Zombie brand. Zombies in pop culture are a construct that the industry needs as a money-making dynamo. This image expresses a person’s deepest fear: what is invincible, aggressive, stupid and ominous, what one can encounter or what one is in danger of turning into if one loses oneself. And there are those who are ready to make money from it: they turned the handle, and money flowed from the zombie machine to the film corporation. This image was recently used in a commercial for phones that are better at photographing human faces in the dark. The language includes stable expressions and memes: for example, “I am a zombie” or “Man is a wolf to man, and zombies are zombies.” Films with such a plot reflect classic pop culture consumption: we know it’s harmful, but we buy it again. This strange image is the quintessence of civilizational self-irony and collective anxiety.
The image of zombies is reflected in different ways in different areas of world culture.
Movie. The first zombie film was released in 1932 by Victor Halperin's production company. It was called "White Zombie". The main role was played by Bela Lugosi. George Romero, who created the canon of this genre, said that he was inspired by Richard Mattson's novel I Am Legend, although the novel was about vampires. Literature. Two contemporary works are of greatest interest. In 2003, the American writer Max Brooks published a book, “The Zombie Survival Guide.” The script for the film World War Z, starring Brad Pitt, is based on it. In 2009, American screenwriter, producer and novelist Seth Grahame-Smith released the mashup novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Games. Based on this novel, a video game was created where English ladies and gentlemen use martial arts to fight zombies. And the tower defense game Plants vs Zombies earned its first million dollars within nine days of release. Mythology. The idea of zombies also existed in Japanese mythology in the form of buso spirits. And in German-Scandinavian mythology there are two similar images - Draugr and Nachzerer. Philosophical zombie. This is what they call a thought experiment in the philosophy of mind. This is a hypothetical being, indistinguishable from normal person, but lacks conscious experience or the ability to sense. (Have you noticed this: thinking that you hit yourself, you automatically scream, and then you realize that it doesn’t hurt? It’s about the same thing.) Programming. A zombie process is a child process on a Unix system that has completed execution but is still listed in the operating system so that the exit code is counted. Education. Zombies as a cultural phenomenon are studied in several universities and colleges around the world. For example, at Columbia College Chicago there is a course on “Zombies in Popular Media”: students try to understand why so many films are made about zombies, and what interests people about this creepy idea. The image of zombies in sociology and psychology. Since 2001, the Zombie Walk, a mass procession of people dressed as zombies, has been taking place in different places around the world. This phenomenon is also studied by sociologists and psychologists.
The phenomenon of the good zombie. Recently, several films have appeared about kind, humane or simply kind zombies:
. “Warm Bodies” is about a handsome zombie whose love for a girl (although, probably, the devoured brain of her boyfriend) makes him human again.
. "Fido" (Fido is a traditional dog name in the USA) is a satire on the topic of "Who should really be classified as a zombie?"
. “Shaun of the Dead” (the official translation of the title is incorrect, since “Shaun of the Dead” is a play on the title of the film “Dawn of the Dead”. The main character’s name is Shaun, but his friend turns into a zombie. However, after that he remains a harmless slacker with a games console. Directed by Edgar Wright, this smart and caustic parody stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and is practically a zombie variation of Hot Fuzz.
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What does the good zombie phenomenon mean? The movie zombie is experiencing a crisis of identitylessness.
Dead end branch of cultural evolution. Zombie as a pop culture character is a “dead-end branch of evolution”: cinema cannot develop him as a personality character. In the life of a movie zombie, there will be no dramatic turns (well, except for a summary bullet to the brain), new love, career changes, weddings and the birth of children. He simply has nothing to do. This cultural construct has two interests: to eat and to destroy - not enough for cinematic collisions.
A satire on this topic is present in the film “The Warmth of Our Bodies”: in a city abandoned by people, zombies, having nothing to do, return to routine life-long duties and even try to communicate with sounds.
Even if we assume that “the zombies have won” in the movie: what will they do when they destroy everything? In the sense of the cinematic plot and script, they can either quietly decompose under a bush, or grow kinder, wiser and become human again.
The cinema has painted itself into a corner and is forced to turn back time: bring the zombie back to life (for example, through love, as in “Warm Bodies”) or at least make him a tolerable armchair member of society (as happened with Ed, Shaun’s friend in “Shaun of the Dead").
Another option is to think about people who, when confronted with zombies, show the full spectrum of humanity and truly become human.
