Why do people die. Why is it believed that people most often die in the morning

Causes of death are always determined by doctors. It can occur as a result of external or internal factors. In forensic medicine, you can find a classification of the reasons why a person died.

Accepted terminology

Death is understood as a complete cessation of life activity, at which physiological and biological processes cease. In medicine, there is a special direction that deals with the study of the body in the final stage of the dying process. This science is called thanatology.

Death for most people at all times was fraught with an imprint of mysticism and mystery. It is inevitable, often unpredictable and unexpected. But the concepts of death in jurisprudence, medicine, philosophy, religion differ markedly.

Doctors separately distinguish several thermal states that precede direct dying. It's preagony, agony and clinical death. At this time, resuscitation measures may still be successful. If they were not carried out or were unsuccessful, then doctors diagnose biological death. In this state, an irreversible cessation of all physiological processes occurs in tissues and cells.

Further, the process of decomposition begins. This is the name of the destruction of the body, during which all nerve connections are damaged. Recovery after that becomes absolutely impossible. Experts call this stage informational death.

Until it comes, there is a theoretical possibility of keeping the body in a state of suspended animation (using, for example, cryonics), which can prevent further destruction of the body. In this case, the theoretical possibility of its restoration in the future remains.

Cause classification

Death can be violent or non-violent. In the first case, it occurs as a result of the impact various factors from the outside. Various diseases lead to non-violent death. It can also occur due to the appearance of deep age-related changes. Although at present it is impossible to say that a person died of old age, a specific reason is needed that led to this. Sometimes it happens that external and internal factors operate simultaneously. In this case, it can be difficult to determine the cause of death. After all, forensic experts must identify which factor played a decisive role.

Non-violent death can be:

Physiological: from senile decrepitude or prematurity of a newborn child;

Pathological.

The last kind of death is caused not only by progressive diseases. It can also be sudden, it is also called sudden.

Violent death occurs as a result of:

• suicide;
• murders;
• accident.

Forensic medicine deals with the study and definition of this.

Factors leading to natural non-violent death

Quite often people die from problems with various organs and systems. Sudden or pathological death can occur as a result of diseases:

• of cardio-vascular system;
• respiratory organs;
• endocrine system;
• gastrointestinal tract;
• infectious lesions;
• central nervous system;
• genitourinary system;
• other organs and systems of the body.

Malignant neoplasms also lead to non-violent death. Sometimes it occurs as a result of pregnancy and subsequent childbirth. The exact causes can be found out only after a pathoanatomical autopsy. According to its results, a certificate of death is issued. It displays the reasons that led to the fact that a person died.

Sudden death is a non-violent death that occurs in a healthy, according to others, person. It occurs as a result of an acute form of the disease or a latent chronic disease.

Prevalence of causes of non-violent dying

By analyzing the factors that led to the death of people, forensic experts can understand which causes of death are the most popular.

More than 75% of people die from diseases of the circulatory system. At the same time, most of them are diagnosed with chronic ischemic heart disease. They may have acute or recurrent myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy. A little less often there are cerebral infarctions, subarachnoid hemorrhages, arterial diseases.

Less common causes of non-violent death are respiratory diseases. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease leads to death. In chronic bronchitis, the airways become swollen and narrow. Emphysema appears when the lungs are damaged. With these diseases, breathing problems begin.

Slightly less often, stage 4 cancer also leads to death. Men often suffer from the appearance of malignant neoplasms in the prostate, and women - in the breast. But most of the deaths are caused by lung cancer. It is difficult to detect in the early stages. They don't show up at all. Problems begin only when metastases appear.

It is worth noting that smokers are 12 times more likely to develop lung problems than non-smokers. Also, the rejection of this addiction reduces the likelihood of developing kidney cancer.

Also, almost a quarter of people die from infectious lesions, eating disorders, neonatal diseases. In countries with low level income and life, birth injuries, asphyxia, problems caused by prematurity are the leading causes of death in newborns.

