Cosmic voids may seem like the emptiest places in the universe, stripped of matter, radiation, and even dark matter. But they’re far from nothing. Even in these vast empty regions, the fundamental qua...

If we take out all the matter, neutrinos, dark matter, cosmic rays, and radiation from the deepest parts of the voids the only thing left is empty space.

Cosmic voids affect galaxy formation and gravitational waves. Learn how empty space shapes cosmic structure and help us better understand the universe

🌌 Ever felt like you were taking up too much space? Don't worry, the universe is 95% empty anyway. In this episode, we dive deep into the Architecture of Nothingness to explore why the 'gaps' in the cosmic web are actually the ones calling the shots. While we humans obsess over bright stars and glittering galaxies, the Cosmic Voids—vast, dark expanses of absolute zero—are the true master architects of our reality. From the newly discovered Quipu superstructure to the terrifying acceleration of dark energy, we’re mapping the 1.4 billion light-years of nothingness that built our cosmic home. How do cosmic voids influence the expansion of the universe? We break down the science of the 'Big Freeze,' the controversial Dark Matter Pancake theory, and why isolated void galaxies—the universe’s 'lonely fireflies'—might be the last habitable outposts for life in a dying cosmos. In this episode, we explore: - 🏗️ The Cosmic Web Scaffolding: Why the void is the skeleton of everything. - 🕯️ Last Lighthouses: Why stars age in 'slow-motion' inside the Great Nothing. - 🎈 Dark Energy Bubbles: How the universe is being torn apart from the inside out. - 💀 The Final State: Why absolute darkness is the universe’s ultimate fate. It’s a lopsided gravitational tug-of-war where nothingness is winning, and honestly? It’s kind of a vibe. 🏆 Stop being afraid of the dark and start understanding the power behind it. 👉 Subscribe now to join the deep-sky revolution and share this with a friend who needs a little space!  

YouTube video by B.C. Begley

The article explores how cosmic voids, once considered empty and unimportant regions of space, are now emerging as some of the most valuable environments for studying major cosmological mysteries. These voids are enormous under-dense regions located between the filament-like structures of the cosmic web that formed after the Big Bang. Although they contain far fewer galaxies than typical regions of space, they are not completely empty and can span hundreds of millions of light years. Researchers argue that cosmic voids provide unusually clean environments for observing the effects of gravity, dark energy, dark matter, and neutrinos because they contain little matter to interfere with measurements. Scientists such as Alice Pisani and Nico Schuster explain that new telescope surveys, including the Dark Energy Survey Instrument (DESI) and the Euclid space telescope, are dramatically increasing the number of known voids and improving the precision of observations. At the same time, advanced computer simulations are helping researchers model the evolution of these structures more accurately than ever before. The article also discusses how voids may help scientists test alternative theories of gravity and investigate the Hubble tension, a disagreement between different measurements of the universe’s expansion rate. Some cosmologists propose that humanity may live inside a gigantic supervoid called the KBC Void, which could influence local observations and potentially explain part of this discrepancy. While the idea remains debated, researchers believe the next decade of observations will provide stronger evidence about the role of voids in cosmology. Overall, the article presents cosmic voids as increasingly important laboratories for understanding the fundamental physics that govern the universe.

Cosmic voids, the vast empty regions between galaxies and cosmic structures, appear devoid of matter, radiation, dark matter, and other components. However, they are not truly empty. According to quantum field theory, space is filled with pervasive quantum fields that correspond to all particles. Even without particles, these fields persist, carrying vacuum energy due to quantum fluctuations and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. This vacuum energy is identified as dark energy, the force accelerating the universe's expansion. In dense regions like galaxies, clusters, filaments, and walls of the cosmic web, matter dominates, rendering dark energy's influence negligible. Everyday physics remains unaffected by it. In contrast, cosmic voids lack significant matter, allowing vacuum energy—or dark energy—to become the primary factor. Here, dark energy drives the accelerated expansion most effectively. Voids actively grow as dark energy pushes space outward, pressing against surrounding structures and gradually stretching the cosmic web apart. Over billions of years (roughly 5–20 billion), this process will dilute the large-scale structure of galaxies and filaments as voids expand further. The article emphasizes that voids highlight dark energy's role: while the universe's emptiest places lack matter, they are rich in the subtle energy of spacetime itself, ensuring no region is ever truly empty or isolated from this fundamental force.

Check out the latest Space Souvenirs Drop on the kurzgesagt shop: https://shop.kgs.link/space-souvenirs, a special collection for anyone who wants to travel the universe in style. Sources & further reading: https://sites.google.com/view/sources-cosmicvoids/ Most of the universe is not made of stars, galaxies, or beautiful glowing nebulae. Instead, the majority of it is what seems to be vast, silent emptiness. Huge cosmic voids stretching hundreds of millions of light years across, containing almost nothing at all. But these dark regions are not just empty space. They are dynamic structures that grow, merge, and shape the entire architecture of the universe. What exactly are cosmic voids and how did they form? What makes them so strange, and what role might they play in the future of the universe? OUR CHANNELS ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ German: https://kgs.link/youtubeDE Spanish: https://kgs.link/youtubeES French: https://kgs.link/youtubeFR Portuguese: https://kgs.link/youtubePT Arabic: https://kgs.link/youtubeAR Hindi: https://kgs.link/youtubeHI Japanese: https://kgs.link/youtubeJA Korean: https://kgs.link/youtubeKO HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ This is how we make our living and it would be a pleasure if you support us! Get Products designed with ❤️ https://shop.kgs.link Join the Patreon Bird Army 🐧 https://kgs.link/patreon DISCUSSIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Instagram: https://kgs.link/instagram TikTok: https://kgs.link/tiktok Reddit: https://kgs.link/reddit Discord: https://kgs.link/discord Twitter: https://kgs.link/twitter Bluesky: https://kgs.link/bluesky Facebook: https://kgs.link/facebook Newsletter: https://kgs.link/newsletter OUR VOICE ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ The kurzgesagt voice is from Steve Taylor: https://kgs.link/youtube-voice OUR MUSIC ♬♪ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 700+ minutes of kurzgesagt soundtracks by Epic Mountain: Spotify: https://kgs.link/music-spotify Soundcloud: https://kgs.link/music-soundcloud Bandcamp: https://kgs.link/music-bandcamp Youtube: https://kgs.link/music-youtube Facebook: https://kgs.link/music-facebook The soundtrack of this video: SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/40hQyN8 Bancamp: https://bit.ly/4rfpucd If you want to help us caption this video, please send subtitles to subtitle@kurzgesagt.org You can find info on what subtitle files work on YouTube here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734698?hl=en-GB&ref_topic=7296214 Thank you! 🐦🐧🐤 PATREON BIRD ARMY 🐤🐧🐦 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Many thanks to our wonderful Patreons (from http://kgs.link/patreon) who support us every month and made this video possible: Alani Sanders, Dealdi Alfaridzi, Dennis Albrecht, Hailey Vicknair, Igor Bogetić, Kelcey Steele, odin Wotan, Ruben Veneberg, UselessProductBuyer1, Wilson J, Zwangsworkaholic, 사공석호, Anthony Devine, Max King

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