The Crazy Future If Protons Don't Decay | Summary and Q&A
TL;DR
In the distant future, all matter will decay into iron through cold fusion, leading to the formation of iron stars and eventually black holes, with the universe ending in a state of photons and leptons until the next big bang.
Key Insights
- š Everything in the universe tends to a more stable state, including particles. Protons, the lightest baryons, are in their most stable form and do not decay into anything else.
- š¤ If protons do not decay, all matter in the universe will slowly fuse into iron through cold fusion and quantum tunneling, taking an inconceivably long amount of time. ā° The process of matter transforming into iron will take approximately 10^3200 years.
- š Iron stars will be the last objects to exist inside the universe, formed by clumps of iron atoms.
- š„ Some black dwarfs will eventually explode into supernovas due to accumulating iron, but these supernovas will also quickly transform into iron.
- š Eventually, the iron stars will collapse into black holes through gravity or quantum tunneling, which will take approximately 10^10^76 years.
- š³ļø The newly formed black holes will eventually evaporate through Hawking radiation, but this process only takes a maximum of 10^108 years.
- š After the death of the iron stars, only photons and leptons will remain, until the birth of a new big bang in approximately 10^10^10^76 years.
Transcript
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Questions & Answers
Q: How does quantum tunneling enable cold fusion to occur during the transformation of matter into iron?
Quantum tunneling allows particles to pass through a force barrier simply through teleportation, so at low temperatures, nuclei can undergo cold fusion, combining to form heavier elements like iron.
Q: How long will it take for all matter to transform into iron?
It is estimated that after 10^3200 years, all matter will fuse into iron through cold fusion and quantum tunneling, leading to the formation of iron stars.
Q: What happens to the iron stars in the far future?
Iron stars will slowly collapse into black holes over an inconceivable amount of time, approximately 10^10^76 years, making black holes the eventual winners of the universe's battle royale.
Q: What happens after the black holes evaporate through Hawking radiation?
After the black holes evaporate, only photons and leptons like electrons and positrons will remain, flying around for almost eternity until the next big bang occurs in about 10^10^10^76 years.
Summary & Key Takeaways
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Particles decay into smaller particles in order to reach a more stable state.
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Protons, the lightest baryons, do not have other baryons to decay into, making them the most stable particle.
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Eventually, all matter will transform into iron through cold fusion, leading to the formation of iron stars, which will slowly collapse into black holes.