THE BIG BANG
One of the most persistently asked questions has been: How was the universe created? Many once believed that the universe had no beginning or end and was truly infinite. Through the inception of the Big Bang theory, however,no longer could the universe be considered infinite. The universe was forced to take on the properties of a finite phenomenon, possessing a history and a beginning.
About 15 billion years ago a tremendous explosion started the expansion of the universe. This explosion is known as the Big Bang. At the point of this event all of the matter and energy of space was contained at one point. What exisisted prior to this event is completely unknown and is a matter of pure speculation. This occurance was not a conventional explosion but rather an event filling all of space with all of the particles of the embryonic universe rushing away from each other. The Big Bang actually consisted of an explosion of space within itself unlike an explosion of a bomb were fragments are thrown outward. The galaxies were not all clumped together, but rather the Big Bang lay the foundations for the universe.
The origin of the Big Bang theory can be credited to Edwin Hubble. Hubble made the observation that the universe is continuously expanding. He discovered that a galaxys velocity is proportional to its distance. Galaxies that are twice as far from us move twice as fast. Another consequence is that the universe is expanding in every direction. This observation means that it has taken every galaxy the same amount of time to move from a common starting position to its current position. Just as the Big Bang provided for the foundation of the universe, Hubbles observations provided for the foundation of the Big Bang theory.
Since the Big Bang, the universe has been continuously expanding and, thus, there has been more and more distance between clusters of galaxies. This phenomenon of galaxies moving farther away from each other is known as the red shift. As light from distant galaxies approach earth there is an increase of space between earth and the galaxy, which leads to wavelengths being stretched.
In addition to the understanding of the velocity of galaxies emanating from a single point, there is further evidence for the Big Bang. In 1964, two astronomers, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, in an attempt to detect microwaves from outer space, inadvertently discovered a noise of extraterrestrial origin. The noise did not seem to emanate from one location but instead, it came from all directions at once. It became obvious that what they heard was radiation from the farthest reaches of the universe which had been left over from the Big Bang. This discovery of the radioactive aftermath of the initial explosion lent much credence to the Big Bang theory.
Even more recently, NASAs COBE satellite was able to detect cosmic microwaves eminating from the outer reaches of the universe. These microwaves were remarkably uniform which illustrated the homogenity of the early stages of the universe. However, the satillite also discovered that as the universe began to cool and was still expanding, small fluctuations began to exist due to temperature differences. These flucuatuations verified prior calculations of the possible cooling and development of the universe just fractions of a second after its creation. These fluctuations in the universe provided a more detailed description of the first moments after the Big Bang. They also helped to tell the story of the formation of galaxies which will be discussed in the next chapter.
The Big Bang theory provides a viable solution to one of the most pressing questions of all time. It is important to understand, however, that the theory itself is constantly being revised. As more observations are made and more research conducted, the Big Bang theory becomes more complete and our knowledge of the origins of the universe more substantial.
2006-07-26 23:37:34
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answer #1
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answered by jensky 2
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The big bang is a theory that many scientists have accepted as the beginning of the creation of the universe. It is really a cosmic evolutionary view. The basis of the theory is that from no known matter there came about a cosmic explosion which flung gases and matter throughout the now known universe. That matter kept changing and forming throughout billions of years till we got star systems, planets and ultimately earth as well. When earth comes into the picture then there is a switch by many scientists to the biological evolutionary view. You can find all kinds of charts about the big bang telling you at what time frame in billions or hundreds of millions of years this or that happened. The big problem with all of this astro scenario is that it is really mostly speculation. True science is empirical and observable and follows established laws of science. From the start, the big bang theory is flawed because it is unnatural for something to come from nothing, that is really a supernatural thing. Another flaw in that theory is that it is not natural for order and interrelated function (as is observed in the heavens) to happen from explosions. Also proof that our universe did not arise out of any explosion is that the force of an explosion will cause debris to go off in the same direction they are sent out and some moons are observed to rotate in the opposite direction of their planets. Personally, I am a young earth creationist, but this is the nutshell of the big bang theory.
2006-07-28 00:17:14
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answer #2
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answered by Ernesto 4
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That Existence simply happened. BANG - - at the center of nothing matter collided with matter and produced all life as we know it - - - if this theory is correct then there ought to be a true Center of the Cosmos as all matter would have flown from the source - - of course that would mean that Universes at the Center would be older than those at the Edge - - However many sciences argue this is not the case - - that the ages of galaxies & solar systems are randomly scattered so therefore there was no Big Bang which means, ah, gasp, it has all been here, all of the Cosmos all of that which comprises the Cosmos, You Me and Billions of other and Billions of Stars Planets Etc - - - simply here, not created, no actual beginning - - which sets scientist heads spinning since logic dictates there must be a beginning and conversely an end - - how can it end if it never began?
2006-07-27 06:38:13
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answer #3
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answered by JVHawai'i 7
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In physical cosmology, the Big Bang is the scientific theory of how the universe emerged from a tremendously dense and hot state about 13.7 billion years ago. The Big Bang theory is based on the observed Hubble's law redshift of distant galaxies that when taken together with the cosmological principle indicate that space is expanding according to the Friedmann-Lemaître model of general relativity. Extrapolated into the past, these observations show that the universe has expanded from a state in which all the matter and energy in the universe was at an immense temperature and density. Physicists do not widely agree on what happened before this, although general relativity predicts a gravitational singularity (for reporting on some of the more notable speculation on this issue, see cosmogony).
The term Big Bang is used both in a narrow sense to refer to a point in time when the observed expansion of the universe (Hubble's law) began — calculated to be 13.7 billion (1.37 à 1010) years ago (±2%) — and in a more general sense to refer to the prevailing cosmological paradigm explaining the origin and expansion of the universe, as well as the composition of primordial matter through nucleosynthesis as predicted by the Alpher-Bethe-Gamow theory.[1]
From this model, George Gamow in 1948 was able to predict, at least qualitatively, the existence of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB).[2] The CMB was discovered in the 1960s and further validated the Big Bang theory over its chief rival, the steady state theory
2006-07-27 06:36:00
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answer #4
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answered by jennifersuem 7
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The big bang theory of creation is that it was God's big bang that created the universe and the earth.
2006-07-27 06:38:15
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answer #5
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answered by kingofnarniaforever 4
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Probibly not what you want to hear but I believe the "big bang theory" can be summed up in short as follows. God said it should be and "BANG" it was.
Albert K
2006-07-27 06:48:51
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answer #6
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answered by albert k 2
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what do you mean about that?
are you ask about what is big bang theory, is it?
2006-07-27 06:36:27
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answer #7
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answered by red boy 2
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Check this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
2006-07-27 06:36:46
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answer #8
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answered by sunil 3
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