Time is running out - literally, says scientist?

Question

Scientists have come up with the radical suggestion that the universe's end may come not with a bang but a standstill - that time could be literally running out and could, one day, stop altogether.

The idea that time itself could cease to be in billions of years - and everything will grind to a halt - has been set out by Professor José Senovilla, Marc Mars and Raül Vera of the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, and University of Salamanca, Spain.

The motivation for this radical end to time itself is to provide an alternative explanation for "dark energy" - the mysterious antigravitational force that has been suggested to explain a cosmic phenomenon that has baffled scientists.

See link - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/12/18/scitime118.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

Question - What are your thoughts ?

Answer 1

I don't think they are entirely wrong. There is a force called "entropy" that is part of the equations defining the energy available in any system - closed, localized, or wide open. We are running the universe in the direction of maximization of entropy.

At the mini-scale, entropy is maximized when a lead-acid battery in your car has completely consumed the electrodes and the lead is completely dissovled. The battery is dead because there is no difference in the environments connected to the battery poles. Which can only occur with maximized entropy.

Let's go mega-scale. The sun is an engine of conversion in which nuclear conversions are occurring. But when the fuel for these conversions is consumed and the sun is one big nuclear "ash" then it will go dark. Because entropy-wise, it will have eliminated all gradients that allowed for the stellar phoenix reaction to occur.

I don't know that even the dark energy concept could escape maximization of entropy. In that sense, the idea for the end of the universe is correct. Even if the galaxies DO have that dark energy, the localized galaxies will "run down" to become tenuous, drifting piles of stellar emissions, a galactic "soup" of expended gases.

However, I read the article and I maybe understand the concept a little. They suggest that an alternative explanation exists for the apparent acceleration of the more distant galaxies away from us. If you know what a stockbroker calls "arbitrage" - the art of making localized profits based on time-delays in registering something, then you might understand their theory a bit better.

They are suggesting that for the really distant galaxies, we are seeing something that is an artifact of the time difference between what we measure from closer galaxies and what we see from those more distant galaxies. We are seeing things that aren't synchronized in time, and therefore should not compare them as though they were simultaneous. It leads to a false measurement, in their theory.

The math required to analyze it is beyond me and I'm sure they will publish. I won't say their idea is wrong. It does, however, run counter to some evidence being studied by a group of UK scientists who believe they have identified the dark energy. (Saw this on Discovery Science channel last week...).

I think the development of this theory is worth watching. If they are right, it will (yet again) lead to a rewrite of the physics and astrophysics books of the world. Wish I could say I'd be surprised, but these days the discoveries are coming so fast that it might be better to give up and just make the darned books downloadable. The publishers can edit as needed and forget about paper copies.

I might recommend a fun short story by Isaac Asimov, called "The Last Question." Dr. Asimov was a prolific writer who had a deft touch with the twists and turns of science fiction. I suggest you check your libraries for this excellent short story, which is relevant to this question.

Answer 2

Yes, it will slow down as the expansion reduces in speed.

an alternative theory, quite widely held is that timewill slow down to a crawl, the expansion will reverse and time will go backwards.

It makes perfect sense. But it means old just-undead people popping out of the ground, like a horror story, and eventually being un-born!

Answer 3

It sounds a little sketchy to me. It's an alternative concept of "dark energy." There is more than one explanation which means this one is not necessarily the correct one--in fact it may be a long shot.

Answer 4

We should waste billions or even trillions of tax payers dollars trying to prevent this. But first I'd like the results of the test our goverment did trying to determin the effects of a cow farting had on our ozone.

Answer 5

yeah the mayans, merlin, and the ancient egyptians predicted the be all end all with climate changes and terrorism on dec. 25, 2012. i think its coming soon. with the way people act, and their attitudes and stuff. i am not surprised. people are so cold hearted, mean, evil, etc. its coming soon. very soon. its just like pray and try to do better. but people are so selfish. what can we do. no peace and love anymore. uugh....

Answer 6

my thoughts, scientist cant even get rid of a tumor in the brain stem. we have come a long way scientifically but if they cant fix what they can see first hand and take care of something as simple as a tumor. I cant take every thing they say as truth.

Answer 7

Before it runs out will it slow down?

I think I could get a lot more done if time wasn't so fast.

Answer 8

Don't believe everything scientists and Al Gore tell you. They are trying to use scare tactics.

Answer 9

As long as it doesn't start running backwards, I can cope. I don't wanna re-live this year.