In general, the most interesting thing is not the zombie theme itself, but the phenomenon of turning naive, and then “meat” zombie films into a poetic reflection on man, about the illusions we live in. In essence, we are so caught up in the game that civilization (and almost each of us as a part of it) is constructing that we do not see “the world as it is.” And the series “The Walking Dead”, now in its fifth season, has been giving us an anatomical theater of our illusions.
The roads in big cities are empty, but no one is happy about this anymore. There are expensive cars everywhere, but you can go further on a horse. The main character, police officer Rick Grimes, tries his best to maintain reason and nobility, but the more stress, the more violently he reacts to the cruelty of those who are still alive, but have lost their humanity - have become essentially the “walking dead”. After the zombie apocalypse, the absurdity of racism and hostility becomes clearer. Groups of able-bodied survivors of this hell are howling among themselves for safety and food. And it turns out that we are talking not only about canned food from the supermarket, but also about the people themselves, whom cannibals perceive in the same way as we now perceive animals on farms. An alcoholic is ready to risk himself and his comrades in order to snatch a bag with a bottle from a zombie. A farmer keeps his zombie family in a barn, hoping for a cure for the dead, and insists that the walkers be treated humanely. A once peaceful, law-abiding man, faced with terrible things, becomes a psychopath who stores zombie heads in an aquarium, sets up a torture room and a zombie coliseum. But there remains something humane in him - he takes care of his zombie daughter and later takes care of several living ones. Powerful ambitions and sadistic tendencies come to the surface in the context of a collapsed civilization and public morality. People count the days without deaths and rejoice at the “30 days without an incident” sign. A person adapts to everything: a woman with a katana cuts off zombies’ arms and jaws so that they cannot harm her, and leads her along on chains - their smell makes her “invisible” to crowds of the dead. The captured walkers are also used as troops against a hostile group, filling a truck with them. In essence, “The Walking Dead” is a reflection on what a person is capable of in extreme conditions, what the price of our civilization is, why we don’t value anything and are so bored while everything is good with us.
From television films you already know every detail. Human existence turns into a daily struggle for survival. You will have to stock up on water, food, medicine and weapons. Moreover, in this case, revolvers and rifles will never be superfluous. If people want to survive, they must flee away from densely populated areas. Ideally, you need to find a secret bunker that protects you from the invasion of a wandering and ever-hungry horde. Legions of zombies are increasing their ranks at cosmic speed. They hunt for any person they meet along the path of a destroyed civilization. This is how television projects describe the zombie apocalypse.
Fortunately for us, from a biological point of view, the invasion of infected evil spirits on the planet is impossible, and here's why.
1. Weather conditions: hell
In tropical latitudes, the month of August becomes unbearably stuffy. On the other hand, January in northern latitudes can pass for a freezer. Stay on outdoors Without protection in extreme conditions it is simply not realistic. Earth's unforgiving weather worsens the conditions for rotting flesh. High heat and humidity allow insects and bacteria to thrive. The hot desert air will turn zombies into husks in a few hours. In winter, even the slightest blow will cause the skeletal system of the walking dead to completely collapse under the influence of its own weight. And we haven't even mentioned ultraviolet radiation, hurricanes, torrential rain and hail, and blizzards!
2. Central nervous system: failure
Our organisms are complex mechanisms, where each system is interconnected with each other. Muscles, tendons, skeleton and internal organs are controlled by the brain. When one element of a well-functioning system fails, everything goes awry. IN real life a person risks being practically immobilized. This fact makes mysterious the numerous stories about modern zombies, which can move at the speed of a meteor, even having lost half of their flesh. They move, no matter what, they are not embarrassed by the lack of brains, broken bones, atrophied muscles, rotting internal organs. Well, since many screen zombies suffer from extensive cranial wounds, their central nervous system must be completely paralyzed. 
3. Immunity: none
Viruses, fungi and bacteria have plagued humanity since the beginning of the world. They shorten life expectancy and make us unhappy. Recently, the world has become aware of its most dangerous biological enemies: smallpox and HIV. Only the immune system makes us stay afloat and resist the invasion of microscopic invaders. People with weakened immune systems inevitably face problems. Zombies have no immunity at all, so any bacteria that gets inside them will instantly eat them from the inside.
4. Metabolism: crisis
People eat food, so they convert chemical energy into activity. This is how we live and breathe. Metabolism supports these processes. This term is all-encompassing, it covers everything chemical reactions, occurring in the body. In theory, zombies feed on human brains, because they also need to function somehow. There is only one problem: these creatures are not living, which is why they do not have any metabolic capabilities. Therefore, if zombies lack metabolic processes, they will not be able to transform tasty brains into energy. 
