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    Universe expected to decay in 10⁷⁸ years, much sooner than previously thought
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    Universe expected to decay in 10⁷⁸ years, much sooner than previously thought

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    45 Comments

    2. Ahfrodisiac on

      Dang, that’s not good I got stuff to do during that time. Any chance they can reschedule it to another date? Preferably one where I’m not busy.

    11. Full_Piano6421 on

      The article doesn’t explain how they managed to come up with those numbers, how is their model for Hawking radiation different from the former to have such differences in the time frames?

    12. VincentGrinn on

      so more than just blackholes can decay via hawking radiation

      but im guessing this timeline is still assuming that protons do decay
      because if they dont you get into some really silly business like cold fusion via quantum tunneling eventually turning a vacuum universe into iron stars and thats like 10^10^100 years

      and that possibility could even lead to cyclical universes which is waaay longer

    13. Derice on

      > Because the researchers were at it anyway, they also calculated how long it takes for the moon and a human to evaporate via Hawking-like radiation. That’s 10^(90) years. Of course, the researchers subtly note, there are other processes that may cause humans and the moon to disappear faster than calculated.

      Darn. I was hoping to live to the ripe old age of 10^(90).

    14. irrigated_liver on

      Would you say it’s time for our readers to crack each other’s heads open and feast on the goo inside?

    16. DBFargie on

      Imagine how long that is. Just… think about it for a moment…

      This is the kind of existential shit that keeps me up. I wonder where are all my constituent particles will be at that time.

    19. Kasern77 on

      Oh, so only 100 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 years? Not too far away then 🙂

    20. microtherion on

      <s> that’s why it’s imperative for humanity to become a multi-universe species! </s>

    21. Rough_Shelter4136 on

      Great news, this is a relief. The universe being created disappointed a lot of people

    22. Tango-Down-167 on

      And entire human civilization is how long? Or even entire human existence? In comparison. Shocking headline /s

    23. ThaPlymouth_1 on

      Dammmn bro. Better start stocking up on rice and black beans while we can!!

    28. Auzquandiance on

      What will a universe decay look like? Everything collapse and cease to exist in an instant?

    29. Pineapple_King on

      “Alexa, remind me in 10⁷⁸ years about the decay of the universe”

    34. itsRobbie_ on

      We’ve only got 1078 years left? Does that mean I still have to go to work tomorrow?

    35. ciberpunkt on

      But this will happen in the morning or by the night? I have some important things to do that day.

    37. Hobbitjeff on

      This is approximately half the time it takes to be seen in my local emergency room.

    39. LordBledisloe on

      Ah yup. Just as halflife 3 was actually confirmed by valve, heat death of the universe is bought forward. Typical.

    40. SriGurubhyoNamaha on

      We’re like bacteria on a grain of sand trying to predict the fate of the ocean.

      So when people ask, *”How will the universe end?”*—a good answer might just be:

      >

    41. smallbiceps90 on

      I asked ChatGPT to contextualize 10^1100 and:

      Absolutely—10^1100 years is an unimaginably vast amount of time, far beyond anything we encounter in our everyday experiences. Here’s an analogy to help put it in perspective:

      Imagine this:

      Suppose there’s a gigantic granite mountain that is 1 light-year tall, 1 light-year wide, and 1 light-year deep (a cube of solid rock more than 9.5 trillion kilometers on each side).

      Now, imagine that once every 10 billion years, a tiny feather gently brushes against the mountain and removes one atom of stone.

      Eventually—over an inconceivably long time—this feather will have completely worn the entire mountain down to nothing.

      But here’s the catch:

      By the time the mountain is completely eroded, not even a tiny fraction of 10^1100 years will have passed.
      In fact, this process could repeat billions upon billions of times and still not come close.

      Even the total number of atoms in the observable universe is only about 10^80, a number dwarfed by 10^1100.

      DUDE. But I make ice cream for a living so I’m not exactly qualified to check those calculations

    45. Skellyhell2 on

      Finally, some good news! I was worried I would have to wait forever for some peace