space-time curvature
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Cosmology Demystified
That has got to be the single strangest post title I’ve ever written. Of all the whacky branches of science out there, cosmology almost takes the cake — second only, I think, to the downright trippy world of quantum mechanics.…
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A Cosmological Timeline
We started covering cosmology way back in April. And since then, we’ve explored quite a bit — in fact, the grandest story the universe has to offer. We’ve followed the universe from the first fractions of a second after the…
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Dark Matter: What We Know
I considered titling this post “Dark Matter Demystified” and including it in my “Cosmos Demystified” series…but honestly, there are some promises I can’t make! Dark matter is one of the most mysterious concepts in cosmology, second only to the even…
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The Proof in the Afterglow
In 1915, Einstein published his theory of general relativity. This theory predicts that, since gravity works by bending space-time, it also determines the shape of space — and the shape of the universe as a whole. In 1929, Edwin Hubble…
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The Big Bang Theory, Revised
Imagine a time before stars and galaxies existed, before free-floating subatomic particles combined to form the first atoms, before the synthesis of the first atomic nuclei… Wait a second — this sounds familiar! Way back in May, we rewound the…
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Geometry is Destiny…or is it?
Cosmologists used to think that gravity alone determined the shape of the universe, and that shape, in turn, determined its future. But that raised a lot of problems. Gravity works by curving space-time, so it can also force the fabric…
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Should Expanding Space be Slowing Down?
Einstein’s theory of general relativity holds that matter curves the fabric of space-time. That’s how gravity works. In turn, that gravity shapes the fabric of the universe. Depending on how much mass is in the universe, gravitation can curve the…
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Could the Universe be Curved?
I know…that seems like a strange question to ask, doesn’t it? Out of context, it makes no sense at all. What are we even talking about? The curvature of what? Cosmology is full of questions like this — questions that…
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The Shape of Space
I’ll admit it: when I hear something like “the shape of space,” my first thought is, whaaaaa? It’s hard to talk about the science behind space itself because we first have to wrap our minds around what that even means.…
