Dark energy The universe’s apocalyptic wild card

Dark energy The universe’s apocalyptic wild card

The universe is expanding faster and faster. Whether this acceleration will end in a Big Rip or will reverse and contract into a Big Crunch is not yet understood, and neither is the invisible force causing that expansion: dark energy.

Physicist Dr. Katie Mack explains the difference between dark matter, dark energy, and phantom dark energy, and shares what scientists think the mysterious force is, its effect on space, and how, billions of years from now, it could cause peak cosmic destruction.

The Big Rip seems more probable than a Big Crunch at this point in time, but scientists still have much to learn before they can determine the ultimate fate of the universe. « If we figure out what [dark energy is] doing, if we figure out what it’s made of, how it’s going to change in the future, then we will have a much better idea for how the universe will end, » says Mack.