Will the universe end in a Big Crunch?

Astronomers once thought the universe could collapse in a Big Crunch. Now most agree it will end with a Big Freeze. If the expanding universe could not combat the collective inward pull of gravity, it would die in a Big Crunch, like the Big Bang played in reverse.

What is the big crunch in astronomy?

The ‘Big Crunch’ is the rather fanciful name given to one of the possible fates of the Universe. In this scenario, the current expansion of the Universe ultimately slows, stops and then reverses to begin contracting. In other words, the density of the Universe must exceed the critical density.

How long would the Big Crunch take?

Linde and his colleagues calculate that the typical time for the Universe to start this collapse would be in 10 to 20 billion years from now. Its current age is about 14 billion years. “This was the greatest surprise,” says Linde.

What evidence supports Big Crunch?

While the Big Crunch used to be a widely accepted proposal for the end of the universe, evidence came out in 1998 that made it seem far more unlikely. By studying the brightest type of supernova explosions, known as type 1a supernovas, it was discovered that the expansion of the universe was actually accelerating.

What is the big slurp?

Back in July, physicists from CERN announced an incredible find — after years of searching, evidence for the Higgs Boson particle (or at the least, a higgs-like particle) had been un-Earth through the tedious process of pouring through data collected from millions of particle accelerator collisions.

Will the universe become a black hole?

Unlikely. Recent developments that show our universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate. The cause of the expansion, called dark energy, is not understood, but it appears that the universe is destined to undergo a slow and cold death.

What is the Black Hole Era?

The Black Hole Era, which is predicted to last from about 1040 to 10100 (10 duodecillion to 1 googol) years after the Big Bang, spans an unimaginably long stretch of time, even for astronomical timescales. Imagine a universe with no bright stars, no planets, and no life whatsoever — that’s the Black Hole Era.

What would happen if the Big Crunch happened?

At the time of the Big Crunch, all the matter in the universe would be crushed into an infinitely hot, infinitely dense singularity similar to the Big Bang. The Big Crunch may be followed by another Big Bang, creating a new universe.

What is the Big Crunch in cosmology?

Physical cosmology. The Big Crunch is a hypothetical scenario for the ultimate fate of the universe, in which the expansion of the universe eventually reverses and the universe recollapses, ultimately causing the cosmic scale factor to reach zero, an event potentially followed by a reformation of the universe starting with another Big Bang.

What is the Big Crunch scenario?

The Big Crunch scenario hypothesized that the density of matter throughout the universe is sufficiently high that gravitational attraction will overcome the expansion which began with the Big Bang.

Is the Big Crunch the end of the universe?

While the Big Crunch used to be a widely accepted proposal for the end of the universe, evidence came out in 1998 that made it seem far more unlikely. By studying the brightest type of supernova explosions, known as type 1a supernovas, it was discovered that the expansion of the universe was actually accelerating.