![]() It would mean the universe has a finite volume, although you would not be aware of its "edges" they would seem to be part of the rest of space. Their theory uses a complex mathematical model called a "Picard topology", named after a mathematician rather than the Star Trek character. The research by a team of German physicists led by Frank Steiner at the University of Ulm is reported in New Scientist magazine. The "bell" of the trumpet would also be peculiar: it would flare out, but a spaceship that could somehow navigate towards the open end would eventually find itself flying back along the "outside surface" of the bell. The thin end would be infinitely long - but so narrow that it would have a finite volume. The new shape, predicted by careful mathematical modeling to fit with known astronomical data, would have the universe stretched out into a long funnel, flaring into a bell-like shape at one end. And finally, the universe would be finite, rather than extending in every direction forever. Also, a long-held theory about the universe - that it looks much the same anywhere - would have to be abandoned. That would lead to strange effects in some parts of the universe, where time and light would be so curved that you could see the back of your own head.
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