Expansion of Big Rip
A universe dominated by phantom energy is an accelerating universe , expanding at an ever-increasing rate. However, this implies that the size of the observable universe is continually shrinking; the distance to the edge of the observable universe which is moving away at the speed of light from any point moves ever closer. When the size of the observable universe becomes smaller than any particular structure, no interaction by any of the fundamental forces can occur between the most remote parts of the structure. When these interactions become impossible, the structure is "ripped apart". The model implies that after a finite time there will be a final singularity, called the "Big Rip", in which all distances diverge to infinite values. The authors of this hypothesis, led by Robert R. Caldwell of Dartmouth College , calculate the time from the present to the end of the universe as we know it for this form of energy to be {\displaystyle t_...