As if we don’t already have enough problems on Earth, a mathematical model developed by Professor Marcelo Disconzi known as The Big Rip suggests the universe we know and love could tear itself apart in 22 billion years. Don’t worry though, given the way we’re going with climate change, we probably won’t be around to see it happen.

But - on the off chance that your great, great, great (etc) granddaughter is alive in 22 billion years - this is what she might experience: dark energy winning a battle with gravity to ultimately rip apart atoms individually on a mass scale. According to Disconzi, this will happen due to the rapid acceleration of the universe to the point of infinity, with cataclysmic results.