Causes of violent death

People often die due to the impact of not internal, but external factors. The main types of violent death are:

• mechanical damage;
• asphyxia;
• the effect of extreme temperatures;
• poisonous substances, this also includes gas poisoning;
• exposure to electric current;
• beam energy.

To mechanical damage include falls from a height, traffic accidents, injuries caused by sharp and blunt objects. Any gunshot wound that caused the termination of life can be attributed to the same category.

Poisoning occurs as a result of exposure to the body of toxic substances. They can be caused by poor-quality or contaminated food, water, alcohol, and medicines. You can get poisoned by carbon monoxide in unventilated rooms, in factories or in houses heated by stoves.

Death from suffocation can occur due to the development of oxygen starvation, which was caused by mechanical causes. This may be strangulation, hanging, closing the airways with loose or liquid objects, closing the openings of the mouth and nose. Also, squeezing the abdomen and chest can lead to asphyxia.

It must be understood that the type of violent death and the reasons that led to it are different concepts. They are determined by forensic experts. Even with the same exposure, a person can die from different causes.

The type of death is determined depending on what kind of impact on the person. But the causes are determined by what changes have occurred in the body as a result of certain influences on it. For example, it was found that blunt trauma to the skull led to death. This means that a person could die from a bruise of the brain or its compression by a hematoma.

Gassing can also be voluntary, accidental or intentional. But the type of death is already established by law enforcement agencies.

The need for a forensic medical examination

It is possible to determine what exactly caused the person to die during a special medical event. It's called a forensic examination. It is mandatory to carry it out if it is obvious that the death was violent. It must also be done when:

• there was a sudden death, but there is a suspicion that it could be violent;
• the cause of death is unknown, the person died outside the walls of a medical institution;
• the death occurred in the hospital, but the patient was not diagnosed;
• the man died in the hospital, but the authorities of the investigation accepted a complaint from relatives.

Also, regardless of the place and alleged cause of death, a forensic medical examination is carried out for all unidentified persons.

Examination of the corpse allows you to determine why the person died. Depending on this, the tactics of further actions are determined. If the forensic examination establishes that death was caused by poisoning with a poison, for example, methyl alcohol, then law enforcement agencies will have to establish why this happened. It could be suicide: a person could pour himself methyl alcohol and drink it, wanting to end his life. He could also use it by mistake. In this case, the death will be classified as an accident. But if it was rigged, and another person poured methyl alcohol into the glass, then we are talking about murder.

Opening

In order to determine whether natural death or violent death has occurred, it is necessary to examine the corpse. An autopsy can be conventional pathological or forensic. The first type is carried out in cases where the death was non-violent. Such an opening can be carried out in several ways:

• Abrikosov method;
• incision according to Leshka;
• Shor method;
• Fisher's method.

But according to the instructions of the bodies of inquiry, a forensic autopsy is carried out. In the course of its implementation, the following is established:

• time of death;
• the presence and nature of injuries, establish whether they were inflicted during life or after death;
• mechanisms and methods of causing damage, their sequence;
• causes that led to death.

Also, a forensic medical examination can solve other issues of a biomedical nature. She can tell which injuries that are not compatible with life were received in the first place, and how exactly the person died.

Conducting a forensic examination

To determine the causes of violent death, a special examination is carried out by doctors who have been trained in the direction of "Forensic Medicine".

The study begins with an examination of clothing, items that arrived with the corpse. The expert must identify possible damage, traces, overlays on them. After that, the body of the deceased is examined directly. The corpse is carefully examined, all post-mortem changes are described. If damage was found, then their nature, features, and localization sites are established. Must be researched soft tissues and internal organs.

If poisoning is suspected, the corpses are sent for a special forensic chemical examination. But this is not the only possible additional examination. If necessary, a bacteriological, physico-technical, histological examination is carried out. The list of additional examinations is determined by the expert, depending on what tasks were set for the forensic examination, and on what the alleged cause of death is.

