Three U.S.-born scientists won the 2011 Nobel Prize for physics this week for their research on the accelerated expansion of the universe.

Bowdoin astrophysicist Thomas Baumgarte discusses the import of their discoveries and explains everything from the Big Bang to the Big Rip.

“The universe will continue to expand, at an increasingly fast rate. Galaxies will move away from each other and eventually will disappear from the visible sky,” says Baumgarte.

“It is being called the Big Rip, suggesting that the universe will be torn to pieces. Of course, this is nothing immediate to worry about; you should keep paying your credit card bill.” Read more.