Science

[Jimmy]

If you're of the scientific type, how do you think life will go extinct and the world will end?

 

[Secret Chief]

I don't suppose life on Earth will go extinct until the sun does something spectacular.

 

[sun rise]

In several billion years the sun will start running out of fuel and expand into a red giant. When that happens all life on Earth will be destroyed. At that point the Earth will presumably exist as a dead planet until the end of the universe.

 

[Polymath257]

Life will go extinct when the sun starts going into the red giant phase (it's doubtful a meteor hit will kill off all life) and the oceans evaporate.

The Earth will end later when the sun expands enough to engulf it.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I don't suppose life on Earth will go extinct until the sun does something spectacular.

It's strange to me that this is such a common opinion even considering the massive pollution we're causing to the planet as a species. But I'm no scientist.

 

[Heyo]

If you're of the scientific type, how do you think life will go extinct and the world will end?

We aren't even sure that the world will end and if it does there are a few dozen ways to do so. With our current knowledge two scenarios are about equally possible, the heat death and the "Big Rip".
Life will go extinct when there is not enough energy to support homoeostasis, which will be, by current models, in a few trillion years. See Isaac Arthur's series "Civilizations at the End of Time": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIIOUpOge0LvHsTP5fm8oxB1qPS54sTMk

 

[Secret Chief]

It's strange to me that this is such a common opinion even considering the massive pollution we're causing to the planet as a species. But I'm no scientist.

We certainly are but I was taking the question at face value - "life" meaning all life (such as bacteria). The biosphere would be better off without the massive polluter.

 

[ChristineM]

If you're of the scientific type, how do you think life will go extinct and the world will end?

Life will evolve but will eventually become extinct for one of 3 reasons.

Natural disaster such as a super volcano erupting, thought thats happened before and life survived...but i see no guarantees.

A strike by some large space object. The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs was a mere 6 miles wide. Imagine something 100 miles or more wide hitting earth at 25km per second.

The earth becomes uninhabitable because the sun goes into the next phase of its evolution, it begins to die and goes red giant. Life would be long dead before the sun engulfs earth.

A fourth and fifth possibly should life manage to survive that lot is.

Little chance but worth a mention. Earth is apart by the gravitational forces caused when Andromeda and our own galaxy collide. There is little chance of being struck by another planet or sun but gravity is ubiquitous.

Or if all else that the universe can throw at us fails then there is the eventual heat death of the universe where there is no thermodynamic free energy so entropy reaches maximum.

 

[Aupmanyav]

In several billion years the sun will start running out of fuel and expand into a red giant. When that happens all life on Earth will be destroyed. At that point the Earth will presumably exist as a dead planet until the end of the universe.

Not several billions but just one billion years when sun will make earth so hot that life here will be impossible.
But that too is a long time. I do not think any of the currently living species will survive that long except perhaps fungi and cockroaches.

 

[Brickjectivity]

If you're of the scientific type, how do you think life will go extinct and the world will end?

A lot depends upon the next centuries of human history. We now know that nearly any ending is possible.

I think there should always be some beings like we humans, some beings that are somewhat tormented by the various desires we have. Our souls are ping pong balls bouncing around between this desire and that desire. Ours is an agonizing existence but one which allows us to appreciate the universe for its size and beauty. Other intelligences probably would not care. Like, a spider does not care. It simply reacts instinctively, and for spiders that is good enough. They don't care that their webs are fantastic. They catch flies with them, and that is all that spiders care about beauty. Someone should be, like us, awake, aware of what is going on. Someone should care.

 

[Truth in love]

I read once that our atmosphere is slowly being depleted by solar winds. I forget the time estimate vs the sun going super nova.

That would be a bad way to go.

 

[Heyo]

A lot depends upon the next centuries of human history. We now know that nearly any ending is possible.

It is only important for humans. Yes, we could go extinct within the next few centuries if we don't get off this planet but there is little that could end life on earth. And that life has still a billion years left to evolve into a spacefaring civilization.

 

[rational experiences]

A science caused ice age coldest scientific want today. Coldest gas coldest energy.

Science human predictions ..I always by science only human predicted my choice destruction of life on earth...as I invented it.

I claim ice age as my newest I want all life extinct on earth. As my new thesis beginning point moment I mean for all things.

 

[Brickjectivity]

It is only important for humans. Yes, we could go extinct within the next few centuries if we don't get off this planet but there is little that could end life on earth. And that life has still a billion years left to evolve into a spacefaring civilization.

