| a variant model of the closed universe in which the universe undergoes cycles of expansion and contraction. |
| oscillating universe n. A closed-universe model in which the expansion of the universe slows and reverses, causing a collapse into a singularity which then explodes into a new universe, repeating the cycle. |
oscillating universe  (ŏs'ə-lā'tĭng) Pronunciation Key
A model of a closed universe in which the expansion of the universe slows and reverses, causing a collapse into a singularity, which then explodes into a new universe, repeating the cycle. Such a model implies that our universe is just one of a long line of universes. Scientists have not been able to develop a theory of how a collapsed universe could explode into a new one. |