Is the universe dying and cannot sustain itself. Universe had a beginning so will it have an end too? Why?

Answer 1

The Universe is not dying. It is evolving. And the truth is, we do NOT know if the Universe will have an end.

Current astronomical observations tells us that the Universe is expanding at an accelerated rate, and that there isn't enough mass/energy density to pull back this expansion. So the logical conclusion is that the Universe will continue to expand for a very very long time (the Universe is estimated to be about 14 billion years old, so we expect that the Universe will continue to expand for hundreds of trillions of years more).

It is also estimated that all the normal matter (i.e. electrons, protons and neutrons) in the Universe will eventually become part of a blackhole because they were either part of a star that supernovaed and became a blackhole, or were sucked into a blackhole. BTW, at the center of every galaxy, we now know that there is a supermassive blackhole (with a mass of about several hundred million Suns), which will eventually devour all the stars, planets, gas clouds, basically everything within the galaxy).

So the end of the Universe would be a universe with nothing but blackholes, if you considered that an end.

Answer 2

It is impossible to tell. But we are causing irreversable damage to it. Of course only on an absolutly minimal scale.

The elastic band theory is quite interesting. Saying that the universe is like an elastic band being pulled and it will eventually ping back into a microscopic nothing and everything will be destroyed.

Also go to your local library and look at some recent copies of New Scientist. I read an article a few days ago about how it was possible to create a new universe using a particle accelerator. You may find that ineresting.

Answer 3

I am familiar with 2 theories.

1. The elastic band, as described above, will have the universe streaching and then come flying back to the point of orgin.

2. The "Big Rip" - that is eventually the universe will expand to the point where the "fabric of the cosmos" actually rips. What is meant by the fabric is beyond me.

3. My personal opinion is that it will just expand and grow and neither devastating theory mentioned above will happen. Man has a way of developing "worse case scenarios" that probably would not ever occur.

Answer 4

When Hubble measured the expansion of the universe, Einstein abandoned his idea of the 'cosmological constant'.

The second reference gives lots of ideas on how the universe might end, if it does.

People like the idea of dark matter because it might prevent the Big Crunch, where eventually the universe would stop expanding and begin contracting.

Answer 5

The big bang theory is a myth, see link below. The universe probably has no beginning and no end. But it is vastly older than 14 billion years.

Answer 6

Well , good question. It can't be possible to tell exactly about that . But in my opinion if our life continues like this surely one fine morning our universe has to face an end.
Global warming will be the main culprit , if our universe comes to an end.

Answer 7

Some believe that there are many cycles, Things are born and die. It is all in how we experience life in all of its complexities. It could be believed that the universe is dying. It has been believed that there was a big bang which caused cosmic matter to be spread out accross space following the condensing of cosmic matter which formed the big bang.
Why? God only knows...our empirial experiences have not explained all that has happened in the Heavens and Earth.


An origin belief is any story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, earth, life, and the universe (cosmogony). Such beliefs can be derived from many different venues including scientific investigation, metaphysical speculation, or religious belief. As with any set of beliefs, opinions regarding the validity of particular origins beliefs differ — points of view on these subjects vary widely.

Scientific observations
Science, strictly speaking, deals only with observable phenomena. Anything that cannot be observed (either directly or indirectly) is, by definition, not a subject of scientific investigation. Scientists look for patterns among observations, which give rise to hypotheses to be tested against further observations. If a hypothesis passes these tests, it is then called a scientific theory, which again is subject to amendment or rejection based on new observations.

Using verifiable observations science is able to measure some of the effects of past events of evolution of the early universe (for instance, via the microwave echo of the big bang) and interpret these observations within a scientific framework. By extrapolating the current observed state of affairs into the past, scientists seek to construct an accurate picture of the past. Those who are strict adherents to philosophical naturalism believe that such is all that is possible to know. This is not a universally accepted idea by any means, and there are many who promote other paths to knowledge which are not characterised as scientific inquiry.

In scientific theories supported by the mainstream scientific community, the universe and life is described as developing through solely natural causes, and the progress of science is hoped to continue to improve the explanation of things and events in the past.


Mainstream scientific theories

Graphical rendering of the expansion of the universe due to the Big Bang with the paradoxical singularity at the origin of time.The Big Bang, the dominant cosmological theory about the early development and current shape and evolution of the universe, is supported by a collection of observed facts. It places origin of the Universe at about 13.7 +/-0.5 billion years ago. This widely accepted scientific dating contradicts many religious accounts of creation - for example, certain creationist accounts consider Universe to be only a few thousand years old. The preconditions for the Big Bang are currently a subject of developing theories (e.g. cosmic inflation theory).

The solar nebula which coalesced out of gas and dust about 4.3 billion years ago is considered the best planetary system formation model available for explaining the origin of the solar system. The Earth-moon system was formed out of this and there is evidence that the two bodies were formed after a collision between the proto-Earth and a Mars-sized object.

The modern evolutionary synthesis is the dominant biological theory about the origin of human life on Earth. This combines Charles Darwin's theory of the evolution of species by natural selection with Gregor Mendel's theory of genetics as the basis for biological inheritance.

The origin of life itself on Earth is more contested. Scientific conjectures, hypotheses, and observations pertaining to this topic are detailed in the article on the origin of life.

It should be pointed out that the above scientific theories are not ex nihilo beliefs, that is they do not start from nothing. They provide no mechanism for the origin ex nihilo of energy or matter. In this respect they are unlike the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic beliefs which assert that the universe, Earth, and life originated in a unique creative act by God, or scientific speculations which propose an original cause of some other type. For a more precise understanding of modern science's concepts concerning "matter from vacuum" or "something from nothing" see virtual particle and vacuum energy.

Answer 8

It could be another ice age, our weather seems to be worsening, ice caps melting etc.
It could be global destruction, just how many countries have mass weapons of destruction?
Mother nature could just up and take it all back.
Then theres God..............or is there?