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Old 31-January-2004, 08:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZaphodBeeblebrox
The current model of The Universe, is of a Perfectly Flat 4 Dimensional Space-Time, that is then Curved into a Hyper-Sphere, around a Fifth, Unseen, Spatial Dimension.

In this way, the Seemingly Contradictory Equations allow us to Have Our Cake and Eat It Too, as it were.

This is because, The Surface of a Hyper-Sphere is Infinite in The Four Observable Dimensions, whil still being Finite in the Fifth, just as The Earth's Surface, while being Infinite in Length, Width, and Perhaps Time, is Wrapped around a Finite Extent, thus putting an Upper Limit, upon the Actual Surface Area.
That “flat” term confused me too for a couple of years when I first started studying this stuff, then I began to realize they were talking about a possible 4th dimension of space.

So you do think the universe is “flat” (not a hypersphere) and is just a regular expanding curved 3-D sphere?

I wonder if we will ever find out? Seems to me that if it is already “infinite”, then it couldn’t “expand”. I can accept “space” being “infinite” and a “finite” amount of matter expanding into it.

But of course, it could be doing something very strange that we haven’t even thought of yet.
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