How will the Universe end?
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
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Question and Answers.
How will the Universe end?
Today we have two theories about the end of the Universe. One theory is called the Big Crunch that is the opposite of the Big Bang. If the Universe contains more than the ‘critical amount of matter’ then we will have a Big Crunch. The critical amount of matter means that in the Universe there is enough matter and enough gravity to slow down and eventually stop to expansion on the Universe. Once this happens the gravity will still be pulling on the galaxies so they will ‘crunch’ back together.
Another theory is what happens if we have less than the ‘critical amount of matter’. This means that as the galaxies move away and their pull on each other gets less, in the end the gravity will not have enough affect to pull them back together again and will continue rushing away. The stars will in the end burn out or explode in Supernovas and in the end everything will be extremely cold. This is called Heat Death.
We need to be able to find out how much matter there is in the Universe to see if we have the critical amount and adding up the mass of all the stars is not difficult. The problem is there is a lot of matter we can’t see. We call it Dark Matter. Another problem is that we think that Dark Matter accounts for 90% of the matter in the Universe. One thing we do know is that we are close to the critical value. If we are exactly on then the Universe will continue expanding forever and gradually come to a halt but only in the infinite future. This again is Heat Death.
I have made several batches of questions. This question is from the first batch. To find other batches of questions plus the newest one return to the main h2g2 as Q and A page using the first link below. Other questions in this batch are also below.
| h2g2as Q and A | Find the answers to many space related questions. |
| How old is the Universe? | The age of the Universe and how we managed to work it out. |
| How did the Universe begin? | The origins of the Universe, how we found then out, proved them and The Big Bang. |
| How will the Universe end? | Three throrys about the death of the Universe and how to decide which will be the one. |
| What was it like before the Big Bang? | BEFORE the Big Bang. One of the most asked questions asked by anyone who knows anything about the Big Bang. |
| What is a Black Hole? | About the most bizzare objects in the Universe and how they are created. |
| What is a Wormhole? | How to travel anywhere in the Universe in seconds. |
| What is a quasar? | About the brightest objects in existance but which are also the most distant. |
| What happens at the speed of light? | What will happen when you catch up with light. CAN you catch a light beam? |
| Is there any life out there? | Are we alone? The search for ET. |
| What is space made out of? | The story of nothing. |
| What is ‘Dark Matter’? | The hunt for the missing matter of the Universe. |
| Where is the centre of the Universe and where is the edge of the Universe? | "Here is where the Universe began. Visit the Big Bang cafe and souvenir shop." |
Contact
If you would like to contact me please use this link:
Richard Derek Young.
