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Ultimate fate of the Universe


The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in physical cosmology. The ultimate fate of the universe depends on the shape of the universe and on the role that dark energy will play as the universe ages.

Many possible futures have been predicted by rival scientific hypotheses. These include futures of both finite and infinite duration.

Once the theory that the universe started with a rapid expansion (nicknamed the Big Bang) became accepted by a majority of scientists, the ultimate fate of the universe became a valid cosmological question. The answer to this question depends upon the physical properties of the mass/energy in the universe, the average density of the universe, and its rate of expansion.

There is a growing consensus among cosmologists that the universe is flat and will continue to expand forever.

The theoretical scientific exploration of the ultimate fate of the universe became possible with Albert Einstein's 1916 theory of general relativity. General relativity can be employed to describe the universe on the largest possible scale. There are many possible solutions to the equations of general relativity, and each solution implies a possible ultimate fate of the universe.

Alexander Friedmann proposed several solutions in 1922, as did Georges Lemaître in 1927. In some of these solutions, the universe has been expanding from an initial singularity which was, essentially, the Big Bang.

In 1931, Edwin Hubble published his conclusion, based on his observations of Cepheid variable stars in distant galaxies, that the universe was expanding. From then on, the beginning of the universe and its possible end have been the subjects of serious scientific investigation.

In 1927, Georges Lemaître set out a theory that has since come to be called the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe. In 1948, Fred Hoyle set out his opposing Steady State theory in which the universe continually expanded but remained statistically unchanged as new matter is constantly created. These two theories were active contenders until the 1965 discovery, by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, of the cosmic microwave background radiation, a fact that is a straightforward prediction of the Big Bang theory, and one that the original Steady State theory could not account for. As a result, The Big Bang theory quickly became the most widely held view of the origin of the universe.


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