Based on the results of the study, not a certificate of death is given, as in a conventional pathoanatomical autopsy, but a conclusion or an act of a forensic medical examination. It describes all the procedures performed with a corpse, the results of examinations, establishes a diagnosis and gives a conclusion, which contains answers to the questions posed to the forensic medical examination.

Dying stages

Regardless of whether death occurred from old age, violent or other non-violent causes, experts distinguish two types. Dying can be slow or fast. In the first case, there is a prolonged terminal state, agony. And with a quick death, which is also called acute, these stages are blurred.

The process of dying begins with a pre-agonal state. In some cases, it is completely absent. This is a defensive reaction of the body. It can be observed in people who have stage 4 cancer. After all, they usually have severe and painful injuries to the body. AT last hours processes of inhibition develop in the central nervous system. This is accompanied by an appropriate psychological state. There is indifference to what is happening around, sensitivity disappears. Some completely or partially lose consciousness.

In the preagonal state, a person can fall into a coma or a stopper, his pressure decreases, and blood circulation is centralized. Breathing can become frequent, but superficial. The lungs are not adequately ventilated.

If the patient does not undergo therapeutic measures, or they are ineffective, then this state is replaced by a thermal pause. After that, the agony begins. This is the name given to the body's attempt to use all the remaining possibilities to save life. In this state, the pressure rises, the work of the heart is restored, breathing becomes strong. But the lungs are not ventilated due to improper muscle work. It usually lasts about 5 minutes, in some cases it can reach up to half an hour. Following the agony is clinical death.

Necessary diagnostics

Before establishing what exactly caused the termination of a person’s life, doctors must make sure that the patient is really dead. Even if a gunshot wound is visible, a check is made. Perhaps it did not affect the vital organs, and the person is alive.

They look at a set of signs, the so-called vital tripod: the preservation of the functions of the central nervous system, respiration and heart activity. But there are situations when doctors can make mistakes.

For example, the safety of breathing can be checked using a mirror, fluff, auscultation, or Winslow's test. But they can all be wrong. Any gust of wind high humidity indoors, passing traffic can cause incorrect results.

More informative is the check of cardiovascular activity. Auscultation of heart contractions, palpation of the pulse, cardiac impulse is performed. But very weak manifestations of vital activity can go unnoticed.

The most important indicator is the preservation of the functions of the central nervous system. One of the valuable signs is the absence or presence of a corneal reflex. The doctor checks how the pupils react to light. One of the first signs of death is the phenomenon of Beloglazov, or "cat's pupil". The tone of the muscles that narrow the pupil disappears. When squeezing the eyeball, it acquires an oval shape.

Adulthood is a phenomenon that takes root in everyday life modern man. It occurs more and more frequently. But no one can say for sure that the deceased was seriously ill. That is, in fact, death occurs suddenly. There are a number of causes and risk groups that can influence this phenomenon. What do people need to know about sudden death? Why does it arise? Is there any way to avoid it? All features will be presented below. Only if you know about the phenomenon all the information known on this moment, you can try to somehow avoid a collision with a similar situation. In fact, everything is much more complicated than it seems.

Description

Sudden Adult Death Syndrome is a phenomenon that began to spread in 1917. It was at this moment that such a term was first heard.

The phenomenon is characterized by death, and causeless, of a person with good health. Such a citizen, as already mentioned, did not have any serious diseases. In any case, the person himself did not complain about certain symptoms, and also did not receive treatment from a doctor.

Precise definition this phenomenon no. Exactly like the real mortality statistics. Many doctors argue about the reasons why this phenomenon appears. Sudden adult death syndrome is a mystery that is still unsolved. There are many theories according to which they die. About them - further.

Risk group

The first step is to figure out who is most often exposed to the phenomenon being studied. The thing is that the syndrome of sudden death of the adult generation quite often occurs in Asians. Therefore, these people are at risk.

It is also not uncommon for SIDS (sudden unexplained death syndrome) to occur in people who work long hours. That is, workaholics. In any case, this assumption is made by some physicians.

The risk group includes, in principle, all people who:

• unhealthy family environment;
• hard work;
• constant stress;
• there are serious illness(but then usually death is not sudden).

Accordingly, the majority of the world's population is exposed to the studied phenomenon. No one is safe from him. According to doctors, during the autopsy, it is impossible to establish the cause of the death of a person. That is why death is called sudden.

Nevertheless, as already mentioned, there are several assumptions according to which the mentioned phenomenon arises. Sudden death syndrome in an adult can be explained in several ways. What are the assumptions about this topic?

man against chemistry

The first theory is the effect of chemistry on the human body. Modern humans are surrounded by a variety of chemicals. They are everywhere: in furniture, medicines, water, food. Literally at every step. Especially in food.

There is very little natural food. Every day the body receives huge doses of chemicals. All this cannot go unnoticed. And so there is a syndrome of sudden death in adults. The body simply cannot withstand the next charge of chemistry that surrounds a modern person. As a result, life activity stops. And death comes.

The theory is supported by many. Indeed, as practice has shown, over the past century, unexplained deaths have begun to occur quite often. It was during this period that the progress of human development is observed. Therefore, we can consider the impact of environmental chemistry on the body as the first and most likely cause.

Waves

The following theory can also be scientifically explained. It's about about electromagnetic waves. It's no secret that a person is under the influence of magnetism all his life. Pressure surges are very well felt by some people - they begin to feel bad. This proves the negative impact of electromagnetic waves on humans.

At the moment, scientists have proven that the Earth is the second planet in the solar system in terms of the power of radio emissions produced. The body, being constantly in such an environment, gives a kind of failure. Especially when combined with exposure to chemicals. This is where Sudden Adult Death Syndrome comes in. Actually electromagnetic waves cause the body to stop performing functions to ensure human life.

It's all about the breath

But the following theory may seem somewhat non-standard and even absurd. But it is still actively promoted around the world. Quite often, sudden death syndrome occurs in a dream in an adult. Regarding this phenomenon, some put forward incredible assumptions.

The thing is that during sleep the human body functions, but in an "economical" mode. And a person in such periods of rest sees dreams. Horror can make the body refuse to function. More specifically, breathing is disturbed. It stops because of what it sees. In other words, out of fear.

That is, a person does not realize in a dream that everything that happens is not reality. As a result, he dies in life. As already mentioned, a somewhat improbable theory. But it has its place. By the way, the syndrome of sudden death in infants in a dream is explained in a similar way. Scientists say that if during the rest the child dreams that he is in the womb, then breathing will stop. And the baby "forgets" to breathe, since oxygen must be supplied to him through the umbilical cord. But all this is just speculation.

infection

What else can be heard? What are the causes of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome? The following assumption is generally like a fairy tale. But it is sometimes expressed.

As already mentioned, an incredible, fabulous theory. You do not need to believe in this assumption. Rather, such a story is an ordinary "scarecrow", which was invented with the aim of at least somehow explaining the syndrome of sudden death in adults.

Overwork

Now some information that is more like the truth. The thing is that, as already mentioned, Asians are at risk of people prone to sudden death syndrome. Why?

Scientists have come up with a hypothesis. Asians are people who work constantly. They work very hard. And so the body into one beautiful moment starts to deplete. It "burns out" and "turns off". As a result, death occurs.

That is, in fact, the sudden death of an adult occurs due to the fact that the body is overworked. Work is often the culprit. As statistics show, if you pay attention to Asians, then many die right at the workplace. Therefore, you should not work for wear all the time. This pace of life negatively affects health. A person, except for fatigue, does not observe any other signs.

stress

Also among the most common theories regarding death without cause, stress is distinguished. Another assumption that you can believe. As already mentioned, people who are constantly in a nervous environment, not only have a high risk of diseases and cancer, they are also classified as a risk group of the population that may experience sudden death syndrome.

