She was hunting for temperature fluctuations so infinitesimal they made a heartbeat look like an earthquake. She was looking for the "B-mode polarization"—a specific twist in the ancient light that would prove the theory of Inflation. It was the holy grail of modern cosmology: proof that the universe had once expanded faster than the speed of light, stretching a microscopic quantum speck into the vast cosmos we see today.
So, what does the future hold for the universe? There are several possible scenarios, depending on the density of matter and energy in the universe. Here are a few possibilities:
Like a sphere; eventually, the universe would stop expanding and collapse. Open: Like a saddle; the universe would expand forever. cosmology
Like a sheet of paper; the universe expands forever but the rate of expansion eventually slows down.
In this context, a “cosmology” is a coherent collection of stories, images, rituals, explanations in a culture or society which de... Pontificia Università della Santa Croce Cosmology Definition, History & Theories - Study.com What is Cosmology? Definition of the Study of the Universe. Cosmology is the study of the universe and the physical interaction of... Study.com Cosmology | STScI Revealing the Structure of the Universe. We know that visible universe is calculated to be 13.8 billion years old from evidence ba... STScI Cosmology | Definition & Facts | Britannica cosmology, field of study that brings together the natural sciences, particularly astronomy and physics, in a joint effort to unde... Britannica Cosmological principle - Wikipedia The perfect cosmological principle is an extension of the cosmological principle, and states that the universe is homogeneous and ... Wikipedia Universe - Wikipedia Shape. ... Cosmologists often work with space-like slices of spacetime that are surfaces of constant time in comoving coordinates. Wikipedia So, what does the future hold for the universe
The evidence for the Big Bang theory is extensive and comes from many lines of observation. For example:
We cannot see dark matter because it doesn't emit or reflect light. However, we know it exists because of its gravitational pull on galaxies. Without it, galaxies would fly apart. Open: Like a saddle; the universe would expand forever
The screen flickered. A pattern emerged.
Stay tuned for more updates from the world of cosmology!