5. Predatory flocks of vultures: a real threat
There are too many vultures and carrion-eating animals in nature - hyenas, wolves, bears, coyotes, foxes and packs of vicious feral dogs. If a zombie apocalypse were to strike, the remaining people would fear not only walking monsters, but also hungry wild predators. Even small animals like rats, raccoons and possums will enjoy going out hunting. They are only afraid of healthy people. But as soon as they smell the carrion, they will immediately rush to attack. So what awaits the walking dead when they meet the vultures? The answer suggests itself.
6. Sensory organs have become unusable
Sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell - all senses are key to our survival. Without these five possibilities, a person will wander around the world, consume poisonous plants, bang his head against doorways, and spill boiling water on his body. But since zombies undergo a constant process of decay, it is unclear how they manage to remain sighted and perform any of the vital activities in order to feast on human brains. When the rotting process starts, the eyes immediately suffer. The collapsed soft tissue would leave the zombies blind. Then the eardrums become deformed. How can a deaf and blind monster hunt its victims? 
7. Spread of the virus: doubtful
Nature has developed some terrifying ways for germs to spread. Take, for example, bird flu or measles, which is spread by coughing and sneezing. 90 percent of people who come into contact with an infected person become ill. But how do the walking dead spread the infection? Everything we are shown in horror films is completely ineffective. Somehow the corpse must grab the person and then deliver a devastating bite. Well, if the creature is missing some limbs, this is too cruel a proposal. In order to overtake and bite a victim, it is necessary to expend colossal energy. And, as we already know, zombies have no internal resources. And finally: do you really think that a healthy, alert person cannot cope with a decomposing corpse in close physical contact? Cold-blooded and slow zombies will always lose in a fight with their warm-blooded “brothers”.
8. Wounds: Never Heal
Before the invention of antibiotics, simple abrasions and cuts could have been fatal to a person. If dirt and germs penetrated a cut, they instantly spread into the internal tissues. But now we know well what personal hygiene and first aid are. We are familiar with soap, iodine and brilliant green. In addition, our tissues have a unique ability to regenerate and restore. Fortunately, these options are completely closed to zombies. Their wounds, regardless of the depth of the damage, never heal. Imagine what will happen to a sheet of paper from which a piece is cut off every day. Sooner or later he will be gone. 
9. Digestive System: Gaping Holes
The human stomach is a muscular sac that can be filled with approximately 850 grams of food and drink per meal. Of course, eating more on a regular basis can stretch this internal organ. Now imagine what will happen to the stomach of a monster that is ready to stuff itself with human brains without a break. In addition, if some zombie systems do not function, then food may simply fall into thin air. Gaping holes along the esophagus-intestine route will take care of this. Well, what will happen if undigested lunch begins to accumulate in the intestines? Imagine for yourself.
10. Teeth: worn out
Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in our bodies. This hard shell helps us chew food. But without proper dental care, teeth quickly become unusable. Zombies never brush their teeth, their gums rot, and enamel cracks quickly turn into holes. No one will give them prosthetics. In the end, efforts to bite seem completely pointless. Only in films do the teeth of the dead look like formidable weapons.
Conclusion
So, we found out that today not a single virus, not a single fungal infection or radiation leak will lead to a zombie apocalypse from a biological point of view. This means that we will be spared from escaping from the tenacious clutches of hundreds of maddened monsters. They do not pose a real threat to humanity.
The topic of turning part of the Earth's population into bloodthirsty zombies who walk the streets of cities and hunt those who are still alive has been exciting minds for many decades. Interest in zombies has recently been gaining enormous momentum, while the United States continues to be the main supplier of stories about the dead. It is here that people constantly wonder when the zombie apocalypse will happen and diligently prepare for this day. The Pentagon has even developed an action plan in case of such a phenomenon. Why does this question bother people? Let’s try to figure it out today.
Apocalypse problem
The zombie apocalypse is a fantasy scenario of many horror films, where some viral infection turns healthy people into living dead cannibals who are aggressive, and this leads to the extinction of the Earth's population.
In 1968, real zombies in the form of the bloodthirsty dead were introduced into culture thanks to the film Night of the Living Dead. After this, ideas about the apocalypse began to act as standard models that were applied to many areas of mass culture. Fictional apocalypse scenarios involve a zombie invasion with an infectious virus similar to an epidemic of a real disease. The bite of the walking dead contributes to the death of a person and his subsequent transformation into a monster who is eager to attack living people. The military and police cannot cope with such a large-scale threat, so those who remain alive must fight.
