There are a lot of factors arising today that is threatening the very existence of our planet. Climate change, nuclear fallout, increasing population, and decreasing lack of food source are just some of them.
And while it is grim to think of these things, there are scarier things to worry about. For instance, the destruction of our very universe.
In a new video by German science channel, Kurgzgesagt or In a Nutshell, it explains that the universe has a self-destruct button that could be trigger at any given time. The blast would be so utterly destructive that it could wipe out everything in existence - stars, planets, moons, and other celestial bodies will wink out like a wind snuffing out a lighted match.
Higgs Field Will Be The Cause Of Ultimate Destruction
In the video, it explains that the core for such a final obliteration stands atop two things: energy and stability. Every field in the known universe is trying to reach its lowest state by releasing energy, said Daily Mail.
Through this, they can achieve what is called a vacuum state, a condition in which a field is at its most stable ground state where energy is at its lowest point. But there is also what is called a false vacuum, a state that appears to be stable but is actually metastable, meaning it hasn't reached its lowest point yet.
Scientists believe that all fields in the universe are at its vacuum state save for one: The Higgs Field. This field is responsible for giving every particle in the universe its mass.
As the Higgs Field plummets down to its vacuum state, the energy generated by the activity would push space that surrounds it, which creates more energy rippling out from where it started and gathering more and more along the way. It will spread from all direction at the speed of light and will obliterate anything in its path.
Vacuum Decay Could Upend Physics Itself
The destruction, a vacuum decay, would be so instantaneous that our entire existence would be gone in a fraction of a second. No blaring horns, no end-of-the-world forecast, there wouldn't even be time to scream.
Scientists don't know what could trigger this event but are saying that the final result would be the end of life as we know it. And not just what we know today, no.
The bubble of energy will upend physics itself changing how everything works - from chemical reaction to atomic behavior. Life will no longer be possible at all, said Metro.
Of course, at this point this just a speculation based on what scientists currently understand regarding particle physics and the vacuum state isn't for certain. Besides, the universe is so big and actively expanding that even if one is this destructive energy is barreling towards us it wouldn't reach our planet for billions of years. For now, climate change and other more pressing matters need our attention as these are problems that we have solutions to.