The theory is explained in almost the same way as in the case of constant work and stress - the body "wears out" from stress, then "turns off" or "burns out". As a result, death occurs for no apparent reason. The effect of stress cannot be detected at autopsy. In the same way as the negative impact of intense systematic and incessant work.

Results

What conclusions follow from all of the above? Sudden nocturnal death syndrome, as well as daytime death in adults and children, is an inexplicable phenomenon. There are a huge number of various theories that allow one or another group of people to be classified as at risk. Doctors and scientists to this day cannot find an exact explanation for this phenomenon. Just like putting forward a clear definition of sudden death syndrome.

Only one thing is clear - so that there is no high risk of dying for no apparent reason, it is necessary to conduct healthy lifestyle life, worry less and rest more. In today's conditions to bring the idea to life is very problematic. In any case, doctors recommend at least minimizing tension and the amount of stress. Workaholics need to understand that they need to rest too. Otherwise, such people may suddenly die.

If you lead the most healthy lifestyle, then the likelihood of sudden death is minimized. Every person should remember this. No one is immune from this phenomenon. Scientists are trying to study it as best as possible and find the exact cause of this phenomenon. So far, as already emphasized, this has not been done. It remains only to believe in numerous theories.

Why did the woman die from alcoholism? How do men die from alcoholism? What are the main causes of such deaths? All these questions are worth knowing the answers to. Alcohol is a highly toxic substance, with its constant use in the body, irreversible changes occur, which adversely affects the human condition as a whole. Gradual poisoning of the body provokes the development of diseases, which can often end in death. Death after drinking alcohol-containing drinks is the result of a gradual toxic effect of alcohol on the body or is associated with its ability to quickly worsen a person's health in chronic diseases and various hidden pathologies.

Leading causes of death from alcohol addiction

Important! Death from alcohol is one of the main causes of sudden lethal outcome for many apparently healthy men, there are no obvious signs of intoxication.

How can you die from alcoholism? Death from alcohol abuse can be due to various reasons. In acute pancreatitis, a person's heart can stop abruptly. The cause of death will also be a blood clot, breaking off and blocking the blood supply while drinking alcohol. Often the cause of death is the use of a lethal dose of alcohol - in this case, a fatal outcome is usually observed the next day.

Diseases

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, about 4% of the world's population die from alcoholism and alcohol-induced diseases of the internal organs every year, now it is approximately 2.5 million people. Such cases include:

• At least 1/5 of alcohol-related deaths are due to various oncological diseases that were provoked by alcohol;
• About 16% of drinking people die from liver disease, most of all die from cirrhosis;
• Approximately 14% of deaths are due to alcohol-induced cardiovascular disease;
• 18% of deaths are related to others chronic diseases and pathologies that are exacerbated due to alcohol poisoning.

The harmful effect of alcohol is noted when taking ethanol in any volume, and regular alcohol intoxication causes diseases of many internal organs, of which the greatest danger is:

• Heart disease - myocardial dystrophy, arrhythmia;
• Nervous system - polyneuropathy, myopathy, hepatic encephalopathy, epileptiform seizures;
• Diseases of the digestive tract - pancreatitis, stomach ulcers, esophageal reflux, liver failure;
• Genitourinary system - acute urinary retention, nephritis, sexual disorders;
• Pneumonia;
• Bone fractures.

Alcohol consumption leads to disorders of purine, carbohydrate metabolism, exacerbates gout, diabetes, and destroys the immune system.

Accidents

According to WHO statistics, about 30% of drunken deaths are due to accidents. Here are just some examples of how people die from alcohol at the same time:

• Hit by various vehicles (cars, trams, trains, and so on);
• Falling from height;
• Hypothermia or overheating;
• Gassing;
• Improper handling of all kinds of household appliances;
• Death in fires;
• Drowning.