The scenario also describes how to protect yourself from zombies. To do this, you need to find a weapon and a car in which to go to a deserted place and settle there. You must first stock up on food, clothing, water, medications and various equipment.
Reality and zombies
Many scientists have developed a model of the zombie apocalypse as a viral epidemic of unknown origin, pointing out that the existence of this problem will lead to the collapse of civilization. In 2011, a humorous instruction was published on how to what to do during a zombie apocalypse. This joke aroused public interest. Three years later, the Pentagon developed a plan to evacuate people from cities if such a disaster occurred.
In Britain, scientists calculated how long it would take until the complete destruction of humanity in the event of an apocalypse. According to their assumptions, within one hundred days the number of people on earth will be two hundred people, and zombies - one hundred million individuals. They also found that, , it will acquire global proportions within twenty days. The chances of becoming infected in this case would be 90%, but the dead themselves would live for twenty days, after which they would be eliminated due to hunger and dehydration.
Preparing for the apocalypse
Today, almost everyone knows. They swept through popular culture quite quickly, appearing in movies, books, video games, and so on. The fear of crowds of the dead who want to feast on living flesh is deeply imprinted in the American brain. Therefore, so-called anti-zombie kits began to appear in many weapons stores, which included real knives, shotguns, and so on.
The comedian released a “Survival Guide” in case of an apocalypse, which formed the basis of the famous film “World War Z.” The Pentagon developed plan CONOP 888, which describes actions to attack zombies. There are regular exercises in Kansas, so everyone is ready for that moment. Also, this topic is highlighted by the media, periodically releasing news, which, of course, are canards.
But most people tend to believe fake news, so they are seriously preparing for a mass epidemic. For example, several years ago it was reported that ashore on. A male body was dumped in St. Thomas with its skin torn off. When the police arrived, the drowned man stood up and attacked them. The law enforcement officers began to shoot at the man, but this had no effect, so they began to retreat. One of the observers grabbed a pistol and shot the dead man in the head, from which he died. The body was taken by the military, who later claimed to exist. A few years later, the Minister of Australia, before the date of the expected end of the world (12/12/2012), made a statement that she was ready to protect her people from the walking dead.
Solanum virus
Zombies are neither the result of black magic nor any other force. They come from a virus called Solanum. And whether there will be a zombie apocalypse depends on how quickly this virus spreads on the planet. This virus spreads through the blood from the site of entry to the brain. It uses frontal cells to copy data, which it then destroys. When this happens, all body functions stop, the brain does not die, but goes into a dormant state, and Solanum turns the body's cells into new organs. The resulting new organism is not dependent on oxygen. Once the mutation is complete, the body comes to life, but it is similar to a corpse. Some body functions remain, others function limitedly, and others stop altogether. This new look called a zombie - a representative of the living dead. Thus, the Solanum virus creates real zombies; it enters the blood of a healthy person, causing certain mutations.
Survive at any cost!
Survival is main goal during the apocalypse. When confronted with the living dead, many abilities are needed: first aid, weaponry, leadership, and more. Currently, many films are devoted to this topic, by watching which you can gain knowledge about how to survive and fight zombies. To eliminate such an individual, it is necessary to turn off its brain; no other methods have been found to combat these creatures.
The Walking Dead
Today, almost everyone knows, These are the walking dead who embody evil. They are endowed with unmotivated rage, aggression towards the living, severe hunger, and travel in packs. Their brain is damaged, body functions do not work, tissues decompose. But there is no logic in all this, such creatures are observed only in pop culture and have nothing to do with reality.
This image of zombies was created for movie plots for the purpose of box office revenue. After all, it is the dead who are most afraid of people who believe in the zombie apocalypse. Science refutes the possibility of the existence of such walking dead. Thus, it has been proven that metabolic processes do not occur in a dead body, there is no tissue regeneration, there is no biochemistry in it that can provide thinking, movement, reflexes and aggression itself. It follows that zombies in real life will not be able to walk, since they do not have the internal energy to do so. Since the connections between the tissues are very weakened, they would simply fall apart. In addition, the dead do not have digestion, so they cannot eat their victims.
Zombified man
This version is more realistic and somewhat suitable for modern times. According to some interpretations, a modern zombie obeys someone’s orders; he is a person with compromised mental health and memory. He is a kind of slave without consciousness and will, deprived of independence, and follows orders from the outside.
