Metastable universe

Edd111@aol.com
Mon, 25 Oct 1999 19:39:03 EDT

I recall, at one of the senior associate meetings in Palo Alto,someone mentioned the possibility of a metastable universe, in which, anytime, but far more probably billions of years in the future, the universe could undergo a phase shift, in which all matter (visible and dark), in fact, the entire structure of the universe would be forever altered. Of course, all life would be instantaneously- gone!

The question I ask, is this metastability something that most scientists believe in, or is it very much a minority theory. And if it 'can happen anytime', due to the limiting speed of light, will it be forever impossible to know if the universe is phase shifting, even as we speak?

Ed Reifman