Does science have any theories on the apocalypse?

Question: Does science have any theories on the apocalypse?
- Keywords:
  apocalypse,
  end of the world,
  theory
Asked by evilevo to Dalya, Derek, Sarah, Tim, Tom on 19 Jun 2011.
- Tim Millar answered on 14 Jun 2011:
  
  I don’t think so. It has theories on the end of the world from an astronomical point of view, when our local star finally runs out of fuel,. Things might just be a little different by then
- Dalya Soond answered on 14 Jun 2011:
  
  We believe that geology and evolution have been heavily influenced by apocolyptic events. For instance, the extinction of the dinosaurs (and a great number of other animals) quite possibly happened because of apocalyptic events such as a huge meteor hitting the earth and causing a sort of mini-nuclear bomb reaction. The Earth may have then been covered for thousands of years by a thick dust cloud which blocked out sunlight. This made the planet cool down, cause an Ice Age and kill animals such as the dinosaurs.
- Sarah Thomas answered on 14 Jun 2011:
  
  There are quite a few theories about the end of the world.
  
  One of them is about the sun burning out. The sun is powered by fusion. Hydrogen nuclei are converted into helium nuclei which releases a lot of energy. When all of the sun’s hydrogen has been fused into helium, the Sun will no longer be able to power itself as it does now. This is said to occur in about 5 billion years. The sun will then start to collapse, and the increasing pressure will allow the Sun to start fusing helium into carbon and oxygen, and it will expand into a red giant.
  
  Another theory is the Andromeda-Milky Way collision. It is a collision astonomers have predictued between the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way, which contains the Earth. It is said this will happen in around 3-5 billion years too.
  
  I think that the human race will have been wiped out by then anyway, either by ourselves, or by disease and famine.
- Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 14 Jun 2011:
  
  ‘Apocalypse’ means a lot of different things to different people. However, assuming that you mean the end of the planet, then it is likely to be due to it falling into a expanding sun, as the others have explained.
  
  Or… we could be hit by a meteorite. Extremely unlikely.
  
  However, another possibility is that a hitherto unnoticed star passes nearby and disrupts the earth’s orbit making it uninhabitable. Also extremely unlikely.
  
  Ultimately, the planet itself is pretty tough. What is not so tough are humans and the environment that they need to survive. Global warming and over-population are two things where scientific models and predictions do not suggest happy endings.
- Tom Crick answered on 19 Jun 2011:
  
  There are a number of theories for the ultimate fate of the universe, but they are just theories and there is no real way of proving them! Luckily this will be billions of years in the future….
  
  What do you think about the end of the universe?

Question: Does science have any theories on the apocalypse?

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