In 1917, just two years after Albert Einstein proposed the general theory of relativity — his revolutionary new theory of gravity — he took a bold step forward and decided to apply his theory to the Universe as a whole. His question was simple but incredibly bold: Can we model the shape of the Universe? To answer, Einstein made use of his new, powerful theory that described gravity as the curvature of spacetime around a mass. The more massive a body, the more warped the geometry around it is, and the slower time ticks.
Einstein’s reasoning was crystal clear. Since his theory allowed him to calculate how the Sun’s mass bends space around it, if he modeled how mass is distributed in the Universe, he could calculate its shape. His theory was not limited to any particular location in the Universe — it could measure the Universe itself. Imagine that: a human mind computing the geometry of the Cosmos.
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