Will time ever end?

Tick tock, tick tock, whenever will the clock stop…


Asked by: Terry Stanton, by email

According to Einstein’s General Relativity, which is our best current description of space and time, the only place where time – and also space – ends is in a so-called singularity. This involves gravitational forces becoming so intense that space and time lose all meaning.

There are a few scenarios for the ultimate end of the Universe – if it ends in a Big Crunch, then time would lose all meaning © Getty
There are a few scenarios for the ultimate end of the Universe – if it ends in a Big Crunch, then time would lose all meaning © Getty

While this is a theoretical possibility if the Universe collapses into a ‘Big Crunch’, observations suggest the current cosmic expansion will continue indefinitely.

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