Quote Originally Posted by GHoSToKeR
You aid in the other thread that the expansion of the universe is speeding up? I always assumed (and gathered from what i've read, at least as far as I can remember) that the expansion of the universe is slowing down? Hence, the universe being being 'sucked' back in to itself, and the Big Bang in reverse (or the Gnab Gib )
Yes, it appears from observations that the expansion of the universe is, in fact, speeding up. This was suspected even in Einstein's time, and he incorporated this fact into his Special Theory of Relativity as a so-called Cosmological Constant. He later recanted the CC, calling it his greatest blunder. But, decades later, more precise measurements and improved equipment seemed to confirm the accelerating universal expansion. Measurements by astronomer Edwin Hubble, for whom the space telescope was named, showed that the redshift of distant objects was less than it should have been. These results are confirmed by others even today. This implied that in the past, the exapansion of the universe was slower than it is now, which in turn implies the rate of expansion has been increasing over time. There appears to be some force at work which acts opposite to gravity: it is stronger over large distances, but very weak across small scales, and it pushes matter away from itself, rather than pulling it in. Of course, there may be another explanation, but thus far, the concept of an accelerating expansion is the only theory which has been successful in explaining all the observations to date. This accelerating expansion has not yet been proven, but the amount of evidence in its favor is compelling. In any case, cosmologists by and large agree that there is insufficient mass in the universe to slow the expansion and collapse the universe back in on itself - the so-called Gnab Gib, or Big Crunch.