Author Katie Mack is a theoretical cosmologist, meaning she studies the universe from beginning to end. Her book, The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) is an engaging and accessible guide to the potential causes of different endings of the universe. Mack explores five theories about how the universe might eventually end – but don’t worry, they all take place billions of years in the future.
The theories are: Heat Death, Big Crunch, Big Rip, Vacuum Decay, and Bounce. Heat Death is the theory most accepted by physicists currently: As the universe continues to expand, galaxies drift further apart, fewer new stars are formed, and existing stars fade and die. Eventually, the universe would become very cold, containing only the waste heat from the destruction of everything.
Whilst acknowledging the immense challenge of explaining these theories without mathematics, Mack does so exceptionally well. Her conversational tone and witty footnotes throughout the book almost make you forget you’re reading about complex theoretical physics – almost. From the very start, Mack’s passion for her subject is clear; her enthusiasm is infectious and she does an incredible job of engaging the reader and ensuring they have a firm grasp of the content. The book is filled with fond descriptions of cosmological entities. Mack describes primordial black holes as “awfully cute in a terrifying theoretical kind of way”, antimatter as “annihilation-happy evil twin” and the universe as “frickin’ weird”.
For a relatively short book (240 pages) Mack packs in a great wealth of facts and concepts without leaving the reader feeling overwhelmed. Of course, due to this limited space, not all concepts mentioned in passing can be explained in depth, but overall, the book is remarkably clear and easy to follow.
On the whole, this was a highly enjoyable read, and I strongly recommend it for anyone seeking a fascinating distraction and sense of escapism from everyday life – a chance to contemplate something far larger, and far in the cosmic future.
