universe

The ultimate fate of the universe holds a perpetual fascination with mankind. Ever since Hubble discovered in 1929 that the universe is expanding, people have wondered whether the universe would continue expanding forever, or whether its expansion would one day come to a halt and be reversed, leading eventually to a “big crunch”. In this essay, you should trace through the pioneering work of Hubble, Einstein and others, and review modern cosmological theories as well as current evidence for the fate of the universe.