Scientists say energy that holds together the universe is weakening
Technology
The cosmos will eventually start to collapse
(Web Desk) - It's well known that the universe began in an explosion known as the Big Bang, but scientists now say that it might end with a 'Big Crunch'.
According to this chilling theory, the cosmos will eventually start to collapse in on itself until every shred of matter is compressed into a hot, dense inferno.
And scientists now believe they have discovered a critical piece of evidence that shows this process could begin at any time.
A groundbreaking new study suggests the mysterious force which prevents the universe from shrinking could be weakening.
Scientists previously thought that this force, known as 'dark energy', was a constant which always pushed the cosmos apart at the same rate.
However, after combining the largest-ever map of the universe with other key measurements, researchers now believe this fundamental assumption is incorrect.
Dr Willem Elbers, a researcher from the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University who worked on the project, says: 'For decades, we have relied on a standard model of the universe, but our new data suggests that dark energy might be evolving over time.
'If this is true, it will change everything we thought we knew about the cosmos.'
Ever since the Big Bang, estimated to have occurred approximately 13.8billion years ago, the universe has been expanding like a balloon being blown up.
To explain why the universe is expanding, Albert Einstein proposed that there must be a constant force called 'dark energy' pushing things apart.
According to what scientists call the 'standard model', this force should mean that the universe keeps on expanding forever.
However, some scientists have proposed that gravity will eventually overwhelm dark energy and pull the universe back together in the reversal of the Big Bang.
If this were to happen, stars and galaxies would collide and merge into a burning core where the surface of stars would ignite other celestial bodies.
The energy of the universe would become hotter until it reached thousands of degrees Celsius, tearing hydrogen atoms into free protons and electrons.
Eventually, the universe itself would become a single, vast fireball in which all matter, life, and even time and space itself would ultimately be destroyed under the immense force of gravity.
Until now, this has been nothing more than a speculative theory about what might happen rather than a realistic scenario.
However, this new research suggests that dark matter is not a constant as Einstein proposed but, rather changes over time - meaning that the universe could start to collapse.
And this could all happen 'remarkably' quickly, according to study co-author Paul Steinhardt, Director of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton University in New Jersey.
