I've read some things about the big bang that state:?

Question

at the moment the big bang occurred the universe was infinitely hot. I also seem to remember reading that it was infinitely small. Infinite is not an actual number so is this discrepancy just because you can't really translate the math of the big bang into words? Wouldn't there have to have beeen an actual temperature and size of the universe or is this similar to the lower limit of absolute zero (which actually has a value though)?

Answer 1

No, those properties were not "infinite". The reality is that, given our current state of theory, nothing can be definitively said prior to one Planck Time (wiki that). All that can be said *at* that time are that the temperature was the Planck Temperature and density was the Planck Density. As for the size of the universe then, nobody knows - maybe a Planck length, maybe infinite. These are big numbers, but not infinite. The problem with time before that is that it loses meaning in the context of General Relativity (our best theory of space and time). GR and Quantum mechanics have irreconcilable differences at that scale, so no one knows how to describe it. They're workin' on it, though.

Answer 2

Infinity is an indication that the theory is breaking down. We know that the universe went through a period of inflation approximately 10^-33 seconds after this "infinitely hot, infinitely dense" state, but as to whether or not that state actually existed, we cannot say since we have no predictive models.

Answer 3

Infinitely is not a correct word to use when referring to the big bang initial state.

The correct statement is "started from a tremendously dense and hot state".

You can read the correct description here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang

Answer 4

In the actual state of knowledge it is impossible to answer your question, since it is impossible to go beyond 10^-43s and to measure a length lower that
planck length

look at the link

Answer 5

keep in mind this is a THEORY