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big crunch

 - 3 dictionary results
big crunch  
n.  
  1. A model of the future of the universe in which it stops expanding and ultimately collapses on itself due to the force of gravity of its constituent parts.

  2. The point at which such a collapse occurs.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry:  Big Crunch
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  in astronomy, a hypothetical state of extremely high density and temperature into which a closed universe will recollapse in the distant future, a reversal of the big bang in which the current expansion stops, reverses, and results in all space and all matter collapsing together
Example:  The Big Crunch is thought to be the fate of the universe if the density of matter becomes sufficiently high.
Usage:  science
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Science Dictionary
big crunch  
The convergence of all matter, energy, and space into a single, minute point. This convergence is hypothesized to be the final event in the universe in some cosmological theories. Compare big bang. See also closed universe.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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