Big Rip: 20+ billion years from now (light, black hole, theory, solar)
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From the Wikipedia
This scenario is possible only if the energy density of dark energy actually increases without limit over time[citation needed]. Such dark energy is called phantom energy and is unlike any known kind of energy. In this case, the expansion rate of the universe will increase without limit. Gravitationally bound systems, such as clusters of galaxies, galaxies, and ultimately the solar system will be torn apart. Eventually the expansion will be so rapid as to overcome the electromagnetic forces holding molecules and atoms together. Finally even atomic nuclei will be torn apart and the universe as we know it will end in an unusual kind of gravitational singularity. At the time of this singularity, the expansion rate of the universe will reach infinity, so that any and all forces (no matter how strong) that hold composite objects together (no matter how closely) will be overcome by this expansion, literally tearing everything apart.
This sounds counter-intuitive to me. Rather than being torn apart, it seems to me it would be more like going down a stream or river where even though things are going faster, it would be in the same frame of reference.
From the Wikipedia
This scenario is possible only if the energy density of dark energy actually increases without limit over time[citation needed]. Such dark energy is called phantom energy and is unlike any known kind of energy. In this case, the expansion rate of the universe will increase without limit. Gravitationally bound systems, such as clusters of galaxies, galaxies, and ultimately the solar system will be torn apart. Eventually the expansion will be so rapid as to overcome the electromagnetic forces holding molecules and atoms together. Finally even atomic nuclei will be torn apart and the universe as we know it will end in an unusual kind of gravitational singularity. At the time of this singularity, the expansion rate of the universe will reach infinity, so that any and all forces (no matter how strong) that hold composite objects together (no matter how closely) will be overcome by this expansion, literally tearing everything apart.
This sounds counter-intuitive to me. Rather than being torn apart, it seems to me it would be more like going down a stream or river where even though things are going faster, it would be in the same frame of reference.
Brian, you do come up with some of the most interesting "ponderables." Have you been watching the PBS Nova series, "The Fabric of the Cosmos?" it's some really wild stuff. NOVA | The Fabric of the Cosmos
The Illusion of Time episode may touch on what you are referring.
Quote:
Our expansion will keep accelerating in the future, not slow down. It goes against everything we had kind of gotten used to thinking about. This has some very strange implications for the future. Because the expansion of our universe is accelerating, in the far future, after 100 billion years or so, all of the other distant galaxies will have hurtled out of sight from us. It will appear as if our galaxy in the middle of nothing. A surprising outcome is that our descendants will be at a terrible loss. Light from distant galaxies has to travel so far to reach us that when we look out at them, we're actually looking back in time. So in the far future, when those distant galaxies are no longer visible, astronomers will find the past, in cosmic terms, is out of reach. And as for the end of the time, one theory suggests that, eventually, black holes will dominate the cosmos. Then they, too, will evaporate, leaving nothing but random particles drifting through space. In a far distant future, where everything has decayed and everything's just sort of smoothed out, there's no change. And without change we don't really have a clear notion of the passage of time. If you don't have events happening, then it's hard to see how you would even imagine that there was time. You can't even tell which direction of time is forward and which is backward. In a very real sense, time, itself, will one day lose its meaning.
I was actually thinking about an earlier post by NightBazaar that included a lecture by a physicist who believed that the universe's " Big bang" would end up being a "Big crunch'" After awhile, I went back to the Wikipedia and saw the possibility of what they called the Big Rip, where the universe would keep on keeping on... Or so goes that theory.
More recently, I recalled a that that same physicist said the Big Bang could've started with quantum fluctuations. So from that, I got to thinking maybe there are still quantum fluctuations going on and that the bang would continue. It could even keep creating dark matter and dark energy. Pretty wild stuff, huh?
Ahhh the Big Rip. Great for late night reading! As far as my limited understanding goes, I believe the "stream" you mentioned would be going outward in all direction from every point. If dark energy is constant we'll just see massive structures racing away, but if it increases as these theorists predict then it would have noticeable effects on smaller scales. Hence star systems and even atoms bursting apart.
From the Wikipedia
This scenario is possible only if the energy density of dark energy actually increases without limit over time[citation needed]. Such dark energy is called phantom energy and is unlike any known kind of energy. In this case, the expansion rate of the universe will increase without limit. Gravitationally bound systems, such as clusters of galaxies, galaxies, and ultimately the solar system will be torn apart. Eventually the expansion will be so rapid as to overcome the electromagnetic forces holding molecules and atoms together. Finally even atomic nuclei will be torn apart and the universe as we know it will end in an unusual kind of gravitational singularity. At the time of this singularity, the expansion rate of the universe will reach infinity, so that any and all forces (no matter how strong) that hold composite objects together (no matter how closely) will be overcome by this expansion, literally tearing everything apart.
This sounds counter-intuitive to me. Rather than being torn apart, it seems to me it would be more like going down a stream or river where even though things are going faster, it would be in the same frame of reference.
This link goes into great detail about ALL six scenarios of how OUR universe may end....including "The Big Rip">>>>>
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