[Alan McDougall (OP)]

What do you think is the ultimate fate of the universe?

Alan

[evan_au]

A selection of theories here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_fate_of_the_universe

[Alan McDougall (OP)]

What do the forum members think is the ultimate fate of the universe, not what a Wikipedia article postulates about?

[impyre]

Heh. I think it's gonna end up really cold and boring. A more interesting question is where will humans be for it? I vote for creating a pocket universe inside a black hole that has an insanely large time dilation factor such that the remaining billion years of the lifespan of this universe plays out trillions of years in the new one. Then they could wonder why their big bang happened.

[Alan McDougall (OP)]

Heh. I think it's gonna end up really cold and boring. A more interesting question is where will humans be for it? I vote for creating a pocket universe inside a black hole that has an insanely large time dilation factor such that the remaining billion years of the lifespan of this universe plays out trillions of years in the new one. Then they could wonder why their big bang happened.

Are you serious?

[impyre]

That's not nice, I could very well have responded to this question in that way.

[evan_au]

What do the forum members think is the ultimate fate of the universe, not what a Wikipedia article postulates about?

I find that Wikipedia is a good place to start, because Wikipedia usually mentions the major theoretical contenders.
It also mentions the relevant observational evidence, and why obsolete ideas are now obsolete.
There are a lot of people who could contribute considerably more value once they get up to Wikipedia speed.

a pocket universe inside a black hole that has an insanely large time dilation factor such that the remaining billion years of the lifespan of this universe plays out trillions of years in the new one.

I can't speak about what happens inside a black hole, but extremely close to the event horizon (on the outside) it is possible to get a very high time dilation factor.
The problem is that it works the opposite way to what you suggest - the remaining billion years of the lifespan of this universe plays out thousands of years in the time-dilated one.

[impyre]

The problem is that it works the opposite way to what you suggest - the remaining billion years of the lifespan of this universe plays out thousands of years in the time-dilated one.

Well it was just wild speculative fantasy anyhow. Another look at the formula shows you to be right about the effects of high gravity on time dilation, but this formula has a limit that coincides with the event horizon (at least as I understand it). My speculation was based on the idea that perhaps new laws of physics are born in the interior (which admittedly could make nearly anything possible). There's no basis for this in evidence obviously.