Universe

From EvoWiki

Universe means the totality of all entities. In particular the physical universe means the totality of all existing physical objects like spacetime, matter and energy. Alternatively our universe can be seen as part of a larger entity, the Multiverse.

The physical universe is unlimited, according to the generally accepted standard model, but this does not mean that its volume is necessarily infinite. There are several possibilities for the shape of the universe, depending on the local curvature (flat, spherical, or hyperbolic) and the global topology of the universe. Only in a spherical universe is the volume necessarily finite. In a flat or hyperbolic universe there are several possible topologies, some with finite and some with infinite volumes. In both cases the simplest topologies have infinite volumes. E.g. a flat space could in the simplest case have the shape of an euclidian space (infinte volume) but it could also look like a four dimensional cylinder (infinite volume), or a four dimensional torus (finite volume).

Observations show that our universe is locally not distinguishable from a flat space. This means it is either flat or at least in the observable part of the universe close to a flat space.

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