We know what a zombie apocalypse is from movies and books, but what if it has already arrived? In this case, the role of zombies is played by sectarians who blindly give their property to the sect, and in some cases commit murders and suicides. By manipulating human consciousness, their leaders commit various illegal acts at the hands of other people. Also, those who blindly believe political rhetoric can become zombies. Such a zombie apocalypse has already happened in our history and claimed a huge number of lives - it was called fascism.
Infected people
Pop culture has created a type of zombie that corresponds to a healthy person infected with a dangerous virus, it makes him aggressive and hungry, lost common sense. Such a virus, according to some sources, is created in a military laboratory that is developing biological weapons. Therefore the question is when will the zombie apocalypse start, is very relevant. In fact, such viruses already exist in nature and are familiar to many people.
Real viruses
There are several diseases in the modern world. People who suffer from them resemble zombies to some extent:
- Toxoplasmosis is a disease that is transmitted from cats. Many studies that have been conducted on rats have shown that when infected with this virus, they begin to eat themselves. This disease actually affects half the world. People with strong immune system do not notice any symptoms, but those whose immunity is weakened notice outbursts of anger and auto-aggression. Although toxoplasmosis has not turned anyone into a zombie to date.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a disease of the cerebral cortex and neural nodes, which is dystrophic in nature. The human brain is damaged, hallucinations begin, dementia, loss of skills, inadequate thinking, and rage appear. There is no cure for this disease; it can be hereditary or acquired. But this disease is unlikely to lead to a zombie apocalypse, since a person with this disease dies within two years.
- African trypanosomiasis is caused by the bite of a tsetse fly. The disease affects the central nervous system, causing attacks of hunger, accompanied by fatigue and lethargy. Perhaps this disease created the image of zombies among African peoples. But this disease is completely curable and will not lead to the apocalypse.
Zombies in modern culture
So ? Most likely never. Zombie is just a promoted brand that was created to make money. This image symbolizes a person’s phobias, something terrible that one can encounter in life. And many make money from these phobias. Today, almost everyone knows who zombies are, what they look like, what they eat, and how to kill them. And all this thanks to modern culture: cinema and literature. In communication, the words “zombie”, “apocalypse”, “walking dead” and so on are increasingly being used. Some universities around the world study zombies as a cultural phenomenon. Students are considering the question of why a huge number of films about these monsters have been made lately, and what interests them common man. Every year in various countries around the world there is a procession of a large number of people disguised as dead people. Sociologists and psychologists are still studying this phenomenon.
Results
Thus, the zombie in the modern world expresses human fears from which it is impossible to escape. It is films that give rise to these phobias, which in many cases require medical treatment. And the apocalypse most likely will not come for the next hundred years.
Zombies... Dear, poor zombies, they are being killed, but they don’t end, poor things. The very topic of the living dead is extremely annoying: everyone hates the idea that billions of dead people will rise from their graves and have to defend themselves. Many dudes stubbornly believe that all voodoo magic is bullshit, but in this post we will delve a little into the wrong steppe. A zombie may well still be alive, but at the same time he may categorically not understand anything. So fear dear reader, today we will tell you why the zombie apocalypse is real and which scenarios are most real.
2. Neurotoxins
There is an indecently large number of poisons that slow down almost all the vital functions of the body. Only a good doctor can understand whether a person is completely dead or only partially dead. An example of such poisons is the poison of puffer fish. After poisoning, the victim is brought out of the trance by special narcotic substances, loses memory and personality, turning into a real zombie. By the way, all that talk about Haiti and zombie plantation workers is the real truth, especially considering that they are quite alive, but submissive and dumb as a cork.
3.Rabies virus
Like in the movie 28 Days Later. In fact, it is quite a real thing, especially considering that there is a mad cow disease virus in the world. Check if you have any of its symptoms:
- change in gait;
- hallucinations;
- problems with coordination (eg, tripping and falling);
- muscle twitching;
- myoclonic spasms or seizures;
- rapidly developing delirium or dementia.
Considering that such a virus is transmitted through blood and saliva, it can be considered a very real threat of a zombie invasion. But it is rarely found in nature. But aggression with the desire to tear and bite will be present.
