Dark energy and the cyclic death and rebirth of the Universe.
Not too many years ago, scientists were unsure whether the universe
would continue to expand, or whether the rate of expansion
would eventually stop and go into reverse, resulting in a 'big crunch'.
Recent research has shown that the rate of expansion is actually
INCREASING , and this means that the universe will continue to expand
until it reaches a point where it will 'tear itself apart'.
Not only galaxies and planets will be torn apart, but so too will all
matter, including all life forms.
Molecules will be reduced to individual atoms, atoms will be reduced
to particles, and the particles will eventually revert back to the "dark
energy" from whence they emerged, leaving only a cold dark void.
The universe will have passed away, and all matter will have disappeared.
However, the outlook is not depressingly hopeless. Matter has NOT been totally
destroyed !
We know from the basic laws of physics that matter cannot be created or
destroyed - it can only be changed from one form into another.
It may be many millions of years, but a point will be reached where
the invisible "dark energy" will start to convert itself into fundamental
particles, and this in turn will eventually result in another 'big bang', bringing
about the birth of a new (but different) expanding universe, which, in turn,
will be 'torn to pieces' by its own expansion.
Thus, the cycle of birth and death of the universe will continue indefinitely.
How many universes have there been ? This is something we will never know.
We would have to rely on records for the answer, and as ALL matter is converted
into energy at the end of each cycle, there would be nowhere in the universe where
we could safely store records which would survive into the next universe.
The only thing we can say with any certainty is that that each new universe would
be governed by the universal laws of physics, and the process would continue
indefinitely, regardless of the emergence of new life forms in any given cycle.
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