• Question: Do you think that there will be another big bang?

    Asked by buddingscientist to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 15 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      It could only happen again if the universe started contracting at some point, eventually going back into a single point like it started. Then, we could have another big bang and the universe could go between expanding and contracting.

      However, we think that there’s nothing to stop the universe expanding, so I don’t think we’ll get another big bang.

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      I don’t like to think about things that are so big, and so far away in time, but like Adam says it could only happen the universe contracted back into a point, ready to bang out again.

      Space is only expanding at the moment, but a bit of me hopes that it will contract, because if not, everything will keep on expanding forever, until everything single atom is so spread out that they virtually don’t exist. A silent, still, timeless universe with nothing in it. Sounds lonely….

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