly points towards a closed model," said Alessandro Melchiorri of Sapienza University of Rome. He co-authored the new paper with Eleonora di Valentino of the University of Manchester and Joseph Silk, principally of the University of Oxford. In their view, the discordance between the CMB data, which suggests the universe is closed, and other data pointing to flatness represents a "cosmological crisis" that calls for "drastic rethinking."
In your opinion, which shape is more likely ?
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday November 05 2019, @06:31PM (4 children)
What's the problem? There are infinitely many turtles, and then one more, the final turtle.
And yes, the concept "infinitely many and then one" is actually mathematically sound; it's the ordinal number ω+1.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 05 2019, @07:29PM (1 child)
That's why we have to be nice to Mitch.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday November 05 2019, @09:47PM
Maybe they're mirrored infinite reflections of the final turtle? But not Mitch. The mirrors would break.
"Minbari... Pale; bloodless. Look into their eyes and see nothing but mirrors-infinities of reflection." – A Soul Hunter
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday November 05 2019, @09:40PM (1 child)
How about infinitely many, minus one.
Maybe you remember Jack Valenti?
He was the Motion Picture Ass. Head of America back in the day. When VCRs came out, he is the one famous for saying that the VCR is to the motion picture industry what the Boston strangler is to the woman alone. (Nevermind that VCRs became a HUGE source of income from movie rentals soon after.)
In the time soon after Napster became a thing, and about during the Gnutella daze, Jack said that copyright length should be infinite. Forget the Sonny Bono act extending copyright length. But the constitution says "for limited times", so Jack proposed that copyright be "forever minus one day".
What a jackass.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday November 05 2019, @10:47PM
Great description. ;-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.