The SIX Different Scenarios Explaining The Ultimate Fate Of Our Universe. (Earth, light)
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Currently Cosmology has six different theories contemplating the eventual fate of time and space....hence the end of our Universe as we understand it. Some of these theories are more likely and plausible than others; but they are all still possible within our current level of scientific comprehension.
(1) THE BIG CRUNCH: The expansion of the Universe begins to slow down as gravity begins to slow and stop the initial expansion from the BIG BANG. Subsequently the expansion reverses into a contraction, our Universe becomes blue shifted(unlike our red shift current state) and will collapse back into a singularity. This theory is now thought unlikely. Big Crunch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(2) THE BIG WHIMPER: The Universe expands indefinitely with all energy and matter becoming increasingly chaotic and so dispersed that no physical parameters will have any meaning, this includes time. Everything will basically appear empty and devoid of matter and energy and time...essentially a "heat death" where no energy can be produced and no particles can interact and/or will be left to cause interactions. This is now considered the most likely scenario. Heat death of the universe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(3) THE BIG RIP: The Universe essentially rips itself apart with Dark Energy overwhelming Gravity as it continues to increase in power while gravity stays constant. This only applies if Dark Energy continues to accelerate the expansion rate of the Universe. Hypothetically our Universe would be destroyed in 20 Billion years as all matter is literally ripped apart and shredded. Big Rip - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(4) THE BIG FREEZE: The universe fills up with ever more powerful Dark Energy and reaches infinite density; while it expands by a smaller finite amount. Time itself siezes up and and any surviving matter is locked in place and unable to move. A local Big Freeze can happen if we live on a Brane or Membrane in higher dimensional space and it's surface begins to vibrate violently. This is similar to the Heat-Death scenario(Big Whimper) Future of an expanding universe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(5) THE BIG BRAKE: Dark Energy reverses itself stopping the accelerating expansion of the Universe, then stopping it and actually causing an infinite rate of deceleration. All cosmic structures would be subjected to tidal forces of infinite strength but matter would still exist albeit in a far different form and organization. The consequences for time however are unpleasant and it would appear meaningless. Phys. Rev. D 76, 064032 (2007): Quantum cosmology with a big-brake singularity
(6) THE BIG LURCH: Somehow ordinary matter whips itself up into a frenzy and pressure forces grow infinitely while the density and cosmic expansion rate remain in steady stasis. Time may OR may not continue in this scenario...but this scenario cannot be ruled out and it can occur in as little as nine Million years.
I cannot find a single link for this theory. And I understand little of this theory's premise.
This thread was composed from information from Scientific American Magazine.....from the article titled: "COULD TIME END"....The Ultimate Doomsday. I understand a lot of it....some just a little and some not at all. Some of the theories seem somewhat the same scenario just packaged a little differently and some parts are just beyond my science comprehension.
ANY and ALL thoughts and/or pet theories are welcomed as I would love to share and extrapolate our own thoughts and scenarios from these 6 basic tenets of the fate of Time and the fate of our Universe.
Truthfully , given our limited understanding of even Earth , anything is possible. I know about redshifts , but how do we really know what will transpire. For instance , given the increase in redshift with distance , in situ with temporal dilation , images of extragalactic objects will appear as they did millions or billions of years ago. It's possible this effect may have ceased during the interim in which the light travels here. I've heard of cosmic repulsion , but to me , it makes no sense. I'll admit , I need to research this phenomenon more , but it seems to be a moot point. Given this hypothesis , this universe may have reached a static state , or the expansion may have actually accelerated. Only time , intensive spatial exploration , and a new form of economics in which life is no longer governed by the accumulation of wealth - in effect - eliminating 'cost restraints' on research , development , and implementation of new technologies , will we stand a hair's chance of scratching the surface in the foreseeable future.
Truthfully , given our limited understanding of even Earth , anything is possible. I know about redshifts , but how do we really know what will transpire. For instance , given the increase in redshift with distance , in situ with temporal dilation , images of extragalactic objects will appear as they did millions or billions of years ago. It's possible this effect may have ceased during the interim in which the light travels here. I've heard of cosmic repulsion , but to me , it makes no sense. I'll admit , I need to research this phenomenon more , but it seems to be a moot point. Given this hypothesis , this universe may have reached a static state , or the expansion may have actually accelerated. Only time , intensive spatial exploration , and a new form of economics in which life is no longer governed by the accumulation of wealth - in effect - eliminating 'cost restraints' on research , development , and implementation of new technologies , will we stand a hair's chance of scratching the surface in the foreseeable future.
As far as we know.....with current technology......it has been scientifically proven that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating; we are not sure why this is true and/or if it will continue through time. That's why there are six scenarios but currently number two gets the nod.
(2) THE BIG WHIMPER: The Universe expands indefinitely with all energy and matter becoming increasingly chaotic and so dispersed that no physical parameters will have any meaning, this includes time. Everything will basically appear empty and devoid of matter and energy and time...essentially a "heat death" where no energy can be produced and no particles can interact and/or will be left to cause interactions. This is now considered the most likely scenario. Heat death of the universe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(4) THE BIG FREEZE: The universe fills up with ever more powerful Dark Energy and reaches infinite density; while it expands by a smaller finite amount. Time itself siezes up and and any surviving matter is locked in place and unable to move. A local Big Freeze can happen if we live on a Brane or Membrane in higher dimensional space and it's surface begins to vibrate violently. This is similar to the Heat-Death scenario(Big Whimper) Future of an expanding universe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I get those two terms mixed up sometimes. Essentially though, if there's a total absence of radiant heat, as in the Heat Death scenario, the opposite would achieve maximum cold (a freeze) since there'd be nothing left to generate heat. I suppose the space of the universe could expand infinitely, but I think I'd be more inclined to think even the expansion would come to an eventual end, the result being that everything of the universe would ultimately reach a zero point and be gradually leveled out by whatever 'field' the Big Bang originated from in the first place, even if that 'field' is nothing more than infinite static. That's my take on it.
Of course the bottom line is we don't really know what the ultimate fate of the universe will be.
I would love to find out more on the Big Brake and the Big Lurch. There is hardly any information freely available online about these scenarios.
Maybe you've already seen this. If not, here's a link on the Big Lurch. The term is a new one to me. You're right, there's not much available on the subject.
Maybe you've already seen this. If not, here's a link on the Big Lurch. The term is a new one to me. You're right, there's not much available on the subject.
Just downloaded it! Thanks
It will make my drive home for Thanksgiving more interesting.
Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!
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