When the dose of alcohol was large enough, intoxication came a long time ago, the person no longer feels the change in the conditions around him - temperature, altitude, obstacles. Reflexes are dulled and in this state any ridiculous accident can occur. Alcoholic suicides are slightly less common. Psychoses caused by alcohol abuse can provoke alcoholics to many actions, including suicide.

Medications

Alcohol and medicines often do not match with each other. Alcoholic beverages (including beer) can make drugs either simply ineffective or change their effect in the most unpredictable way. For fatal poisoning in this case, it is enough to mix alcohol with drugs:

• Sleeping pills - can lead to drowsiness, coma or death;
• Cardiovascular- seriously increases the risk of developing vascular insufficiency;
• Antipyretic- provokes ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Diuretic - stimulates the development of pancreatitis and heart failure;
• Analgesics - increases tachycardia;
• Antibiotics - enhances the destructive effect of toxins on the body.

Avoiding alcoholic beverages while undergoing any medication treatment can often be vital. However, every year a certain number of people for some reason forget about this simple rule.

Surrogates

High price, beautiful bottle and the label are not always signs of really high-quality alcohol. Even in reputable stores, products based on methyl alcohol (methanol) can be sold, and it is much more dangerous than ordinary ethanol. These are just some of the detrimental features of its effect on the human body:

• Vision suffers greatly from methanol, up to blindness;
• Methyl alcohol causes severe poisoning of the body;
• Methanol leads to intoxication many times faster, and much more damage to health is caused.

Methyl alcohol as a deadly substitute for ethyl alcohol is used in industry, in food production it is prohibited because it is extremely harmful to the human body. But some alcoholics and such qualities do not stop him from drinking dubious drinks.

Important! Due to the fact that methanol-based alcohol does not visually differ from high-quality alcohol, dangerous drinks are successfully sold, but this is mostly observed on the market in the low price segment.

Weakened immunity, which is inherent in all alcoholics, leads to the fact that they have increased susceptibility to various infections. With alcoholism, a person often dies already extremely ill, while experiencing unimaginable torment. And for which of the above reasons this will happen - with the aggravation of alcoholism, it becomes no longer so important, because in the end a person almost completely loses touch with reality. Therefore, it is necessary to solve problems with alcohol as soon as they appear, so as not to lead to irreversible consequences.

How not to die from alcohol poisoning?

How not to die from alcohol poisoning? Poor health in the morning after excessive drinking of alcohol is an indicator of the beginning of the development of addiction to alcohol. Depending on the symptoms, the subsequent reaction of the body is different, including death. Vomiting blood may well be a sign of a stomach ulcer, and pain in the heart is a sign of a heart attack. With severe pain, you should not try to cope with it with willpower and various folk remedies. Fainting, fever or pressure, worsening headache - all these symptoms should cause a person to immediately seek professional medical help. It is impossible to be inactive with a strong heartbeat, dizziness, confused consciousness, painful repeated vomiting.

These symptoms may not be signs of intoxication, but be an acute reaction of the body to any disease. With renal colic, pain can be relieved only by intravenous administration of painkillers, other methods will not help here, especially if it is bilateral pain, acute urinary retention, repeated vomiting. Warming procedures such as warm baths, warming compresses at the site of pain. With acute urinary retention, all attempts on their own to help the patient will only lead to an increase in his suffering. For first aid, it is necessary to make a catheterization of the bladder. With symptoms of heart failure or hepatic coma, you should immediately call an ambulance.

You should not joke with health in the position of alcohol poisoning, and at the first signs of intoxication, you must begin to act, and not wait until everything “passes by itself”. An alcoholic may not feel the aggravation of his condition, which is why alcohol poisoning with a fatal outcome is so common among people dependent on alcohol. The probability of death from alcoholism can be called the first and one of the main reasons right now to give up drinking and start leading a healthy lifestyle.

