The Last Thing That Will Ever Happen

🌌The universe is constantly evolving, with stars being born and dying, leading to the creation of new elements and the depletion of gas.

💫Red dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes lock up gas forever, reducing the material available for new stars.

⏰The universe will continue to be a suitable home for billions of years, but over 90% of future stars have already been born.

♾️Black dwarfs, composed of dense matter and trapped electrons, slowly fuse nuclei and collapse over an unimaginably long time.

💥The last event to ever happen is the collapse of a black dwarf into a supernova, briefly filling the universe with light before fading into darkness.

What is a black dwarf?

—A black dwarf is a sphere the size of the Earth, composed of dense matter where electrons hold the star together. It forms from the remnants of a dead star and slowly cools down over billions of years.

When will the last thing ever happen?

—The collapse of a black dwarf into a supernova, the last event to ever occur, is estimated to happen after at least 10^1000 years, an incomprehensibly long time.

What happens after all galaxies evaporate?

—After all galaxies have evaporated, every object will be on its own, in the center of its own observable universe, surrounded by emptiness.

Can black dwarfs form new elements?

—Yes, black dwarfs slowly fuse nuclei into heavier elements over an extremely long time. This process eventually leads to the formation of Nickel-56, which decays and triggers a supernova.

How long will the universe remain suitable for life?

—The universe will remain a suitable home for billions of years, but over 90% of the stars that will ever be born have already been born.

00:01The universe today is constantly evolving, with stars being formed and dying.

01:10Red dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes lock up gas forever, reducing the material available for new stars.

01:47Over 90% of the stars that will ever be born have already been born.

02:38Black dwarfs are composed of dense matter and trapped electrons that slowly fuse nuclei.

08:38The collapse of a black dwarf into a supernova is the last event to ever happen, briefly filling the universe with light.