Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my Astronomy Wonder project for Science Honours 10. My guiding question is “What are the different scenarios of the death of the universe, and which is most likely to fit with the current scientific laws?”

 

 

For thousands of years many humans have looked to the skies and wondered how our wonderful universe started but a question that we are asking is how shall our beloved universe end? Scientists have many a theory but there are a certain few that seem more likely to fit in with our scientific laws. There isn’t just one specific scenario that could come through but many that range from a slow freeze to a violent rip or a collapse which is entirely dependent on unpredictable forces like dark forces, gravity and the laws of thermodynamics. In this essay we will be diving deeper into these theories about the end of the universe and evaluate on our best judgement on which fits best with the current scientific laws.

 

Our first theory is “The Big Freeze” (also known as Heat Death), this is widely considered the most probable scenario. In this, the universe will continue expanding forever, over billions and trillions of years and all stars will burn through their nuclear fuel and eventually die, with no new stars that form due to the lack of gas (this situation is similar with humanity and fossil fuels but we have renewable energy and stars don’t) As as result of this- our universe will be colder and darker and eventually all energy will be evenly spread out and the universe will reach a state of maximum entropy (where no more useful energy is available to do any work, this is similar to me on a daily basis.) Scientifically this idea fits in with the Second Law of Thermodynamics (the state of entropy of the entire universe, as an isolated system, will always increase over time) Scientific evidence, like the discovery of the fastly moving expansion of the universe in 1998, the existence of dark energy, and the data found from the Planck satellite supports this theory. Some scientists have argued that the universe might not end for good. There is a hypothesis that after reaching a state of maximum entropy, the universe could somehow recircle or bounce back into a new form which kickstarts a new big bang. This idea is purely based on theories and is not yet proven, but it raises some rather fascinating questions about if the universe is an endless cycle of death and rebirth.

Our second theory is “The Big Rip”. This theory focuses on if dark energy increased in strength over time and the expansion of the universe accelerates uncontrollably. The dark energy would cause the fabric of space to expand increasingly and would overcome all other forces like gravity. Galaxies would start to drift apart as space expands and eventually disintegrate because they surpass the gravitational forces that hold galaxies together. Stars, planets and all atomic particles are torn apart because the expansion overwhelms all the binding forces – therefore resulting in a big empty expanse filled with isolated particles that cannot interact. This theory could only occur if the universe is completely taken over by a form of dark energy with a equation of state less than -1, (known as phantom energy). This theory is considered as less probable as the above stated theory and is purely speculative with no actual evidence of phantom energy.

 

Our third theory is “The Big Crunch” where the universe would stop expanding and start shrinking instead. Gravity would pull everything back together until matter would collapse at a single point. Some scientific theorists believe this could eventually lead to a new Big Bang- however this scenario would require enough matter I the universe to slow down and reverse the current. So far, from what we have seen, space research and other observations from telescopes show that the universe is actually expanding faster and faster. Because of this the Big Crunch doesn’t feel very probable right now.

In conclusion- The Big Freeze, also known as the Heath Death, is the scenario that is most likely to occur as it fits with our current scientific laws about physics. It aligns with the scientific principles of general relativity, thermodynamics and what we can see in the universe to date. It is also supported by evidence of our universe is expanding faster and faster over time likely because of dark energy.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Image Sources-

The Big Freeze- found on google- 5/19/2025-

How The Big Crunch Theory Works- https://www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/topics_bigbang_bigcrunch.html – 5/19/2025- The Physics of the Universe.

 

Video

Three Ways to Destroy the Universe- Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell-  Feb 3 2014- Accessed on 5/13/2025

Sources

The Gale Encyclopedia of Science- Larry Gilman- Published on 2021- Accessed on 5/13/2025- https://go-gale-com.bc.idm.oclc.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Reference&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&retrievalId=31cf4c64-fd2b-4474-ae4b-15c360376e85&hitCount=76&searchType=TopicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CCX8124400302&docType=Topic+overview&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAR-VRL&prodId=SCIC&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CCX8124400302&topicId=00000000MVIE&searchId=&userGroupName=bcdc&inPS=true

 

Kurgesagt in a Nutshell- video stated above

 

American Public University- Dr. Gary Deel- Published on 05/14/2024 – Accessed on 5/14/2024- https://www.apu.apus.edu/area-of-study/math-and-science/resources/origin-of-the-universe/