Science & Technology

Higgs Boson may indicate cyclical universe

By T.K. Randall
February 24, 2013 ·  44 comments

Image Credit: NASA/ESA/ESO This cyclical universe concept is just one idea physicists have been theorizing on since the discovery of the Higgs Boson which underpins the workings of all the matter we see around us. By exploring the properties of the particle it may be possible to determine what fate awaits our universe in the distant future. The idea of a universe that cycles every so often would potentially sidestep the existing conundrum of what would happen if the universe simply kept expanding forever.

"What happens is you get just a quantum fluctuation that makes a tiny bubble of the vacuum the Universe really wants to be in. And because it's a lower-energy state, this bubble will then expand, basically at the speed of light, and sweep everything before it," said Dr Joseph Lykken.[!gad]This cyclical universe concept is just one idea physicists have been theorizing on since the discovery of the Higgs Boson which underpins the workings of all the matter we see around us. By exploring the properties of the particle it may be possible to determine what fate awaits our universe in the distant future. The idea of a universe that cycles every so often would potentially sidestep the existing conundrum of what would happen if the universe simply kept expanding forever.

"What happens is you get just a quantum fluctuation that makes a tiny bubble of the vacuum the Universe really wants to be in. And because it's a lower-energy state, this bubble will then expand, basically at the speed of light, and sweep everything before it," said Dr Joseph Lykken.

Source: BBC News | Comments (44)

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