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A doomsday event is a specific occurrence which
has an exceptionally destructive effect on the
human race. The final outcomes of doomsday events
may range from a major disruption of human civilization,
to the extinction of human life, to the destruction
of the planet Earth, to the annihilation of the
entire universe.
A 2006 poll by SciFi.com revealed that virtually
all Americans believed that some sort of doomsday
scenario could realistically impact the human
race, and that many feel that such a scenario
is likely to be man-made.
Scenarios
Natural occurrences
These include:
• A global pandemic.
• A geological event such as massive flood basalt,
volcanism, or the eruption of a supervolcano.
One such event, the Toba Eruption, occurred in
Indonesia about 71,500 years ago. According to
the Toba catastrophe theory, the event may have
reduced human populations to only a few tens of
thousands of individuals. Yellowstone Caldera
is another such supervolcano, having undergone
142 or more caldera-forming eruptions in the past
17 million years.
• A gamma ray burst or other devastating blast
of cosmic radiation. One especially deadly hypothesized
source is a hypernova, produced when a hypergiant
star explodes and then collapses, sending vast
amounts of radiation sweeping across hundreds
or even thousands of lightyears of space. Hypernovas
have never been observed; however, a hypernova
may have been the cause of the Ordovician-Silurian
extinction events. The nearest hypergiant is thought
to be Eta Carinae, approximately 8,000 light-years
distant.
• An abrupt reorientation of Earth's axis of
rotation
• A drastic increase or decrease in the Sun's
energy output.
• An impact event caused by the collision of
a large meteoroid, asteroid, or comet with Earth.
A common theory postulates that the extinction
of the dinosaurs occurred approximately 65 million
years ago as a result of the Cretaceous-Tertiary
extinction event when a large asteroid struck
the earth, producing atmospheric dust which blocked
solar energy and caused a significant lowering
of temperatures worldwide. Evidence for this theory
includes a sedimentary layer of iridium in the
geological record and a large crater in the area
of Chicxulub, Mexico. The Tunguska event (1908)
was on a much smaller scale.
• A sudden change in the physical constants governing
the universe, such as that created by a Vacuum
metastability event.
• A close approach of a black hole to the solar
system.
• An exceptionally devastating hypercane.
• A universal Big Rip or Big Crunch.
• Severe climate change, caused by natural earth/sun
cycles.
Non-natural events
These include:
• Severe anthropogenic global warming.
• The creation of a black hole on or close to
Earth.
• Depletion of oil or other important natural
resources, assuming that alternatives are not
explored.
• Strangelet accident.
• A nuclear, chemical, or biological war.
• A cybernetic revolt.
• A grey goo inundation.
• Alien invasion.
Supernatural events
These include:
• An act of divine retribution or the Last Judgment.
Many religions include beliefs pertaining to the
end of time.
• The Norsemen believed that the world would end
in a tremendous battle of the gods known as Ragnarok.
• In the Christian Bible, the Book of Revelation
describes Armageddon, a final battle between the
forces of God and the forces of Satan (though
many see the Book of Revelation as symbolic).
• In Hindu mythology, it is believed the Lord
Vishnu will assume his tenth incarnation called
Kalki Avatar to destroy the demon Kali and rescue
the pure at heart before the world is destroyed
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