On proton decay, control and disarmament

Despite being written long before (1981) the discovery of dark energy from the fact that expansion of the universe accelerates, this article — about our gloomy prospects if it ever appears worthwhile for proton to find decay route — remains valuable and interesting read. I’m almost sure that Frederik Pohl was sampling from it when he wrote his brilliant The World at the End of Time.

The cream truly rises to the top when you notice that this investigation of effects of the proton decay on potential cosmic doomsday was sponsored by none other than one US federal agency, especially dedicated to arms control, verification, compliance, and disarmament.

Said agency was abolished in 1999, the next year after the Supernova Cosmology Project team announced that the universe’s expansion would continue ever faster. But, of course, four new bureaus sprouted from it, thus adding to managerial entropy increase in Local Group.

This might be a coincidence. After all, decline of the West is said to be a debunked myth. Also of the region west of Alpha Centauri, that is.