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What if the Universe had its own self-destruct button? Vacuum Decay is a theory on this question. The Universe is built on the Quantum Field, which is divided into 3 categories: the Leptons, Bosons, and Quarks. These 3 things are what make the Universe, they make up atoms, and tell everything what to do. Like everything in the universe, they have energy that can be used up or created. For example, a log has a high energy state, but when it's burned to ash, it has a lower energy state. The particles in the Quantum Field want to always be at a low energy state, called a Vacuum State, so they can be stable. It's possible that the Higgs Field isn't stable, but metastable, which basically means that it acts like it's stable, but really isn't. The Higgs Field has energy that it doesn't know how to get rid of, which makes it a False Vacuum. Quantum tunneling (Has different meanings, but refer to image on the left) could lead the Higgs Field to set off all of its energy unto the Universe. If this happens, a giant ball of energy can be released, expanding at the speed of light forever. If it were to hit us, we would be wiped out instantly and never even see it coming. Inside this universe are new physics and elements that we could never imagine, and could probably never support life inside. There's not much to worry about though, as even if one were to happen, it would never reach us if it were far away enough, as the Universe expands faster than light, and this is just a theory. For all we know, this theory could be false, and just an idea for Sci-Fi novels
Here is a video that explains it in greater detail:
Here is a video that explains it in greater detail: