Either the Universe will continue in its present form forever, or it will cease to exist in its present form at some time.
Many religions have postulated an end to the Universe: see Eschatology.
Scientific ideas of the end of the Universe
Some cosmological theories postulate that the Universe will come to an end after some finite lifespan, or settle down into an state where life as we know it will cease to exist.
However, there need not be a 'last moment', just as there need not be a 'first moment' discontinuity in the Big Bang theory of the creation of the Universe.
The alternatives to these theories are theories where the Universe continues to exist or evolve forever, see steady-state Universe.
Established scientific theories
Some of the possible scenarios envisaged are:
- the heat-death of the Universe
- the radioactive decay of all matter to stable isotopes
- endless cosmic inflation
- the Big Crunch
Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice" which states "Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice" has often been cited in relation to these theories.
Recent scientific theories
In 2003, New Scientist magazine reported a preprint by Robert R. Caldwell, Marc Kamionkowski and Nevin N. Weinberg which puts forward the hypothesis that the end of the Universe may possibly occur as a "Big Rip", which will shred the physical structure of the Universe.
Transhumanist theories
To do: see Omega point
- this is a stub article -- please fix it
See also:
- the arrow of time
External links
- Robert R. Caldwell, Marc Kamionkowski, Nevin N. Weinberg. Phantom Energy and Cosmic Doomsday, preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0302506