The Big Rip is a cosmological hypothesis about the Ultimate fate of the universe, in which the matter of the universe, from stars and galaxies to atoms and subatomic particles, are progressively torn apart by the expansion of the universe at a certain time in the future. Theoretically, the scale factor of the universe becomes infinite at a finite time in the future. Physical cosmology, as a branch of astrophysics, is the study of the large-scale structure of the universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. ... Look up Hypothesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The metric expansion of space is a key part of sciences current understanding of the universe, whereby space itself is described by a metric which changes over time. ... lol rofl taco hahaThere is also a nscale factor for the expansion of the Universe Scale factors are used in computer science when certain real world numbers need to be represented on a different scale in order to fit a required number format. ...

The hypothesis relies crucially on the type of dark energy in the universe. The key value is the equation of state w, the ratio between the dark energy pressure and its energy density. At w < − 1, the universe will eventually be pulled apart. Such energy is called phantom energy, a more extreme form of quintessence. In physical cosmology, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to increase the rate of expansion of the universe. ... The Universe is defined as the summation of all particles and energy that exist and the space-time in which all events occur. ... In cosmology, the equation of state of a perfect fluid is characterized by a dimensionless number w, equal to the ratio of its pressure p to its energy density &#961;: . It is closely related to the thermodynamic equation of state and ideal gas law. ... A ratio is a quantity that denotes the proportional amount or magnitude of one quantity relative to another. ... Energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume or per unit mass, depending on the context. ... Phantom energy is a hypothetical form of dark energy with equation of state . ... In physics, quintessence is a hypothetical form of dark energy postulated as an explanation of observations of an accelerating universe. ...

In a phantom energy dominated universe the "fabric" of the universe expands at an ever increasing rate. However, this implies that the size of the observable universe is continually shrinking; the distance to the edge of the observable universe which is moving away at the speed of light from any point gets ever closer. When the size of the observable universe is smaller than any particular structure, then no interaction between the furthest parts of the structure can occur, neither gravitational nor electromagnetic (nor weak or strong), and they will be ripped apart. See universe for a general discussion of the universe. ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ... Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ... The weak nuclear force or weak interaction is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. ... The strong interaction or strong force is today understood to represent the interactions between quarks and gluons as detailed by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). ...

First, the galaxies would be separated from each other. Arguably, this is what is happening right now, with galaxies that move outside the observable universe (approximately 46.5 billion light years away). About 60 million years before the end, gravity would be too weak to hold the Milky Way and other individual galaxies together. Approximately three months before the end, the Solar system will be gravitationally unbound. In the last minutes, stars and planets will be torn apart, and an instant before the end, atoms will be destroyed. This article is about a celestial body. ... See universe for a general discussion of the universe. ... The Milky Way as seen from Death Valley The Milky Way is the galaxy where the Solar System (and the Earth) is located. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale; from left to right): Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, the asteroid belt, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and its Moon, and Mars. ... Properties In chemistry and physics, an atom (Greek ἄτομος or átomos meaning indivisible) is the smallest particle still characterizing a chemical element. ...

The authors of this hypothesis calculate that the end of the universe as we now know it would be approximately in 50 billion years.

See also

• List of astronomical topics
• Heat-death of the Universe
• Big Freeze
• Big Crunch
• Big Bounce
• Accelerating universe
• Ultimate fate of the Universe
• Phantom energy
• Dark energy

This page aims to list articles on Wikipedia that are related to astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. ... The heat death is a possible final state of the universe, in which it has reached maximum entropy. ... The Big Freeze (also Big Chill) is a scenario in which the universe becomes too cold to sustain life due to continued expansion and the decay of free energy due to the action of entropy. ... This article is about the cosmological theory. ... The Big Bounce is a theorized scientific model related to the creation of the known Universe. ... The Accelerating universe is the idea that our universe is undergoing accelerated expansion: distant objects are receding from our galaxy with speeds that increase over time. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Phantom energy is a hypothetical form of dark energy with equation of state . ... In physical cosmology, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to increase the rate of expansion of the universe. ...

External links

• Daily Kos: Science Friday: Long Live the Big Rip!
• The Big Rip: New Theory Ends Universe by Shredding Everything
• Caldwell, Robert R.; Kamionkowski, Marc and Weinberg, Nevin N. (2003). ""Phantom Energy and Cosmic Doomsday"". arXiv:astro-ph/0302506. 

arXiv (pronounced archive, as if the X were the Greek letter χ) is an archive for electronic preprints of scientific papers in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science and quantitative biology which can be accessed via the Internet. ...