The Universe and its collapse

[CURRAHEE CHRIS]

Hello

I do not have a science background but am curious nonetheless. I was driving to work this morning and reflecting on a "How the Universe Works" show I saw on Discovery Science. It made me wonder if anyone has ever theorized about the universe ultimately getting too big and completely collapsing on itself. Could this happen?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks
CC

[Chris Peterson]

I do not have a science background but am curious nonetheless. I was driving to work this morning and reflecting on a "How the Universe Works" show I saw on Discovery Science. It made me wonder if anyone has ever theorized about the universe ultimately getting too big and completely collapsing on itself. Could this happen?

The ultimate fate of the Universe depends on its total mass, its rate of expansion, and some sensitive parameters regarding dark energy and the topology of spacetime. It appeared for a long time that the expansion rate was such that the Universe's expansion did not exceed its own escape velocity, meaning its expansion would eventually slow to zero and then it would start collapsing, ultimately falling back to a singular point (the Big Crunch). Recent observations (which are explained with dark energy, or related ideas) suggest that the rate of expansion is increasing, meaning that gravity is no longer the dominant force. If these observations hold up (along with the underlying theory) it means the Universe will expand forever, becoming forever colder and less dense (heat death). The latter view is dominant among cosmologists, for the moment anyway.