closed universe

American  

noun

1. (in cosmology) a hypothetical expanding universe that contains sufficient matter to reverse the observed expansion through its gravitational contraction.

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closed universe Scientific  

1. A model of the universe in which the curvature of space is roughly spherical, entailing that the universe has finite size. An object moving in a straight line in a closed universe would eventually return to its starting point. According to most current cosmological theories, the universe is closed if it is sufficiently dense, and therefore possesses enough gravitational force to stop or reverse the expansion started by the big bang (resulting in what is called the big crunch).

2. Compare open universe See Note at big bang

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closed universe Cultural  

1. If there is enough matter in the universe to stop the expansion associated with the big bang, we say that the universe is closed. In a closed universe, the current period of expansion will be followed by a period of contraction (sometimes called the Big Crunch) as the gravitational force pulls matter back in. Searching for matter to “close” the universe is a major task of modern cosmology. (See also dark matter, flat universe, and open universe.)

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Example Sentences

Instead of learning from those outside this closed universe, you have to stay in it or face attack.

From Washington Post • Jan. 26, 2022

No, the cause — to use a word Othello memorably repeats — lies in the precisely defined personalities of everyone who inhabits the play’s closed universe.

From New York Times • Dec. 12, 2016

This model is called a closed universe and corresponds to the universe on the left in Figure 29.8.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

It was a closed universe, a secret little world: 10 of the best basketball players in the world going at each other.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2012

There is, we are told, an infinite hierarchy of universes, so that an elementary particle, such as an electron, in our universe would, if penetrated, reveal itself to be an entire closed universe.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan