Some Say the Universe is Half Empty…

…but others, well, their optimism is endless: Michio Kaku muses on how humans can survive…the end of the universe itself! How? Take off to the universe next door! There are some wrinkles:

To do this, an advanced civilisation will first have to discover the laws of quantum gravity, which may or may not turn out to be string theory. These laws will be crucial in calculating several unknown factors, such as the stability of wormholes connecting us to a parallel universe, and how we will know what these parallel worlds will look like. Before leaping into the unknown, we have to know what is on the other side. But how do we make the leap? Here are some of the ways.
*Find a naturally occurring wormhole….
*Send a probe through a black hole….
*Create negative energy….
*Create a baby universe….
*Build a laser implosion machine….
*Send a nanobot to recreate civilisation….

The full article gives many details of the possibilities and pitfalls of each of these survival options.

[Link via Arts and Letter Daily.]

Comments

[SPD]

Pinto: Professor Kaku... could I buy some pot from you?

[Professor Kaku]

Sorry, dude, my stash is cashed. I was hoping you might've had some..

[thoreau]

*Create negative energy....
*Create a baby universe....
*Build a laser implosion machine....

Just don't ask him how much energy this would actually require if done on a scale large enough to preserve human civilization.

Fortunately, we have a few years to worry about this. I nonetheless suspect that nothing will be done about it until the night before the universe is scheduled to end.

"Dude, like, is something happening tomorrow?"
--Professor Kaku's great-great-great-great-etc. grandson on the eve of the end of the world as we know it

[Jeff]

My guess is that, even among the last sentient lifeforms in the collapsing universe, some will demand that we think about the children.

Also, for those who care, the origin of Galactus (last survivor of the previous universe).
http://www.lowfierce.com/galactus/origin.html

[Mo]

That's it? Pfff. Just give me a flux capacitor and 3 weeks and I can build you a new universe in no time.

[kwais]

Mo,
Don't you need some dilithium crystals in addition to that flux capacitor?

[Mo]

Naw, just 1.21 gigawatts of power.

That and some of the good professor's stash.

[Stevo Darkly]

"Dude, like, is something happening tomorrow?"

"Something wonderful!"

(Cue "Thus Spake Zarathustra")

[SPD]

This plan has Dr. Evil written alllllllll over it.

"Using these 'lasers', we will implode a small section of space and create evil -- I mean, negative -- energy. I shall then create a small replica of the existing cosmos. And I shall call it, 'Mini-Universe.'"

[dead_elvis]

Welcome to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe!

[NoStar]

I want to lie, shipwrecked and comatose
Drinking fresh mango juice
Goldfish shoals nibbling at my toes
Fun Fun Fun, In the sun sun sun...

[Rick Barton]

Hey, wait a minute. The specter of an infinitely expanding universe and an entropy death with the universe running down, and temperatures dropping uniformly to near zero has been around for a long time. I think that it was Asimov who popularized it in a scifi story. Any way, it was around before the idea of, and apparent evidence for, "dark energy" where empty space itself contains repulsive dark energy, that the article mentions. Well, I thought that this empty space dark energy is also credited with creating matter. If that's true, doesn't it kind of preclude a universe wide deep freeze entropy death?

Also, I've always had trouble with the concept of another universe that we can reach because if we can reach it, how is it really a different universe. What's more, if it's a "parallel" universe that we're escaping to, shouldn't it be experiencing this energy rundown death too?

thoreau?

[thoreau]

Rick, cosmology isn't really my thing. Besides, we have a few billion years left before we have to worry about it.

[Gilbert Martin]

"Besides, we have a few billion years left before we have to worry about it."

Or not - we'll probably get the hell smacked out of us by one of those killer asteroids long before then.

[Mr. Mothersbaugh]

Your descendents won't care because they'll all have devolved by then.

More accurately, they'll be way too stupid to care.

[Rick Barton]

Besides, we have a few billion years left before we have to worry about it.

Oh, BILLIONS! I thought it was just millions. What a relief! I was really sweating this.

[new york times]

And remember WOMEN and MINORITIES will be affected the worst.

[thoreau]

NYT, you remind me of an article in the latest issue of the Onion:

Nation's Leading Alarmists Excited About Bird Flu

[NoStar]

Not to worry. The New Jerusalem described by St. John in his Revelation is obviously a multi-dimensional craft able to withstand not only the worst of time/space travel, but dimensional shifts, and inter-universal transits.

The sucker is huge; 1500 miles on each side, and 1500 miles tall. Could be a cube or a pyramid.
Di-lithium crystals apparently are not needed.

[Eryk Boston]

Wow, and I thought I had too much free time.

[kevrob]

NoStar, your description reminds me of the Nation of Islam's story about The Mothership.

Let's make sure that, if we move to another Universe, it isn't one where the CSA won the War for Southron Independence, the Nazis won WWII, and/or the Commies won WWIII, cause that'd be uncomfortable.

Kevin (of Earth-Prime)

[A Tired Joke]

I can't believe it took this long for someone to mention... The end of the universe would be much worse under Kerry!

You guys are slipping.

[Agammamon]

". . .Well, I thought that this empty space dark energy is also credited with creating matter. If that's true, doesn't it kind of preclude a universe wide deep freeze entropy death?"

I believe the Constant Creation (or Steadystate) theory of the universe went out with the Big Bang.

Asimov had been around for a long time and incorporated the current thinking in the science behind his stories. Changes in science knowledge and society at large tend to make his (and Heinlein's) early work look dated.

[Rick Barton]

The mechanism of matter creation envisioned with dark is different than a Steady state mechanism. It has to be. There was no concept or evidence for the former when the Steadystate universe was theorised.

The entropy death story of Asimov's that I'm thinking about would still be consistent with the scenario that the author of the cited article lays out. It would in any runaway expansion theory.

[Travis]

This might kill children as well! Won someone please think about the children!

--Travis

[Rick Barton]

...Make that: "The mechanism of matter creation envisioned with dark energy is different than a Steady state mechanism".

Sorry about that.