Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
David Wiltshire, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Canterbury

Cosmological models are built on a simple, century-old idea -- but new observations demand a radical rethink

Fosalba & Gaztañaga 2021, MNRAS, CC BY-SA

Our ideas about the Universe are based on a century-old simplification known as the cosmological principle. It suggests that when averaged on large scales, the Cosmos is homogeneous and matter is distributed evenly throughout.

This allows a mathematical description of space-time that simplifies the application of Einstein’s general theory of relativity to the Universe as a whole.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.