What awaits our Universe at the end: 3 possible scenarios

How it all began and what will happen next

We know the past of our Universe: about 14 billion years ago, as a result of the Big Bang, time, space and everything that surrounds us was formed from a tiny point. We also know about the present: observing the motion of galaxies, scientists have come to the conclusion that under the influence of dark energy, the Universe is expanding with constant acceleration. But what will the future be like and what awaits our universe at the end? In this regard, cosmologists have three main theories: the Big Freeze, the Big Rip, and the Big Compression.

To understand them, imagine two balls connected by a tight elastic band - these are galaxies that are attracted by the force of gravity. Hooks are attached to the balls - they demonstrate dark energy pushing universes apart. If you copy all this many, many times, you get a system that resembles our Universe. And its future depends on the result of the confrontation between two opposing forces - rubber bands and hooks.

1. Large freezing

In this scenario, the force separating the balls is so great that it will stretch the elastic until it completely loses its elasticity. Balls-galaxies not held by gravity move away, and the Universe is expanding and expanding. And this will continue until the galaxies disintegrate into lonely planets and stars, "floating" in boundless space.

The light and energy emitted by them is not enough for the formation of new stars. As a result, the universe will become darker and colder until it comes to a state of thermodynamic equilibrium. Then the Great Freeze, or Heat Death of the Universe, will come.

2. Big gap

If the force repelling the balls is very high, then the elastic will not stretch, but will immediately break. In this scenario, the Universe will continue to accelerate further, overcome the force of gravity, and the galaxies will simply disintegrate.

Due to the absence of electromagnetic and nuclear bonds, even atoms will cease to exist, scattering into tiny particles. This will be the Big Break.

3. Great compression

In the third scenario, the rubber bands that tighten the balls win. With this development of events, gravity not only stops the expansion of the Universe, but also changes it in the opposite direction. Galaxies rush towards each other, gather in a huge cluster, where gravity becomes even stronger.

Stars also collide, the temperature rises, and the size of the Universe decreases sharply, contracting to such an extent that even atoms and subatomic particles begin to squeeze. As a result, everything collapses into a singularity - a tiny, hot and very dense point. This is Big Compression.

There is also the Big Bounce theory, according to which this state of the universe preceded the Big Bang. It is impossible to know how many bounces there were before and how many may occur in the future, since each of them erases any evidence of the existence of the previous Universe.

How will it end

Which of these scenarios is most likely depends on the exact shape of the universe, the amount of dark energy it contains, and the rate of expansion.

Current observations indicate that we are heading towards the Great Freeze. But do not rush to stock up on mittens: the day when the Universe cools down and all processes in it stop will come very, very not soon. After about 10¹⁰⁰ years.

If you are interested in this topic, you can check out the full TED video.