I see what you're talking about, but seems unlikely that any non-mammalian species would actually care about the big questions like we do. Take your misanthropic comment, for example. It is an example of a human and possibly a mammalian trait -- to actually give a damn what happens when we are gone. You're willing to posit that humanity disappears, but you still want something to evolve into a space-faring civilization as if that had some value -- as if a space faring civilization was a cool idea or as if cool ideas existed. Well, most species aren't like us and don't care about how cool things are. I think we are rare and if there is a space going civ out there it won't care about the beauty of the universe or about whether there is meaning and purpose. Hopefully we would care.

 

[Heyo]

I see what you're talking about, but seems unlikely that any non-mammalian species would actually care about the big questions like we do. Take your misanthropic comment, for example. It is an example of a human and possibly a mammalian trait -- to actually give a damn what happens when we are gone. You're willing to posit that humanity disappears, but you still want something to evolve into a space-faring civilization as if that had some value -- as if a space faring civilization was a cool idea or as if cool ideas existed. Well, most species aren't like us and don't care about how cool things are. I think we are rare and if there is a space going civ out there it won't care about the beauty of the universe or about whether there is meaning and purpose. Hopefully we would care.

I was just answering the questions ad they were about the universe and life, not about humans. And space travel is an important aspect of the answer. The only place we know for sure that life exists is earth. Earth will be uninhabitable even for extremophiles in two or three billion years. I.e. life has to get off this rock before it is too late. At the moment humans are the only candidate to pull that feat of but if we fail it's not said that no other species will reach our level and not kill itself on the way out of here.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I was just answering the questions ad they were about the universe and life, not about humans. And space travel is an important aspect of the answer. The only place we know for sure that life exists is earth. Earth will be uninhabitable even for extremophiles in two or three billion years. I.e. life has to get off this rock before it is too late. At the moment humans are the only candidate to pull that feat of but if we fail it's not said that no other species will reach our level and not kill itself on the way out of here.

Yes, it does seem like we ought to get something going out there off planet and out of the solar system, too. Its a sort of religious idea isn't it?

 

[Mock Turtle]

I've no idea what might happen to the human race - even as to evolving so as not to be so-called in the future - but scientific studies do tend to show us, as others have pointed out, that life on Earth does have a finite time period, and related to what will happen to our Sun. A search online will give a rather large number of possible catastrophes that could cause the extinction of the human race, and perhaps all life on Earth. And the fact that most are quite improbable and will never happen is no real evidence that they just won't. Perhaps we will have solved the issues of being dependent upon a solar source for our energy, and all other considerations as to life existing in the future, such that we could travel and colonise other places but that is just conjecture. I wouldn't place my bets anywhere.

 

[Heyo]

Yes, it does seem like we ought to get something going out there off planet and out of the solar system, too. Its a sort of religious idea isn't it?

You could call it that and I know of one commandment from the OT creator god that implies leaving earth (even though at that time nobody that there was anything besides earth). But I see it as an evolutionary urge or necessity. All lifeforms tend to multiply and expand to new environments given population pressure and the chance to do so. It is also an insurance against extinction by local catastrophes..

 

[Brickjectivity]

I know of one commandment

I am surprised and pleased that you have mentioned this.

I know which commandment you refer to, however the idea that humans have morality within us is part of it. I think if we sent replicating robots that were moral then we'd still be fulfilling it or if we sent genetically enhanced dogs that were moral we'd still be fulfilling it or...anything that shared the morality we have or better. We'd be making space into a beautiful place where beings with divine characteristics lived.

On the other hand sending just anything into space would not be obedience to this. For example if we sent people into space only to get rid of them or if we merely sent bacteria or mindless bots. That would not be related to this commandment.

 

[Heyo]

I am surprised and pleased that you have mentioned this.

I know which commandment you refer to, however the idea that humans have morality within us is part of it. I think if we sent replicating robots that were moral then we'd still be fulfilling it or if we sent genetically enhanced dogs that were moral we'd still be fulfilling it or...anything that shared the morality we have or better. We'd be making space into a beautiful place where beings with divine characteristics lived.

On the other hand sending just anything into space would not be obedience to this. For example if we sent people into space only to get rid of them or if we merely sent bacteria or mindless bots. That would not be related to this commandment.

I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing. "Be fruitful and multiply" has reached (and overshot) its limit on earth. If we want to multiply further, we can't do it here.