The death of comic ships is always a tragedy on a national scale. Despite the fact that most of these accidents occurred in the United States, unfortunately, they also happened here. The loudest was the death of the Soyuz-11 crew.

Docking failed

April 1971 Soviet Union launched the world's first orbital station Salyut-1 into orbit. Soon, on April 24, 1971, Soyuz-10 docked at the station with three cosmonauts on board. But, the equipment did not behave as planned and the crew of the spacecraft could not go on board the station. I had to return to Earth. After correcting technical errors, the next start of the crew was scheduled, consisting of Alexei Leonov, Valery Kubasov and Pyotr Kolodin. However, their flight did not take place due to unexpectedly revealed health problems with Valery Kubasov. According to the rules, a backup crew was supposed to fly: Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev. During the flight, the cosmonauts had to make an attempt to re-dock with Salyut-1 and repair the nodes that did not work during the previous attempt. At the same time, the crew removed from the flight was extremely upset, because Alexei Leonov already saw himself as the commander of the world's first orbital station. Nevertheless, the crew of Georgy Dobrovolsky went into orbit, and Alexei Leonov went home to Moscow.

Salyut-1

The second time the docking was successful, but during the entire stay of the astronauts at the station they were forced to constantly struggle with unpleasant incidents. Once there was even a fire. Volkov offered to immediately go to the descent module, which he warned Moscow about, but Dobrovolsky and Patsaev showed determination and successfully eliminated the malfunction. The astronauts spent 23 days at the station, setting another record for the duration of the flight. Technical problems continued during preparations for the return to Earth. Before the undocking of Soyuz-11 and Salyut-1, a sensor suddenly lit up, indicating that the hatch was leaking. For several tedious minutes, the astronauts, trying to eliminate the malfunction, re-closed the hatch. Finally, the sensor, indicating a malfunction, went out, and the module rushed towards the Earth. However, during the descent, the crew did not communicate with the flight control center. The module landed at automatic mode. Anticipating something bad, the rescuers rushed to take the astronauts out of the landing module. Unfortunately they were all dead.

Causes of the tragedy

The first inspection of the lander showed that all systems worked normally, except ventilation valve through which air enters. It opened earlier than the estimated time, when the module was still in the vacuum of space. The pressure in the capsule with the astronauts dropped, the air escaped, and after about two minutes the hearts of the crew members stopped. Moreover, the astronauts immediately realized what had happened and tried to close the ill-fated valve, but did not have time. They had only 20 seconds to fix the problem, which, of course, was not enough. The government commission wrote off the reason for the abnormal opening of the valve as an accident and unforeseen circumstances.

The atmosphere on our planet, the distance to the sun, and many other incredible coincidences have led to the fact that life on Earth can exist as we know it. We take all this for granted, and we, hurrying to work or relaxing at a table in a cafe, do not find anything surprising in our existence. But all good things come to an end. One day the Earth will become unfit to support the life we ​​know. It may not happen for millions of years. But astrophysics tells us that a catastrophe can happen at any moment. And scientists have found many reasons why the Earth can become lifeless.

1) The core of the planet will cool down

The earth is surrounded magnetic field, called the magnetosphere, which shields us from the solar wind.
This field is created by the rotation of the planet, which causes the liquid iron-nickel shell (outer core) to move around the solid metal core (inner core), forming a giant magnetic generator.
The magnetosphere deflects energy particles emitted by the sun, changing their size and shape.
If the core of the planet cools, then we will lose our magnetosphere - as well as protection from the solar wind, because of which it will gradually spread the Earth's atmosphere throughout space.
Mars, which once had water and an atmosphere, suffered just such a fate a few million years ago, and it turned into the dry and lifeless world as we know it now.

