Subatomic calculations indicate finite lifespan for universe

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
By Irene Klotz | Reuters

BOSTON (Reuters) - Scientists are still sorting out the details of last year's discovery of the Higgs boson particle, but add up the numbers and it's not looking good for the future of the universe, scientists said Monday.
"If you use all the physics that we know now and you do what you think is a straightforward calculation, it's bad news," Joseph Lykken, a theoretical physicist with the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, told reporters.
Lykeen spoke before presenting his research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston.
"It may be that the universe we live in is inherently unstable and at some point billions of years from now it's all going to get wiped out," said Lykken, who is also on the science team at Europe's Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator.
Physicists last year announced they had discovered what appears to be a long-sought subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, which is believed to give matter its mass.
Work to study the Higgs' related particles, necessary for confirmation, is ongoing.
If confirmed, the discovery would help resolve a key puzzle about how the universe came into existence some 13.7 billion years ago - and perhaps how it will end.
"This calculation tells you that many tens of billions of years from now, there'll be a catastrophe," Lykken said.
"A little bubble of what you might think of as an ‘alternative' universe will appear somewhere and then it will expand out and destroy us," Lykken said, adding that the event will unfold at the speed of light.
Scientists had grappled with the idea of the universe's long-term stability before the Higgs discovery, but stepped up calculations once its mass began settling in at around 126 billion electron volts - a critical number it turns out for figuring out the fate of the universe.
The calculation requires knowing the mass of the Higgs to within one percent, as well as the precise mass of other related subatomic particles.
"You change any of these parameters to the Standard Model (of particle physics) by a tiny bit and you get a different end of the universe," Lyyken said.
Earth will likely be long gone before any Higgs boson particles set off an apocalyptic assault on the universe. Physicists expect the sun to burn out in 4.5 billion years or so, and expand, likely engulfing Earth in the process.
 

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,323
1,314
1,730
Pleasanton, CA
Is there a retirement calculator with a Higgs boson compensation factor?
 

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
6,774
1,198
580
Boston, MA
I wonder if the implication of this "discovery" is that our own universe is its own bubble that may have destroyed a previous one...
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I wonder if the implication of this "discovery" is that our own universe is its own bubble that may have destroyed a previous one...

precisely

Quantum physics suggests this based on my limited knowledge. And it happens at the speed of light ;)

I watched a similar program last night on the Sci Channel. Fascinating as it gives explanation for what happens before The Big Bang which for my mind was the whole concept that I struggled to understand (until this)
 

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
6,774
1,198
580
Boston, MA
precisely

Quantum physics suggests this based on my limited knowledge. And it happens at the speed of light ;)

I watched a similar program last night on the Sci Channel. Fascinating as it gives explanation for what happens before The Big Bang which for my mind was the whole concept that I struggled to understand (until this)

Do tell... I was actually getting there... could it be that the big bang is not only the genesis of our bubble, but also the result of the violent deflation of the previous universe it "pierced", and this is how we might explain the ever-expanding nature of our own universe? In other words, is the deflation of the "pierced" (my term) universe feeding ours, and all we can observe thusfar is our mysterious genesis event?
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
Quite amusing as well when Lykken says:
A little bubble of what you might think of as an ‘alternative' universe will appear somewhere and then it will expand out and destroy us," Lykken said, adding that the event will unfold at the speed of light.

So this model breaks the single big bang created universe theory :)
And if true the next universe with the next humans will be arguing about God and Big Bang until that too is wiped out in a similar way.
What Lykken suggests has been thought of as a possibility for the creation of this universe; the big bangs (multiple ones exist) are more local events rather than creation of the universe.

Cheers
Orb
 

andromedaaudio

VIP/Donor
Jan 23, 2011
8,354
2,731
1,400
Amsterdam holland
Interesting stuff , as this coming catastrophe travels with the speed of light it could take a while ,assuming it will happen in 40 billion years the universe will then be 53.7 billion years .
Assuming it will apppear on the edge of the expanding universe , it will take another 53 billion lightyears to reach us :D

Just bought the ron howard film : In the shadow of the moon , with nasa footage and interviews with the astronauts id never seen before , ....good audio too :b
 
Last edited:

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing