What is the Ultimate Fate of the Universe?

[SOMSOC]

Hi All,

Sorry for all the questions, but you guys give so much input to your answers.

Many Thanks to everyone who has posted valuable info on this forum,it's helping me so much in understanding the Universe.

Martin

[imported_Draco]

Nobody know's how the Universe will end...whether it will happen instantaneously or over a period of some thousand years.
THe Universe is expanding and expanding. It will keep on expanding to the point where it will stop or something....then result in some 'big crunch' where it will die or explode and then another Universe will be created. I don't know if thats true.
We might be living in the remains of another Universe...

[Haglund]

My guess is that it will continue to expand forever, but exactly how? I mean will there still be atoms, or will even the nucleus rip apart, and then the neutrons and protons?

[Fraser]

The galaxies are currently accelerating away from each other. Eventually you won't be able to see galaxies, just the stars in your own galaxy.

Star formation is on the decrease, so eventually no new stars will form in any galaxy. They'll all burn out and become long-lived white dwarfs.

Then the supermassive black holes at the heart of galaxies will consume all of the material to form a single, galactic-mass black hole.

According to Hawkings, the black holes will then evaporate one atom at a time until the Universe consists of an elementary mist of particles accelerating away from each other.

Have a nice day.

[AJG]

That is just so depressing.

[imported_Draco]

lmao!!!! Don't worry we'll be long dead once that is over:p

[Haglund]

That's right fraser, I forgot about the new star formation decrease. But this wont happen anytime soon anyway, we have to wait longer than the current age of the universe, even. Here is a sci-fi idea though, what if the knowledge and technology could advance to such levels that it would be possible to maintainstar clusters in which we still could live? (No... I haven't had breakfast yet :) )

[Matthew]

Many what ifs became reality.

It is also possible that the universe could eventually go crunch, in the big crunch. Its always the black holes which ruin the universe! They suck up all the matter and energy of the universe so we can't have anymore stars. But black holes also are also the structure in the universe which I want to learn most about....