Expansion of the universe is 8% faster than previously thought - and that's not good

The Big Bang, as you know, is the most widely accepted theory today about the origin of the universe, and according to her, it all started from a spectacular explosion. Since then, the cosmos has continued to expand into "nothingness" in all directions - even if this event occurred more than 13 billion years ago.

In fact, according to a recent survey, the expansion of the universe is happening faster than previously thought. More precisely, according to Bryan Nelson of the Mother Nature Network portal, the cosmos is “growing” 8% faster than anticipated, and although this seems like excellent news, scientists have explained that this rate of increase is not not good.

Why such a hurry, Universe?

According to Bryan, the problem with the expansion of the universe is that it is not being filled - by stars, planets, galaxies, etc. In fact, astronomers think that the space between all these things is widening, that is, as the cosmos expands, the bodies that exist in it are moving farther and farther away, and fewer and fewer objects are forming.

The bad news is not that the universe could become a sad and lonely place. As we explained in an earlier issue here from Mega Curioso, as the cosmos expands, heat is more evenly distributed throughout space, which means it is losing energy and may in the future simply “freeze” - when that happen, time will cease to exist.

This prediction, besides sad, has now become even more depressing, as scientists have calculated that the universe is expanding faster than they had calculated. Also, according to Davide Castelvecchi of the Nature portal, the new estimate suggests that our understanding of the laws governing the cosmos is more limited than previously believed.

Cosmological paradigm

According to the current cosmological model, the main factors that determine the pace of expansion of the universe are energy and dark matter, as well as how they compete with each other. While the first causes the objects in the cosmos to accelerate and move away from each other, it is the gravity of the second that holds the ends and keeps everything “tied”.

However, the discovery that universal expansion is happening at a faster pace may indicate that our knowledge of matter and dark energy is more limited than previously thought.

This is because previous measurements have led scientists to conclude that dark energy has remained constant throughout the evolution of the universe. However, the new finding may indicate, for example, that the elementary particles that compose it have different properties than previously thought, or that dark energy has become stronger over time.

In any case, the fact is that everything indicates that the universe is apparently moving faster and faster towards its own end. While this is not very encouraging news, the good news is that it will be a long time coming. Moreover, until then, perhaps scientists do not discover that they were wrong - and that the fate of the universe will be less sad than becoming a cold and desolate place?

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