4. Neurogenesis, stem cells and other joys of science
With the help of stem cells, it is absolutely possible to renew the human brain, or at least this is what everything is going towards. And now it’s time for real paranoia for zombie-fiction lovers. Let them replace arms and legs, but the crippled brain, restored by cells with the same deficiencies as its “mother brain,” will be just as incapacitated, but it will be new. Also, the body can be kept in suspended animation for some time, but resuscitation of this person may bring with it certain problems due to the destruction of the cerebral cortex. Let the person’s brain be new, but the connections in it will be lost, the personality will degrade to the state of a child, you will have to teach him everything again, but he will be happy to watch TV series based on the Russian zombie movie. Simply put, it will be a zombie, because it will not have a personality, but it will be obedient and submissive.
5. Nanobots
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Nanotechnology is being developed not only in Russia. Small, agile robots will be able in the near future to build a small city inside a person or destroy their host. Why can’t such babies destroy connections in the human brain? It's easy! Read a good SF novel “Invincible” by Stanislaw Lem about little nanobots. Suppose bots remain in our bodies after death, what should they do to reanimate your body? Imagine that there will be as many such bots in a person’s body as there are leukocytes. Scary? Horrible!
The development of new technologies, the availability of information and the quick reaction of the media to any events in the world - all this leads to the fact that the excitement around the next possible “end of the world” is becoming stronger.
The YUGA.ru portal publishes the 10 most popular variants of Apocalypse scenarios.
1. Aliens
Aliens abduct, capture, and massacre the Earth's population in most science fiction films and books. However, recently this topic has ceased to be the domain of exclusively ufologists, becoming the subject of discussion by serious scientists.
Thus, at the beginning of 2010, the British Royal Society held hearings on the topic: “The discovery of extraterrestrial life and its consequences for science and society,” in which leading experts in the field of astronomy, astrophysics and biology, as well as specialists from NASA and the European Space Agency took part and the United Nations Agency for Outer Space Affairs.
One of the topics for discussion was the appearance of potentially existing inhabitants of other worlds and their potential danger to earthlings, and in the speeches of many scientists there was a pessimistic view of the consequences of possible contact with other civilizations.
Then, the famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said that humanity should be wary of colonization by aliens. According to one of the best minds of our time, aliens can simply use the Earth as a source of resources in order to capture it in passing and move on.
“If inhabitants of other worlds come to us, the consequences may be the same as for the Indians after Columbus arrived in America, that is, not the best,”- Hawking emphasized.
At the same time, methods for searching for extraterrestrial intelligence continue to improve. For example, Frank Donald Drake, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, founded the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) organization half a century ago, which searches for alien activity, and proposed using the so-called. Einstein lenses.
And physics and astronomy specialist Marcelo Glaser from Dartmouth College improved the so-called. The Drake equation is a formula that can be used to calculate the number of intelligent civilizations with which earthlings could come into contact.
In addition, Bulgarian scientists from the Space Research Institute stated in January 2010 that they had made contact with aliens and learned from them what exactly would happen to humanity in 2012. And representatives of the Klingon-Terran Research Ensemble not only staged the first opera in the Klingon language, but also directly invited representatives of this alien civilization of humanoid warriors from the Star Trek universe to personally participate in the premiere.
2. Black holes
There is widespread belief that the world's largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, could trigger the formation of black holes that will engulf our planet.
One of the main tasks of the LHC is the search for the Higgs boson, a theoretically predicted elementary particle that is responsible for mass. It is believed that the required launch of the collider at full power could lead to a global catastrophe. According to pessimists, artificially producing a particle that creates the entire mass of the Universe can cause a chain reaction of involuntary mass growth with the appearance of a black hole
In this regard, many serious scientists are sure that at the initial stage they tried to interfere with the work of the LHC from the future or another dimension in order to prevent the emergence of a black hole or the appearance of a portal to a parallel universe.
Earlier, the head of CERN, Ralf-Dieter Heuer, promised that the end of the world expected by many would not happen, because... The collider is safe "within three dimensions."
“We can talk about micro-“black holes”, which, supposedly, if created, would decay like any normal particles. Can we create such holes at the LHC? Yes. But if we live in more than three-dimensional dimensions. I can’t exclude this: an ant that crawls on a table sees only two dimensions."- he explained.
And according to one of the latest astrophysics hypotheses, put forward in April 2010, our Universe itself is located inside a black hole, which is located in another world, different from ours.
3. Catastrophe of extraterrestrial origin
Catastrophic consequences from the fall of comets or asteroids are traditionally considered to be the cause of mass death of biological species on Earth.
