How Will The Universe End
Humanity’s ‘need to know’ has been the reason behind our vast reservoir of knowledge. Today, we know a great deal about everything we have laid our eyes upon. There are always exceptions of course, and a lot of things are still outside the grasp of our understanding.
One such thing is the fate of our universe. We have a pretty good understanding of how the universe was borne. All recent discoveries suggest that the standard model is pretty accurate in that regards. We might still see some changes in the future though if the LHC manages to surprise us.
As for now, we do not know how the universe will end or more aptly if the universe will end at all! There have been several theories put forward by some of the most brilliant minds that shed some light upon the matter.
1. The Big Crunch
We all know that the universe is continuously expanding, and not only that the rate of expansion is increasing as well. All the galaxies are getting further and further away from each other, every second of every minute.
The Big Crunch model suggests that at a certain point, this expansion will stop completely and instead reverse. That means the current expanding universe will start contracting.
When exactly this will start happening is anybody’s guess (perhaps trillions of years). Also, the contraction of the universe will take another billions if not trillions of years.
Scientists suggest that all matter in the universe will keep getting closer to each other which is a exactly the opposite of what happened in the big bang. During the end of the contraction phase, all matter will forced into an immensely dense singular point much like the singularity of a black hole.
Physicists also suggest that this might be the gateway for another big bang and that this process of expansion and contraction may be an eternal cycle.
2. The Big Rip
So, you know how if you stretch a rubber band too much and it snaps? Well, the Big Rip suggests something similar. This theory suggests that the universe will continue to expand for billions of years.
But, after a critical point, there will occur a big rip, in which the very fabric of space-time will be torn apart. All the galaxies, and the solar systems will be ripped from their current trajectory and just disintegrate.
After a certain amount of time, even atoms and sub-atomic particles won’t be spared by the big rip. Even electrons will be torn apart from the nucleus. It will be total annihilation of everything in the universe.
Currently, even thought the universe is expanding, gravity is keeping local group of bodies together. That is why the sun and the earth maintain a relatively fixed distance from each other. But in a big rip scenario, gravity will be totally defeated and overpowered.
3. The Big Freeze
This model is thought to be the most probable by physicists and astronomers. They suggest that the universe will just keep on expanding forever. This will not result in a dramatic apocalyptic scenario for the universe but rather a slow, stretched out death for it.
What will happen is that, as the universe keeps on expanding, it will keep getting cooler and cooler until it reaches absolute zero. After a certain point, galaxies will be so apart from each other that no light could ever reach other galaxies.
Future intelligent species might think that they are truly alone in the universe and that their galaxy is the only one. They wouldn’t even be aware of the trillions of other galaxies housing trillions of other stars each.
As the universe gets more and more expanded, new stars will stop forming and the existing stars will burn out one after the another until no stars are left and the universe becomes eternally dark.
No matter how the universe goes, you and I don’t need to worry about it. Of course we will ‘need to know’ and probably we will some day but we won’t face the direct consequences of an end of universe scenario because we will be long gone before anything even starts happening.
Some interesting thoughts. A slow stretched out death for the universe- yikes!
Yes! In any scenario, it will be a long death...hehe
They're all "Big" though, aren't they?
I'm really grateful for the last paragraph. It was starting to look like another sleepless night. ;)
haha! don't you worry! If the universe in a manner that is instantaneous, it will be over in a second. you woudln't even know that you are dead. You would simply 'stop' existing :D
Interesting topic! If we can just keep those asteroids away from us... we will be ok! :)
I don't think 'we' even matter on the scale of the universe as a whole! haha
thanks for reading :)
"Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice." - Robert Frost.
I love this topic, good handling of the information!
thank you so much :)