Universe on Brink of Collapse

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

Physicists have proposed a mechanism for "cosmological collapse" that predicts that the universe will soon stop expanding and collapse in on itself, obliterating all matter as we know it. Their calculations suggest that the collapse is "imminent"—on the order of a few tens of billions of years or so—which may not keep most people up at night, but for the physicists it's still much too soon.

In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, physicists Nemanja Kaloper at the University of California, Davis; and Antonio Padilla at the University of Nottingham have proposed the cosmological collapse mechanism and analyzed its implications, which include an explanation of dark energy.

"The fact that we are seeing dark energy now could be taken as an indication of impending doom, and we are trying to look at the data to put some figures on the end date," Padilla told Phys.org. "Early indications suggest the collapse will kick in in a few tens of billions of years, but we have yet to properly verify this."

 

http://phys.org/news/2015-03-universe-brink-collapse-cosmological-timescale.html

 

I love the relative unknown of space... Stuff like this is so exciting to me all the while being a terrifying reality.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Favre4Ever

[Cherry 1,302]

Given that the human race essentially started two million years ago, that's still an incredibly long time for the universe to exist.

[theMileHighGuy 656]

I love astronomy, and that is cool, expansion would have to end eventually, even though things in a vacuum don't really lose inertia.

 

As a species eventually we'll have to move on from this planet to avoid extinction. If not the overpopulation/pollution/planet fucking that we do, the sun will kill us eventually. I think I read somewhere that it will only run for 3 or 4 billion years before it starts to expand (from running out of gases to burn becoming a red giant). Even getting slightly bigger would make temperatures here much, much higher, but if it gets 3-4x its normal size we're literally toast

 

It's nice of science to show us that even if we do find new worlds, there's still an ultimate finish line way down the road

[RazorStar 4,025]

Good thing outer space isn't a vacuum. It's just close as enough that it may as well be. However you make the parameters large enough and it makes a difference.

[Sarge+ 3,436]

Given that the human race essentially started two million years ago, that's still an incredibly long time for the universe to exist.

 

Homo sapiens has only been around for about 200,000 years. But even still, you're right that it is a long time.

[Cherry 1,302]

 

Homo sapiens has only been around for about 200,000 years. But even still, you're right that it is a long time.

Referring to much more basic ancestors, but the point stands. Long ass time to go before universe ends.

[Vin+ 3,121]

Padilla told Phys.org. "Early indications suggest the collapse will kick in in a few tens of billions of years, but we have yet to properly verify this."

 

 

 

 

The dynamics of vacuum energy sequestering predict that the universe will collapse, but don't provide a specific mechanism for how collapse will occur.

 

Oh scientists, you so silly.

 

 

 

Heat death is more worrisome, but I dunno how viable that is, either.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Vin

[BigBen07 285]

I love astronomy, and that is cool, expansion would have to end eventually, even though things in a vacuum don't really lose inertia.

 

As a species eventually we'll have to move on from this planet to avoid extinction. If not the overpopulation/pollution/planet fucking that we do, the sun will kill us eventually. I think I read somewhere that it will only run for 3 or 4 billion years before it starts to expand (from running out of gases to burn becoming a red giant). Even getting slightly bigger would make temperatures here much, much higher, but if it gets 3-4x its normal size we're literally toast

 

It's nice of science to show us that even if we do find new worlds, there's still an ultimate finish line way down the road

Apparently current estimates also state that in 1 billion years the Sun will destroy the Earth's biosphere before it expands. Then after it expands, Earth is likely gonna get vaporized in 5-7 billion, again according to current projections.

[blotsfan 2,112]

Thanks Obama.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

So the universe collapses and there's just...nothing left? Isn't that an impossible concept to comprehend?

[JetsFan4Life 542]

I feel like I learned this in 8th grade. The universe is expanding at an amazing pace as we speak and at some point will be unable to expand and collapse on itself. It's very interesting stuff.

 

As we speak the universe gets bigger and creates what wasn't there and over time it will all disappear.