What Is the Shape of the Universe?

Unlike the Earth, the universe might actually be flat! But how do scientists know that, if we can’t observe it?

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What is the Shape of the Universe?
“Scientists have calculated the ‘critical density’ of the universe. The critical density is proportional to the square of the Hubble constant, which is used in measuring the expansion rate of the universe.”

Universe 101
“Thus the universe was known to be flat to within about 15% accuracy prior to the WMAP results. WMAP has confirmed this result with very high accuracy and precision.”

Why is the Universe flat and not spherical?
“Why does the Universe look flat? This was one of the perplexing questions in cosmology for a long time. Today, most astronomers believe in the theory of inflation (and there are pieces of evidence supporting this).”

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Elements is more than just a science show. It’s your science-loving best friend, tasked with keeping you updated and interested on all the compelling, innovative and groundbreaking science happening all around us. Join our passionate hosts as they help break down and present fascinating science, from quarks to quantum theory and beyond.

Seeker explains every aspect of our world through a lens of science, inspiring a new generation of curious minds who want to know how today’s discoveries in science, math, engineering and technology are impacting our lives, and shaping our future. Our stories parse meaning from the noise in a world of rapidly changing information.

Special thanks to Amy Shira Teitel for hosting and writing this episode of Seeker!

[nidhigoyal]

After few hundred years people would look back and laugh at us that we think *universe is flat*

[AdhikJoshi]

You shouldn't have said universe is flat. flat earth people would love it.

[Master_Therion]

I'm not sure which fills me with more existential dread. The eventual heat-death of the universe or that Amy is leaving Seeker :( We'll miss you.

[akm]

Universe-chan ="I'm not flat!!!"

[sebastianelytron]

End of an Era. I suppose Maren is the new Queen of Seeker.

[m.a.]

Can you imagine if the universe's topology is some ABSURD shape which limits us from gaining access to certain regions and is absolutely beyond our current conception? I envy our descendants who will have all the answers...

[nothisispatrick]

It is definitely a triangle


*Fight me*

[OmerFlame]

Hey Amy! Good to see you back at Seeker!

[TheFourthWinchester]

Amy is who brought me from Vintage Space to Seeker in the first place! Love her!! Any Amy is better than no Amy :(

[CuriosityCulture]

This question stacks up the question I ask, 'what happen before Big Bang.' My mind explodes every time I think about these questions

[ProfessorPottsy]

Amy makes a great addition to this channel. She’s awesome! Been subbed to her channel for a while now. Love the kinda content she has and of course that Seeker has too.

[malapoopism]

Gotta love the ol' existential crisis you get from these sorts of videos

[thetacoguyy]

i love how you guys feed my brain more than school ever did :) thank you so much!!

[vileguile]

Sounds like someone is stuck in two dimensional thinking..

[SaintJohnVideo]

You are very good at articulating big ideas into manageable chunks, thank you!

[sanjuansteve]

@0:35 Why do we use 2D graphs and show celestial objects pushing that 2D grid downward' with gravity, when it should be a 3D grid where the lines are all drawn in towards the center of the mass in all directions?

[androstudio]

The universe is dinosaur shaped, just like Earth

[azizuladnan]

it's like asking if a blue box can be dimensionally transcendental... either it's bigger on the inside or it's smaller on the outside.

[makeracistsafraidagain]

I dream of a Seeker video which doesn’t interrupt the presenter with multiple top banners.
That would show respect.

[berni]

I'm not lying, last week Numberphile uploaded a video including a negative sphere, I didn't know what it was so I looked for it and understood what negative curvature. At that moment I didn't realise that I've read before that our universe has a negative curvature (I couldn't understand how something could have a negative curvature).
Now, with this video, my head blew because I finally achieved to link all that information, thank you so much!