In particular, a falling meteorite is also recognized as being responsible for the death of dinosaurs. It was established that its actual dimensions were much smaller than previously thought. Based on the content of the light isotope osmium in oceanic sedimentary rocks, experts from Harvard University found that the object that destroyed the dinosaurs was 4.1 to 4.4 km across. Previously, the size of the cosmic body that fell to Earth about 65 million years ago was estimated at 15-19 km in diameter.
And the fall of the Tunguska meteorite, which brought down more than 2 thousand square kilometers of forests with a blast wave, is also considered one of the causes of global warming.
According to scientists' calculations, the closest collision of our planet with a large asteroid may occur in 18 years, on April 13, 2029. If asteroid 2004 MN4, which has a diameter of about 396 meters, collides with the Earth's surface, tsunamis could form in the oceans and significant destruction on land. According to scientists, the energy released in the event of a collision of this asteroid with the Earth will be equal to 1600 megatons.
The potentially hazardous asteroid was given a score of 2 out of 10 on the Turin Impact Hazard Scale, which astronomers use to assess the threat to Earth from an asteroid or comet nucleus. Previously, none of the open small celestial bodies did not receive a score higher than one point on this scale.
However, the probability of this event is estimated at 1 in 300 and can be reduced after further study of the asteroid's trajectory. In addition, experts believe that by this time an early warning system for possible space threats will have been developed.
4. Gamma-ray burst
Gamma-ray bursts are large-scale cosmic bursts of explosive energy that are observed in distant galaxies. Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful sources of energy in the Universe and are capable of emitting as much energy in seconds as our Sun would emit over 10 billion years.
It is assumed that a directed gamma-ray burst towards our planet could lead to a mass extinction on Earth. Thus, the famous theoretical physicist and popularizer of science Michio Kaku writes in his book “Physics of the Impossible”:
“If the flow of gamma radiation were directed directly at Earth, and the source itself were in our galactic neighborhood (at a distance of several hundred light years from Earth), its power would be enough to completely destroy life on our planet.
At first, the electromagnetic pulse created by the X-rays from a gamma-ray burst source would destroy all electronic equipment on Earth. A powerful beam of X-ray and gamma radiation would cause irreparable harm to the earth's atmosphere, destroying the protective ozone layer. The gamma ray stream would then heat up the Earth's surface, causing enormous firestorms that would eventually engulf the entire planet. Perhaps the source of gamma-ray bursts would not have blown up the planet, as shown in the movie "Star Wars", but it would certainly have destroyed all life on it, leaving behind a charred desert."
5. Diseases
Infectious diseases have threatened humanity throughout its existence. The plague destroyed almost half the population of those countries in which outbreaks of epidemics occurred. By the beginning of the 21st century, the prevalence of HIV infection had become a pandemic. Every time a person tries to enter an alien environment, he exposes himself to a huge number of dangerous microorganisms: SARS, bird and swine flu, Ebola fever.
The greatest concern among scientists is the emergence of superbugs - strains with multi-drug resistance that cannot be treated with traditional drugs. Some experts believe that one of the driving forces behind the emergence of these strains is the use of antibiotics.
In addition to the growing number of infectious diseases, the incidence of hereditary pathologies is increasing every year. The successes of modern medicine and the lack of natural selection lead to the fact that people with weak genes and congenital deformities survive and pass on these genes. Ultimately, the degeneration of the gene pool may lead to humanity being unable to withstand even the mildest diseases.
Another factor that can lead to the extinction of the human race is the problem of infertility. Thus, a new study conducted by specialists from the University of Turku in Finland showed that the quality and quantity of sperm in men has deteriorated significantly over the past decade. Exposure to industrial chemicals contributes to this, as does excessive coffee consumption, obesity, and frequent use of mobile phones and laptops.
6. World War III using the latest weapons
Nuclear war, which would lead to a nuclear winter and global radioactive contamination, was considered one of the possible outcomes of the Cold War in the second half of the 20th century.
If nuclear weapons are used in World War III, most of humanity could be destroyed. But even a limited nuclear conflict would catastrophically change climate and environmental conditions and affect the entire globe. Such hypothetical changes are called nuclear autumn.
Experts believe that in the event of a limited nuclear war, acid rain, soil contamination, local epidemics of radiation sickness and mass death of many representatives of the plant and animal world are possible.
Another option could be a world war using biological weapons. The destructive effect of such weapons is based, first of all, on the use of the properties of pathogenic strains of microorganisms and their metabolic products. In addition to the destruction of humanity, biological weapons can have an unpredictable impact on the state of the biosphere.
