Physicists Predict Universe Could End in 20 Billion Years
New model suggests Universe may collapse in a Big Crunch in 20 billion years.
Why it matters
- Offers a new perspective on the Universe's lifespan.
- Challenges long-held beliefs about eternal expansion.
- Provides a potential answer to one of cosmology's biggest questions: does the Universe have an end?
By the numbers
- Universe lifespan: 33.3 billion years.
- Current age: 13.8 billion years.
- Time left: less than 20 billion years.
The big picture
- The Universe could stop expanding in 11 billion years and collapse into a Big Crunch.
- This theory depends on dark energy evolving and a negative cosmological constant.
- The Big Crunch is like the opposite of the Big Bang, where all matter smooshes back together.
What they're saying
- Skepticism about the prediction: "Oh boy is that scientists face gonna be red from embarrassment in 20.1 billion years when the universe doesn’t end."
- Questions about the negative cosmological constant: "I haven't seen anything about a negative cosmological constant... anybody got more info on that?"
- Mention of alternative theories: "Not that we will be around for this, but it's important to note this is just one of many theories and it's based on dark matter. Recently other studies suggested dark matter might only be an illusion."
Caveats
- This is not a certainty but one possible future if recent hints about dark energy hold.
- More data is needed to confirm if dark energy is evolving.
- The nature of dark energy is still unknown; it may not be axions or axion-like particles at all.
What’s next
- More research and data collection on dark energy.
- Further validation of the model's predictions.