It is believed that entropy will increase during the contraction phase of our universe (should such attraction occur). This entropy will be expressed as heat. That is, the next cycle of the universe will start off hotter that the last cycle. I read that this entropy may be swallowed up by black holes during the final moments of contraction and the entropy level of the universe might be "reset" in a sense.

: Also, while making glass and constructing buildings may seem to decrease entropy, even more energy than is contained within those buildings is released as heat and other forms of energy. This is what I don't understand: if this is true, and it has been proved time and time again, then how can an expanding universe be halted and contract into an infintesimal space? This would decrease entropy infinitely. Yet Hawking and other noteable physicists concur that this will happen if there is enough matter to halt the expansion of the universe with gravitational energy. Can anybody help me on this one?