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nivlark t1_iwnsmrq wrote

Reply to comment by Clearlybeerly in Ask Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science by AutoModerator

"Expand" is simply the closest English word to describe a particular behaviour we observe in distant objects.

For a more precise description, you need to turn to mathematics: an expanding space is one where the "metric tensor" - the mathematical object in general relativity that tells you how to calculate the distance between two points in curved spacetime - is time-dependant.

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Clearlybeerly t1_iwoaqmb wrote

OK, thanks. I looked up metric tensor on wiki and looked up other hyperlinks in the metric tensor entry, and I have a very, very vague understanding, but it sure does help me understand, because while I have a vague understanding, what it mainly does is allow me to cut away the extraneous. So very cool, thank you.

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