Anybody know when the universe is going to end?

Question

I think that the universe will end when some massive explosion takes place and consumes all matter.

Answer 1

it will not explode, because if it were to explode, it would require more energy than is available in the universe.

it is projected though that it can end in several ways, the most supported are either it will expand continuously until everything just dies, or it will come back together (the Big Crunch) and make another Big Bang. either of these events is expected to happen 100 billion years from now.

no-one really knows, though...

Answer 2

the gravitational attraction of all the matter in the observable horizon is high enough, then it could stop the expansion of the universe, and then reverse it. The universe would then contract, in about the same time as the expansion took. Eventually, all matter and energy would be compressed back into a gravitational singularity. It is impossible to ask what would happen after this, as time would stop in this singularity as well.

For this to happen, the average denisty of matter in the Universe has to be so high, that the overall space-time curvature of the Universe is positive, like the surface of a sphere. If the matter density is less than certain value, called the critical density, the curvature is negative (like a hyperbolic surface, which is a mathematical manifold often compared to the form of a saddle) and gravitation will be too feable to completly counter gravity, so that expansion will ever slow down but never come to an end. These two cases, and the limiting case in between, are called the 3 Friedmann modells. They assume the cosmological constant to be zero.

However, recent experimental evidence (namely the observation of distant supernovae as standard candles, and the well-resolved mapping of the cosmic microwave background) have - to most scientists' considerable surprise - shown that the expansion of the universe is not being slowed down by gravity, but instead, accelerating. (This evidence is considered conclusive by most cosmologists since 2002.)

In the framework of the field equations of the General Theory of Relativity this corresponds to a non-zero value of the cosmological constant, which again means the existence of a mysterious substance or field or force or property of the vacuum itself exerting a negative pressure that counters gravity on large scales.

Answer 3

There are two major theories with regards to this (and there are other more obscure ones, and that isn't to say they are wrong, but simply less well supported). The first is the Big Crunch, which suggests that all matter will be drawn toward a common point until it condenses into a supermassive black hole.

The second, and somewhat more well-supported theory based on what we've recently learned regarding the acceleration of objects in the universe, is that it will continue to expand outwards until it reaches a "Heat Death," when everything cools down and is very spread out. At that point there won't be enough available energy for the burning of stars, support for life, etc.

Well beyond this point, it is possible that protons might eventually decay at very long time periods. This is another area of current research.

A "big explosion" as you say, wouldn't really be an end--because when there is an explosion, you are releasing energy and transforming one set of chemistry to another.

Answer 4

It will not end.

It will just go beige.

Energy and matter uniformly distributed through infinity. Nothing happening. Ever. Maximum entropy. Not dark. Not light. Just beige.

Answer 5

May be there would be an end to earth, but universe?

Answer 6

- when the sun comes up and down from the opposite direction

Answer 7

On a Thursday.

Answer 8

who says it will end at all? for all we know it might just keep on changing its nature.. luckily for us we won't live long enough to see that happen..

Answer 9

Yes, Right after we do!

Answer 10

I seriously doubt that anyone can so id say no...