2) There will be an expansion of the Sun

The sun, and especially our distance to it, is perhaps the most important factor that made life possible.
However, the Sun is a star. And the stars are dying.
Right now the sun is in the middle of its life path, constantly converting hydrogen into helium using thermonuclear reactions.
But it can't last forever. In a few billion years, the Sun's core will run out of hydrogen, and it will begin to process helium.
Due to the fact that the processing of helium gives much more energy, the Sun will begin to expand, and possibly pull the Earth towards itself.
We will burn and evaporate.
Either that, or the expansion of the sun opposite, will push the Earth away, it will descend from its orbit and will be doomed to wander through space as a wandering planet - a dead piece of cold stone.

3) Earth will collide with a wanderer planet

There are many planets in space that move freely through it, and do not revolve around a star. Planets quite often are thrown out of their star systems during their formation.
Recent calculations show that the number of roaming planets in Milky Way exceeds the number of stars by 100,000 times.
One of these planets could approach Earth and dangerously destabilize its orbit.
Or a rogue planet could collide with Earth. And this has already happened - about 4.5 million years ago, a small planet collided with a larger one, which formed the Earth and the Moon as we know them.

4) Earth will collide with an asteroid

Hollywood is very fond of such scenarios.
Stones from outer space can be very destructive - one of them destroyed the dinosaurs. Although, of course, in order to completely destroy the planet, much more asteroids are needed.
But it can still happen. For example, in the hundreds of millions of years since the formation of the Earth, asteroids have collided with it very often. The impacts were so strong that the oceans boiled for years and the air temperature was over 500 degrees Celsius. Life on Earth then was single-celled, and was presented in the form of especially heat-resistant microbes. Most of modern forms I would not have endured such a life.

5) The Earth can get close to a wandering black hole

Black holes are perhaps the second most popular cause of planetary death in Hollywood. It's easy to see why.
They are mysterious and scary. Even their name sounds creepy.
We don't know much about black holes, but we do know that they are so massive that not even light can escape their event horizon.
Scientists also know that there are black holes freely traveling through space. So it is possible that one of them can visit the solar system.
If light can't escape a black hole, then Earth certainly can't. There are two theories about what happens to the planet after it crosses the point of no return of a sufficiently large black hole. A smaller one will simply stretch (as the astrophysicists say, “spaghettifies”) the planet.
Some physicists say that beyond the event horizon, atoms will stretch until they are completely annihilated.
Others - that we will end up in another part of the universe, or even in another dimension.
But even if the black hole doesn't suck the Earth in, if it gets close enough, it could cause earthquakes and other natural disasters, or disrupt the planet's orbit, so we either leave solar system or fall into the sun.

6) Earth will be destroyed by a burst of gamma radiation

Gamma-ray bursts (or simply gamma-ray bursts) are among the most powerful phenomena in the universe.
Many of them are the result of the collapse of a star during its death. One short burst can contain more energy than the Sun can generate in its entire lifetime.
Such a powerful flow of energy can deprive the Earth of the ozone layer, making us defenseless against dangerous ultraviolet radiation, and start the mechanism of rapid global cooling.
A gamma-ray burst that hit the Earth 440 million years ago could have been the cause of the first mass extinction.
But fortunately, David Thompson, deputy head of the Gamma Ray Observation Project, said that gamma ray bursts are actually not very dangerous.
He said the chance of the Earth being hit by a gamma-ray burst is about the same as "the chance of me meeting a polar bear in my closet."

7) The universe will fall apart in its last "Big Rip"

This is something that can destroy the entire universe, not just the Earth.
The bottom line is this: an unknown force called dark energy is causing the universe to expand faster and faster.
If the expansion continues (which is very possible), in 22 billion years, the interatomic bonds will weaken, and all matter in the universe will gradually dissipate in the form of energy.
But if we assume that the Big Rip does not happen, then what can happen after a global catastrophe that humanity will not survive?
It is possible that some microbes will survive, from which life will then develop again.
But if the destruction is absolute, then, as a last resort, we can hope that somewhere in the universe there is another intelligent life that can give us the last honors.