The Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the Physics of Eternity

"The Five Ages of the Universe zooms out further still — considering not just the entire history of the universe, but its entire future too. It breaks this down into five periods of increasing length. From the big bang to the first stars 100,000 years later is the Primordial Era. We now live in the Stelliferous Era which is characterised by billions upon billions of shining stars and the vast energy they output. But in 100 trillion years, these stars will have burnt out and the Degenerate Era will be characterised by what happens to their dying embers. And in about a trillion trillion trillion years, even these will be gone and we will only be left with black holes. Then, after 10 to the power of 100 years, even the black holes will evaporate, leaving an everlasting Dark Era. Or at least that is the current best understanding in astrophysics. Adams and Laughlin paint a rigorous yet deeply engaging picture of the universe unfolding through these very alien eras and, in each one, they sketch some ideas about how life might be able to continue, or even thrive, as the universe ever-so-slowly winds down."