McGinty... indeed I am neither (as yet) a flat earther, or flat universe.

However, lfc has made me thinking of an awe-inspiring ending to a film (similar been done before to illustrate the size of the universe, but not quite like this) *cue dramatic music*: it's revealed that the earth is just a tiny speck of pulp making up a single piece of paper. Further more, our universe is just one of 500 pieces of paper stacked on top of each other and wrapped up in a ream of Ryman everyday printing paper. Cut to office woman who picks up one of these reams from a massive stack sitting next to the photocopier. She takes out one sheet, puts it in the photocopier and says to her colleague: "ready for copying", leaving the viewer considering whether there's an exact carbon copy of our universe sitting in someone's (God's?) in-tray.

Think of it like a break shot in a game of pool or snooker. The balls bounce around everywhere and interact with each other in complex ways, but eventually they slow down and stop altogther. Thats when they reach equilibium. The universe is still young and the balls are bouncing around all over the place. Eventually they will stop.

yes entropy better: gradual breakdown of matter and energy in the universe
atrophy: refers to physical decline

Too much info

The theory about "the big crunch" (big bang, big crunch, big bang, and so on) would render the time needed for entropy, atrophy, or any other way in which all matter and atoms will disintegrate to take place, impossible. Also it would lead to nothing to crunch.
As I said it would take trillions of years, assuming time was flat and went on into such vastness.

As I also said, it is all conjecture, almost certainly wrong and much to much for our minds to begin to understand.

No, it isn't 'known', at all.

As far as our understanding of physics allows, the mass of the universe will not disappear, or wear out, or disintegrate.
If anything it actually INCREASES as we see more distance and as Dark matter is discovered.

There is no reason why the universe should flatten further, even assuming the name of it's shape is 'flat'. You have your theories very mixed up, lfc.

look at this:
https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/10374/does-the-mass-of-the-observable-universe-ever-change

Even if you're only referring the "ordinary" matter (such as stars, gas, and bicycles) and dark matter, the mass of the observable Universe does increase, not because mass is being created, but because the size of the observable Universe increases. In a billion years from now, we can see stuff that today is too far away for the light to have reached us, so its radius has increased.

Big mathematical equation and description.

However, another factor contributes to the mass increase, namely the so-called dark energy, which is a form of energy attributed to empty space. Since the Universe expands, dark energy is being created all the time.

so again you are mixed up, in theory we don't know what is the future, but we can know what is in existence now

as yogi berra said, its amazing what you can observe just by looking

When the big bang happened shrapnel only came out sideways.

no its not, we know the length of time the universe has been in existence (approx.)
we know the mass of the universe (approx.)

and we know that that mass and that length of time means that the universe is likely, with an error rate of 0.4% to be flat

at the time of the big bang was the universe flat? no
it takes time, how difficult is that to understand

There hasn't been enough time, you need to read more than just Wikipedia and you need to understand the mathematical definition of "flat".

PLUS, as I keep saying, NO-ONE knows, especially you.

You are a very confused person, lfc.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/29/flat-earth-conspiracy-theorists-gather-discuss-proof-first-uk/ (paywall)

The Ancient Greeks first argued the earth was round more than 2,000 years ago while Ferdinand Magellan proved it with the first successful circumnavigation in the 16th century.

Yet 500 years on, a growing number of conspiracy theorists are convinced that every single mainstream scientist since then has got it wrong. The planet, they insist, isn’t spherical at all. The earth, they maintain, is flat.

This weekend, more than 200 believers - among them an NHS manager and a special needs educational worker - attended Britain’s first ever Flat Earth Convention, held in a nondescript, three-star hotel in Birmingham.

anyone attend?

A few years ago, on a crystal clear beautiful summers day, I was being driven along the coast of west wales, between Barmouth and Tywyn.

We were on some high cliffs and I looked out west to the horizon. I couldn't believe my eyes as I could just make out the coast of Ireland!

Being as it's upwards of 90 miles away, it should easily be below the horizon. I think the earth must be flat or something for that to happen.

It might have been the coast of somewhere further north round Wales's coast.
The bit of coast between Barmouth and Tywyn is north facing. The northern coast of Wales is a peninsula.

That's what you could see.

The world isn't flat. Really.

If the earth is a ball, why haven't I fallen off it yet?

I rest my case.

There's surely only 1 question that needs to be addressed here.................what be the point in concealing the 'fact' that the earth is flat if it were true?

Everybody knows that "on the other side" are four elephants standing on the back of a turtle.

lol Study; I read online that it was explained because the lenses of telescopes are curved to make them look round