Our universe may end the same way it was created: with a big, sudden bang. That's according to new research from a group of Harvard physicists, who found that the destabilization of the Higgs boson — a tiny quantum particle that gives other particles mass — could lead to an explosion of energy that would consume everything in the known universe and upend the laws of physics and chemistry.
As part of their study, published last month in the journal Physical Review D [open, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.97.056006] [DX], the researchers calculated when our universe could end. It's nothing to worry about just yet. They settled on a date 10139 years from now, or 10 million trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years in the future. And they're at least 95% sure — a statistical measure of certainty — that the universe will last at least another 1058 years.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Thursday April 05 2018, @11:47PM
So since it's supposed to be sudden and there is nowhere to run (or time to do so) this is isn't really all that high on my list of things to worry about. It's the end of the universe as we know it, and I feel fine ... That said if the second big bang goes off and there is no one around to hear or see it did it make a sound? I guess since nobody can hear us scream in space it might be sort of mute. I recon it's like the universe telling us all that it brought us into this universe, it can end our existence anytime it feels like it ... Which sort of puts things into the proper universal perspective.