this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2026
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Nothing. Forever.
Either that, or we find out that the oscillating universe theory was correct.
That's what I want to think is correct, eventually it will all slam back into one point, triggering a new big bang. Rinse wash repeat
Or the last remaining black hole goes Big Bang. Either one could work.
I think current measurements show expansion itself increasing, which means gravity is already too weak to decrease expansion and will continue getting weaker. There's definitely open questions, but most current observations and models do not point toward the universe ever collapsing back to a single point.
Exactly what things looked like pre-big bang, if you could believe it.
I know :(
I would think the expansion force more likely to be limited in that it would eventually subside and gravitational pull take over. I don’t have any associated education or knowledge but I guess it feels intuitive to me that the explosive forces from the big Bang would eventually subside to a point gravitational pull, which to my understanding isn’t limited by distance, would start bringing everything back together. Obviously oversimplified because I’m dumb but I’m saying this to pose the question, does what you stated conflict with that possibility?
If expansion were caused by "explosive forces from the big Bang", it's rate would be decreasing, not increasing.
Since current observations are inconsistent with that, we have to have a different (or at least additional) cause for expansion.
As the universe expands, distances grow, but mass does not. This causes the overall force of gravity to decrease. This means gravity is "losing" and will never catch up. (Gravity is weakening and expansion is growing). But, if it the rate of expansion were decreasing, that would mean gravity was "winning", and might continue "winning" until it could reverse expansion.
But the rate of expansion would increase until a point where it no longer did? Are we somehow able to confidently assume we are past that point?
If gravity could ever overcome expansion, then there would be some period where expansion was happening, but the rate of expansion was decreasing, eventually followed by expansion stopping, then contraction happening and the rate of contraction increasing. There would not be any period in which the rate of expansion was increasing.
(When you throw a ball up, after you release it, there's a period of time when the ball is moving up, but it's speed is decreasing, then it reaches the apex, and it start falling down and it's speed increases until you catch it. There is no period where it upward speed increases.)
Current observations show not just that expansion continues, but that the rate of expansion is increasing.
(Not only has the big bang thrown the ball, but the ball's upward speed is increasing.)
I genuinely appreciate you taking the time out of your day to respond to me nicely and not just take the piss out on me. Thank you.