The Universe is permeated by quantum fields — invisible substances resembling a fluid. One such field can get trapped in a 'false vacuum,' like soda in a sealed bottle, ready to release bubbles at any moment. A random quantum event gives birth to a bubble of true vacuum, whose wall races at nearly the speed of light, wiping out the old world without warning.

The theory behind such processes was laid by Alan Guth and Andrei Linde in the context of inflation — the ultra-fast expansion of the early Universe. However, computer simulations long showed bubbles appearing more often than the equations predicted. The solution lies in feedback: the field inside the bubble changes the environment, much like how in soda the liquid's composition changes as gas escapes. Accounting for this effect reconciled theory and computations.

The agreement allows us to better assess the stability of the Higgs boson within the Standard Model, search for gravitational waves from ancient transitions, and analyze the cosmic microwave background. Most surprising: experiments with ultracold atoms (Bose-Einstein condensates) will soon create artificial 'cosmic' bubbles in the lab — to study a force capable of erasing reality.