7. Robots
Development information technology and the successes of modern robotics raise fears that sooner or later robots may conquer the earth.
Thus, an employee of the University of California, professor of computer science Michael Dyer believes that in a few hundred years there may be no living people left on earth.
Dyer has identified four scenarios that could lead to robots replacing humans or other living beings, and believes this is the fate that awaits most living beings in space exploration.
First, the dominance of robots over people can arise through dependence on technology. Our ever-increasing dependence on machines to do our jobs may one day reach a crisis point when robots turn against their creators.
The second option assumes that robots will replace people during an arms race.
The third way could be humanity’s natural desire for immortality, as a result of which consciousness will be transferred to electronic media. One of the most famous futurologists in the world, Raymond Kurzweil, is confident that it will be possible to completely copy the brain of any person in 20 years.
According to the scientist, by 2014, the power of a supercomputer will be comparable to the power of the human brain, and in the 2020s, nanobots will begin to be widely used in medicine, which will be able to deliver nutrition to the cells of the body, remove waste, and also scan the nervous system, which will allow us to fully understand nuances of the brain. By 2029, a computer will be able to fully imitate the functioning of the brain, including passing the Turing test, after which by 2045 the technological singularity will occur.
The fourth path of development, according to Dyer’s assumptions, is associated specifically with travel in interstellar space. Traveling poses serious challenges to our body. And synthetic organisms can withstand a wide range of conditions, both during flight and on other planets. If the new planet turns out to be inhospitable for biological objects, then this will not matter to robots
Guided by these considerations, Dyer came to the conclusion that if aliens ever arrive on our planet, they will most likely also turn out to be artificial life forms.
8. Sun
The sun is extremely important to life on Earth, but it can also become a threat.
The processes occurring in the sun have a negative impact on the technologies on which humanity increasingly depends. Thus, solar flares can disrupt radio communications and power supplies and lead to fires. Even minor solar storms have a devastating impact, damaging electrical and communications infrastructure and causing chaos around the world.
One of possible options The end of the world is considered to be the occurrence of an extremely powerful flash that suddenly hits the Earth. Also, scientists do not exclude the hypothetical possibility of the opposite option. Experts believe some natural disasters could limit access sunlight on our planet, leading to the cooling of the Earth.
9. Supervolcanoes
Supervolcanoes are volcanoes that produce extremely powerful and voluminous eruptions. Such eruptions can cause the landscape and climate on our planet to radically change. The result of these changes will be catastrophic consequences, such as a volcanic winter.
By analogy with nuclear winter, volcanic winter occurs as a result of severe pollution of the atmosphere with ash and combustion products as a result of a volcanic eruption. As a result of this pollution, the sun's radiation is filtered much more than usual, leading to global cooling and mass extinction of species. According to one theory, the eruption of Mount Toba 74 thousand years ago was responsible for the reduction in the worldwide population of the ancestors of modern humans to about 10 thousand individuals.
In modern times, the greatest danger of a volcanic winter comes from the Yellowstone supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. In a very real scenario, the eruption of this volcano could cause millions or even billions of people to become victims around the world.
The danger of supervolcanoes is that, unlike other threats to humanity, such as cosmic impacts or nuclear attack, there is no strategy to prevent a super-eruption.
10. Zombie
The zombie apocalypse represents one of the most popular versions of the end of the world in modern culture. A large number of books and science fiction films are devoted to the problem of survival in a zombie virus pandemic, when uninfected people remain in the minority.
However, recently, scientists have somewhat reduced the skepticism associated with this topic. Thus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considered that a zombie attack is a universal example of an emergency situation. Based on these considerations, experts have published the first official instructions in the event of a massive zombie invasion. According to the CDC, a person who can survive a zombie apocalypse can cope with any danger.
Italian physicists have also developed the most effective behavior for salvation during a zombie invasion. And Canadian mathematicians have calculated the optimal strategy for combating the invasion of the living dead. According to scientists from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, zombies can take over a city of half a million people in just three days. In this case, the most effective option is the total destruction of all carriers of the zombie virus.
In addition, the popular American magazine Wired, which writes about new science, presented the top 10 reasons why being a zombie is not very convenient from a practical point of view.
And in 2003, the American writer Mel Brooks (author of the script for the series “Batman Beyond” and “Justice League”) wrote the bestseller “The Zombie Survival Guide,” in which he described the living dead as a real natural phenomenon that people have encountered ancient times.
