A program on UK TV last night about the universe. Basically it said that eventualyy after trillions of trillions of years, the stars will die, there will be no matter left, nothing. Too big for me to comprehend. Does anyone have any insight into what can happen then. According to the professor on the program, nothing can happen because there is nothing to work on. But the "big bang" must have come from something in the first place!

asked 07 Mar '11, 07:14

evelyn's gravatar image

evelyn
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edited 07 Mar '11, 07:23

IQ%20Robot's gravatar image

IQ Robot ♦
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Current science tells us, by the standard model, that it depends on how much mass there is in the cosmos (cosmological constant) if the universe will

  • eventually stop expanding, and contract again into a singularity, before it would maybe explode again in another big bang, possibly resulting in an endlessly "pulsating" universe, or

  • expand forever until all stars die, ending up in a big freeze death.

I believe scientists favor the latter by recent observations, that's why it was the scenario depicted in that TV show you mentioned.

Despite being a very pessimistic scenario, there is a beautiful short story by the great Isaac Asimov that might give us some consolation: The Last Question.

Furthermore, we should remember that the mentioned standard model is just one interpretation of our observations about the universe. There seem to be some gaping holes, as scientists seem to have to "make up" things just for the maths to be right. For example, Dark matter and Dark energy are supposed to make up some 90ish percent of the universe, but one has ever seen or measured them yet.

That's why there are some alternatives like the E8 theory, which speaks of a 248-dimensional universe that we can hardly imagine. There could also be "parallel universes" (or, more accurately, "big bang bubbles") which would exist beyond our concept of space and time. Fractal cosmology would be yet another model and would hint into the direction that everything, even in the larger scale, is an eternal cycle of becoming and decay, of birth and death. Finally, there's still the idea around that spirit gives birth to matter by creation, and not the other way round. ;-)

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answered 07 Mar '11, 21:16

herzmeister's gravatar image

herzmeister
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my brain isn't big enough to take this in

(08 Mar '11, 07:19) evelyn

Im quite fascinated by this dark matter,dark energy thing.It must be a fairly serious belief as governments are funding research into this.Its an intrigueing subject.

(08 Mar '11, 09:49) Monty Riviera

@evelyn sorry that I seemed to have been carried away a bit and failed to make my message clear. In short: What you have seen in the TV show about the end of the universe is just one theory of many, albeit the currently most popular one. There are alternatives that I tried to point out. And even if it should be correct, we might build a super-computer, like in the mentioned short story, that will at last solve the problem with the dying stars in a very enlightening way. ;-)

(08 Mar '11, 12:45) herzmeister
showing 2 of 3 show 1 more comments

I agree with Wade. If humanity can desist from destroying themselves they will doubtless ( inspired and driven on by God )have evolved far beyond what humanity is now.

We may well also spiritually grow into who we are and perhaps matter itsself will become a minor detail in our lives.

Matter may well do this and that,it may start and end. But originating Spirit goes far beyond the confines of a physical universe.

It knows no death,it knows no decrease. It knows only life.It ever expands.

For all i know this universe may be only one of billions.It may be a mere fraction of what God is, and what He has created.

Graham

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answered 07 Mar '11, 12:22

Monty%20Riviera's gravatar image

Monty Riviera
14.3k11148

Good way to say it Graham. I watched that programme and spent the whole time wondering where spirit might fit into all his theories, or make them irrelevent.

(07 Mar '11, 12:26) aquamarine

I agree Aqua. I like prof Cox,his enthusiasm and passion is inspired by his creator....wheather he knows it or not. I always imagine spirit as being right at the centre of matter. I imagine it as being " back of all" as many early new thought writers put it.If matter does degrade then it may be like dead skin falling of the host organism,only to be replaced by a never ending stream of new growth.Not really dying,just evolving. But thats only my theory.

(07 Mar '11, 12:57) Monty Riviera

Absolutely nothing will happen to this Universe at the end. It always was, and always will be!

Now, if you were asking what would happen to us, and everything in this universe, then of course, we will all be destroyed; and we will return to pure matter, energy and spirit to await perhaps a new beginning!

But the real truth is unknown to us mortals!

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answered 08 Mar '11, 01:52

Inactive%20User's gravatar image

Inactive User ♦♦
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Beginning and End are human concepts to define our limited idea of time.

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answered 04 May '11, 02:39

you's gravatar image

you
5.3k953

This appears so if left with no influence however I believe by then we'll have the intellect to change that from occurring, even creating our own big bang if necessary.

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answered 07 Mar '11, 07:41

Wade%20Casaldi's gravatar image

Wade Casaldi
36.9k428102

What will happen after the end of the Universe? What always happens, it goes on under a different form the way you do each and every time you've died.

thank you, namaste

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answered 08 Mar '11, 15:22

daniele's gravatar image

daniele
6.2k31839

I agree with OM.

Let's take a step back and look at what it means for something to "end." Or even to "begin". So... taking an everyday situation....I don't know about you, but to me, I'm always thinking can't wait until the weekends to come, woohoo. It's the end of work and beginning of fun. But... really? ... Was it really thee end of work?.... Was there even really a beginning of fun? Reality can be pretty harsh compared to our expectations (our delusions).

So, what is the "real" definition of end or beginnings?

I recently finally understood a quote that says something like "Endings and beginnings are only a dream!"

So in the end... who cares...? And if you do care... at least have a clear definition in mind to proceed. But it seems like us humans do not possess the capacity to have such definition IMO. Just like you said, too big for us the comprehend.

But that's okay. No need to really comprehend anyways.

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answered 04 May '11, 08:01

Junwen's gravatar image

Junwen
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I saw the same show. Does anyone know the name of it? Thanks

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answered 04 May '11, 01:59

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Aaron Cannon
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