Scientists Discover A Self-Destruct Button For The Entire Universe

It seems that the cosmos as we know it has a self-destruct process that most of us are unaware of. The delete button exists inside the physical rules that govern the known universe. It is, in fact, a quantum field known as the Higgs Field.

So, how does the Higgs Field trigger this cosmic self-destruction sequence? It all comes down to faking it or at least faking its vacuum condition.

But first, let's take a step back. Everything in the cosmos is guided by two basic principles: energy and stability. The long and short of it is that everything in existence has energy and tends to move toward its most stable or ground state. The less potential energy something has, the more stable it is, and vice versa.

This is true even at the quantum level, where it applies to quantum fields – basically, the laws that particles must follow in the universe. Quantum fields like to remain in their most stable, lowest energy state, referred to as the vacuum state (not to be confused with a vacuum in space).

In theory, all quantum fields are already in their vacuum state, with the exception of the Higgs Field, which is responsible for particle mass. There is a chance that the Higgs Field is a fake vacuum. Being in a fake vacuum condition implies that the Higgs Field has an enormous amount of potential energy. This energy may be released with the smallest, most random spark (like quantum tunneling).

Consider a massive flood of energy traveling across the cosmos at the speed of light. Everything in its path would be consumed by this vacuum decay. Of course, since the cosmos is expanding, there's a possibility it won't reach us. But if it does, this Higgs boson (so to speak) will upend the conventional model of physics and disrupt how chemistry works as we know it, rendering life almost impossible.

On a cosmic scale, it would be instant death. The good news is that false vacuums are still mostly theoretical. So there's really nothing to be concerned about... for the time being. 

You can learn more about this in the video below:

Reference(s): BigThink