Our Eternal Universe

There are several competing scientific hypotheses that attempt to explain how our universe got here, and its ultimate fate. An increasingly popular one suggests our natural universe is eternally here because there is no other place for substantive particles to be. We can never know if a supernatural world exists or not, but even if it does anything having substance (energy or matter), by definition, cannot enter it. Although some physicists think some sub-atomic particles sometimes pop into and out of existence, they know they are still here while in their “non-existent” undetectable phase because they can be detected when they pop into their “existing” one.

An increasing number of physicists are coming to the conclusion that our universe is a fixed quantity of energy contained within a four-dimensional structure of time and space that is either expanding or contracting. The only times the outer structure is stationary is when it is transitioning from one phase to the other. In my book, Settled Science, I liken it to a ceiling fan. When the fan is operating and you flip the directional switch, the blades come to a halt only briefly until starting in the other direction. At the end of the universe’s contraction phase all of its energy seems to momentarily go out of existence, but immediately begins to expand again. Like the single drop of rain in Johnny Cash’s (et all) song, “Highwaymen,” our universe “…will always remain and be back again and again and again and again and again.”

Physicists tell us that at the end of the universe’s contraction phase it exists as a gigantic black hole with a core so compressed it has no dimensions. It is smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. Its incredible compression is caused by its astounding gravitational pull (sucking power) generated by its own infinitesimal density. The core acquires all the energy and matter left over from its expansion phase, including the universe’s physical structure, and gives it one last tug.

The Big Bang occurs when this last tug increases the core’s density to the point where it becomes unstable causing it to burst, releasing most of its stored energy. This burst begins the universe’s expansion phase which lasts for 100 billion years or so.

During the expansion much of the energy moving within the expanding structure will convert to matter and coalesce to form galaxies of various sized stars. Some of the larger stars will later burst and leave black holes that will, over time, merge with others to form bigger and stronger black holes. These are eventually gobbled up by much larger and stronger galactic black holes that will also merge to form a single gigantic one whose gravitational pull is so great that it will collapse the universe’s structure, sucking it along with all the energy and matter within it into its core and squeeze until it becomes unstable again, resulting in yet another Big Bang to begin another expansion. And so it goes—FOREVER!

Read Settled Science to learn what black holes are, how they generate their incredible power, and what eventually happens to them.