10 Apocalypse Theories

[16hockjo]

5. Quantum Vacuum Collapse Inveitability

This one’s simple enough, scientists will destroy the universe. I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Large Hadron Collider. It was in the news last year and was deemed a doomsday device because theorists said that it could destroy the planet. Well they’re wrong, because it could in theory, destroy the entire universe. In quantum physics it is predicted that the universe is filled with something called vacuum energy. Now think of this energy as gunpowder. It’s ready to explode, all you need is a fuse. So scientists built the Large Hadron Collider.

They have recently fixed the LHC. One day during a collision experiment, the use of specific elements could trigger the quantum vacuum collapse. Less than a second later the Earth will be wiped out. It’s just gone without a trace. Now a wave of destruction is spreading out through the universe at the speed of light destroying everything in its path. Nothing will stop it until the universe is completely gone. Scientists argue that elements smash into each other in nature all the time, and that the universe is still here so there is no risk of this catastrophe. But what they fail to realize is that the particles they use in the collider are rare. Such as gold. Or they play about with elements that are so unstable they don’t exist in ‘nature’. Who knows what will happen with those ones.

[The Guy]

What is there was something like a virus that would gradually consume civilians as infected?
Better yet, What if we were just prototypes of REAL humans and they are 2x the size of us?

[wolves rock]

im readin a book on apocalypse or watever. its called good omens. it says the world will end on saturday./ =P

[The Guy]

im readin a book on apocalypse or watever. its called good omens. it says the world will end on saturday./ =P

What Saturday?

[Lightning Orb]

im readin a book on apocalypse or watever. its called good omens. it says the world will end on saturday./ =P

What Saturday?

hahaha, nice. The world wont end..

[16hockjo]

Increase Of The Constants

Do you remember what I said about how the universe is fine tuned and that if the constants weren’t exactly right then the universe just wouldn’t happen?Well unfortunately in 2001 physicists discovered something bizarre. One of these constants, the ‘fine structure constant’ seems to be very, very slowly getting bigger. Surely this can’t be true? Constants are by definition ‘constant’ and should be impossible to change. This sparked a massive physics debate which still goes on today. In the meantime more evidence has been gathered that more constants are on the move; the mass of the proton; the speed of light; are all going a bit iffy.

What this means to us is that one day the universe may just collapse. All the stars will burn up within seconds, light will bend around corners then everything will eventually go dark. Some truly weird things could also occur; you could witness buildings turn into liquid rock and metal; you could see people just start vanishing into thin air (given that the air is still there because the atmosphere will disappear pretty much instantly). All this sounds too far fetched to believe, but if we take what the scientists have seen to be true, then we are heading to this kind of universe quite soon. Well…… like a few million years.

[Dr Frook]

Increase Of The Constants

Do you remember what I said about how the universe is fine tuned and that if the constants weren’t exactly right then the universe just wouldn’t happen?Well unfortunately in 2001 physicists discovered something bizarre. One of these constants, the ‘fine structure constant’ seems to be very, very slowly getting bigger. Surely this can’t be true? Constants are by definition ‘constant’ and should be impossible to change. This sparked a massive physics debate which still goes on today. In the meantime more evidence has been gathered that more constants are on the move; the mass of the proton; the speed of light; are all going a bit iffy.

What this means to us is that one day the universe may just collapse. All the stars will burn up within seconds, light will bend around corners then everything will eventually go dark. Some truly weird things could also occur; you could witness buildings turn into liquid rock and metal; you could see people just start vanishing into thin air (given that the air is still there because the atmosphere will disappear pretty much instantly). All this sounds too far fetched to believe, but if we take what the scientists have seen to be true, then we are heading to this kind of universe quite soon. Well…… like a few million years.

more like a few trillion years. I can live with that.

[16hockjo]

03. The Vanishing Act

This one is just about as serious as this list will get (Apart from #9). This one comes straight from the mouths of high ranking UN officials, government agencies and scientists, and is locked away among thousands of reports that hardly anyone reads. There are a lot of figures that float around in these reports and I could reel them off one by one but it would take ages. Basically it says in three generations there will be half the population on Earth as there is now. And it will keep declining. No its not a virus, there is no prophecy saying that a comet will hit the Earth killing 3 billion people. The truth is as simple as not having enough children.

Decades ago people had to have lots of children. The main reason was, the more children you had, the more hands you had to help farm lands, work in shops and look after you when you were older. Modern technology combined with social programs has replaced our need for many children. We only really have children now because we want them. The problem now is less and less people want children. Maybe because of poor finances; the inability to find a suitable home; whatever. More women work now than ever before so they have children later and bear fewer. 50 years ago women had, on average, 5 children. Today that number is 2.7. On average a couple needs to have 2.1 children (compensating for children that die young) to ensure the continuation of the species. The decline is rapidly reaching that crunch point of 2.0. When that happens the population of the planet will go down. Faster then you think. 3 generations from now the population will be 3 billion. And still falling.
Think of it, We could all die out because we just don’t do enough conceiving. Breed people!

[Hitokiri]

Hock, you're right, apart from a few thingies.

you have to understand that we are now, with more people that the planet can actually take.
A population half the size would in fact be better for nature.

to put things more into perspective, in the 1950s we had half the population globally.
until the 1500-1700's population remained constant at an estimated 1 billion. (wars, deceases, famine kept population growth to a minimum)
it is from the industrial revolution on that population has grown.

Napoleon actually did the first act of birth/population control.
By passing a law that all children should go to school.
This way children began costing money to the parents and there was less child labour.
(child has to go to school => less time working on land => less income => school costs money).

And while you are correct for western society, you still aren't right for the middle east and india, where it is still considered a blessing to have many children.

[16hockjo]

2. Grain Situation

This one is seriously stupid, but it is taken very seriously among biologists. Someday our planet could be completely covered in grain. And I mean absolutely everywhere; on the beaches; in the swamps; through cracks in the pavement. Sure there will be enough food. But the only food will be bread. Grain will overrun all other crops, pushing back all other agriculture, until the entire biosphere is swamped with grain. Forests will turn into roaming fields of grain and the food chain will break down and all the land on earth will be one endless desert of grain. Grain dust will cause fires that may burn an entire continent or two, or all the water could be sucked up by the grain causing irreversible damage to our water supplies. We may even experience an ice age because of the extra C02 in the atmosphere from all the fires.

I know, stupid right? I mean taken down by grain. Well biologists seem to believe that one day the human race is going to create the mother of all GM crops. With Genetic Modification, you can take out a certain gene, or add another here and there, so that the crop is resistant to certain diseases or insects. What is predicted however is a Super Grain capable of withstanding anything; diseases, insects, extreme temperatures. They will be able to grow in practically any soil, maybe even rocks, and would probably be immune to anything mankind can throw at them. And it doesn’t have to be grain, that was for arguments sake. It could be anything. In Canada for instance GM Rapeseed (canola) leaked from a test field and into the countryside. Now Super Rapeseed is shooting up all over Canada. But it could be anything. Not just stuff that will make bread or vegetable oil. What if it turns out to be Cotton. We’re totally screwed.