Is there a limit to how bright things can get?
In: Physics
The only real limit is the total amount of available energy. The Big Bang was, in practical terms, the brightest thing that ever happened. It released all of the energy that currently exists in the universe as (sort of) light (What, exactly, happened is really technical. You can look up timelines on the Big Bang and see at what point the energy turned into matter and how.)
Supernovas are the brightest things that currently still happen- a massive amount of their energy is released as light. When black holes eventually decay- far, far into the future, long after our sun is dead- they will be the brightest events in the universe.
On Earth, the brightest things you’re going to see are nuclear explosions, which release their energy primarily as gamma radiation (ie, light) which then turns into heat when it is absorbed into the immediate environment, which in turn creates a shockwave as the superheated air expands.
Latest Answers