A universe death clock, built in Minecraft


Some interpretations of cosmology and the laws of thermodynamics imply that eventually, the universe will freeze and die. If galaxies keep racing away from each other, stars keep burning up their nuclear fuel, and entropy keeps increasing, then eventually all matter, including black holes, will decay and the universe will asymptotically approach a temperature of absolute zero.
Some guy cooked up a mechanism in the video game Minecraft that will take a bit over 1 googol years to complete, which is about the time that it will take for all the black holes to evaporate via Hawking radiation. In case you aren't feeling nihilistic enough this morning, it's pretty great:
Note, however, that this isn't the only possibility for the ultimate fate of the universe. Far-future thinking like this can get extremely weird.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Scientists are the latest 'refugees'
In the spotlight Brain drain to brain gain
-
5 dreamy books to dive into this July
The Week Recommends A 'politically charged' collection of essays, historical fiction goes sci-fi and more
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read