• Question: COULD THE UNIVERSE EXPLODE?

    Asked by soraya to Meeks, Pete, Stephen, Steve, Tom on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Tom Hartley

      Tom Hartley answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Not as far as I know, although I believe there are some ideas it might eventually implode (going back to what’s called a “Big Crunch”).

    • Photo: Steve Roser

      Steve Roser answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      It already has! That is most scientists generally believe in the Big Bang at the start of hte universe, so the universe is expanding, very fast, and that I think is an explosion!

    • Photo: Marieke Navin

      Marieke Navin answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Well, i suppose you could say it did – the Big Bang blasted space and time into existence 14 billion years ago! The universe is still expanding now after that “explosion”…ultimately we think the universe is going to continue expanding and expanding….we think now that the expansion is speeding up!

    • Photo: Stephen Curry

      Stephen Curry answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Hi Soraya,

      It already exploded once – at the moment of its birth – are you sure that you want that to happen again?

      According to our best understanding, it is unlikely to explode anytime soon. I’m not 100% sure about this but, although the universe is expanding now, there is some debate about whether or not it will continue to expand forever.*

      If it slows down and starts to contract, then everything will come back together again and there will be a Big Crunch – and then perhaps another Big Bang. Who knows – maybe our universe is just one in a big long series…

      The universe is kind of mind-boggling.

      *Again I’m not sure but I had the impression that more recent data suggested the rate of expansion was getting faster and faster – so maybe the chances of a Big Crunch are not so great.

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