The big bang: how much do we really know, and how much of that can a layperson understand?

Question

It obviously happened, since all evidence points to it (CMB radiation, for example) - but what triggered it? Has matter/energy always existed, and in what form? What about time? How did things start, without time? (if that makes any sense at all - I'm probably asking this wrong).

How much of this can I understand without understanding too much about quantum physics?

Where can I find information that addresses the difficult questions, but that I can still follow?

Answer 1

well there are a few problems with the big bang, it seems we have it all right until the point right after the explosion. the laws of physics seem to break down, they've solved some of this by coming up with the theory that all of the 4 forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear force) were all one.

one thing you have to realize is that the my first answer disagrees with my second answer, so one or the other is right. the first answer assumes that time started with the big bang, the second assume it doesn't.

ill answer your first question last, its the most interesting.

time, according to the theory, started with the big bang. the big bang wasn't an explosion as we know it, it didn't have any matter, it was all energy, so it wouldve caused some weird things. and nothing started without time, because if something wasn't already in existence then there would be no time for it to come about. so the theory is that time started at the exact moment that the big bang happened. and matter has not always existed, energy it seems has existed since the beginning of time. once the primeval atom (what exploded in the big bang theory) exploded it flung energy out everywhere, that energy cooled and formed matter.

now for the second answer.

not many theories can explain why the big bang occurred, only a couple popular ones are worth mentioning, super string theory and m-theory. their basically the same thing, so i will refer to m-theory which is the more recent version of string theory.

m-theory basically says that our universe is just one of many separate and independent universes, that do not interact. an throughout all of the universe are these super tiny, smaller than a trillionth of a millimeter, 11 dimensional membranes with completely different laws of physics than we have. they have 10 spatial dimensions (length, height, width, and 7 more that are perpendicular to all of them). time is their 11th dimension. and since there are all of these membranes floating around the constantly collide, and each time they collide a massive amount of energy is created, and thats what cause the big bang. so according to that theory all around you, everywhere, universes are being created and instantly splitting off from our own, creating a whole new universe.

now keep in mind, the first part of my answer was very popular. but the second part is hard to prove, and semi-controversial, so its not really fact, its just the most popular theory.

Answer 2

We cannot know what happened before the "Planck time" (an extremely short period of time AFTER the Big Bang occurred).

Therefore, we cannot KNOW how the Big Bang was triggered or what existed before -- if anything.

We don't really have theories (because we can't "test" for anything before the Planck time).

The best hypothesis that I've heard is that time itself came into existence at the same moment (I'm trying to avoid the word "time" in a different sense) and time may even be a result of the existence of energy -- which is equivalent to matter as per E = mc^2.

(This is like saying: in a totally empty universe, time would not flow, i.e., there would be no "time").

If you want to read up without going into lots of physics (quantum or otherwise) or mathematics, begin with what is in wiki. For this kind of stuff, wiki is good.

Although teachers do not like students using wiki (because it can be written by any amateur, or so they claim), a recent analysis by Nature (a world class journal of science) says that it compares well with the on-line Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica expressed their desire to disagree with Nature, but the editors of Nature are standing by their analysis.

You will also find that there are lots of books about this that are not heavy in math nor in physics. This does not mean that the books read like grade-3 primers. After all, cosmology is something of an "advanced" subject.

But still, the more you read, the more you will understand, even without math or physics.

Answer 3

No matter what answer you get, you won't be happy. Why does it matter what triggered it?

As for time, it has always existed, we just gave it a name to keep our days. Like fortnight, day, week, month..hour, minute, second. All thought of by humans.

You won't find the information that addresses the difficult questions in any way anyone can follow it. (Except maybe the writer/teller)

Just a fact of life.

Answer 4

Sadly, I would say, the ONLY way to truly understand ANYTHING about this subject is to study physics for at least the better part of a decade. Probably longer.

Any answer you will get from books for laypeople, on the internet, well meaning physicist friends, etc. will have to be a gross oversimplification that is a borderline lie.

This characterization includes any and all of my own answers on this subject.

Sorry to disappoint you.

As to how much we "know": MUCH more than most people would be willing or able to learn for a final exam on general relativity/cosmology/quantum gravity.

Answer 5

The Big Bang Model is a broadly accepted theory for the origin and evolution of our universe. It postulates that 12 to 14 billion years ago, the portion of the universe we can see today was only a few millimeters across. It has since expanded from this hot dense state into the vast and much cooler cosmos we currently inhabit. We can see remnants of this hot dense matter as the now very cold cosmic microwave background radiation which still pervades the universe and is visible to microwave detectors as a uniform glow across the entire sky.

Answer 6

I used to study books from technology about existence on Mars. Then i got here upon accessible replaced into no longer something on Mars. you're being illusioned by utilizing technology about evolution. The magician is making you're taking his card and also you've self belief it. There has no longer been sufficient time for all this to evolve. you save affirming i do not realize yet only who's being bambozzled for lack of an outstanding word

Answer 7

"the UNiverse in a NUTshell" by Stephen Hawking... available on CD, makes good walking audio. And its narrated by a real dude not Stephen's computer voice.

I actually agree with the first guy... how much? not very much. The Big Bang is hinged on General Relativity (something I know little of) and requires Quantum to make work at all. No, its not perfect, but we are getting closer to understanding the Universe than we ever have. (usually, we just find more questions!)

And if you really believe that some old guy inna robe kicked a ball labeled "Universe v1.01" you need to hang around the "Myths and Religions" section.

(er, that last was directed to the peanut gallery that always answers Big Bang questions with "Duh, i dunno, mebbe God did it!"

Answer 8

"When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence:
Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter."
(Albert Einstein)

"The main reason that we oriented this episode of Cosmos towards India is because of that wonderful aspect of Hindu cosmology which first of all gives a time-scale for the Earth and the universe -- a time-scale which is consonant with that of modern scientific cosmology. We know that the Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, and the cosmos, or at least its present incarnation, is something like 10 or 20 billion years old. The Hindu tradition has a day and night of Brahma in this range, somewhere in the region of 8.4 billion years."
(Carl Sagan)

I've got nothing to add to what Albert and Carl said other than ‘I think’ the universe in a constant state of flux – expanding and contracting.

Energy (god?) just is – anyone can access it; use it or abuse it.
In the final analysis there is no good or evil as in “there is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so” (Shakespeare).
Shït happens neither for a reason nor for no reason – it just happens.

“ shermer in why darwin matters writes:
'from what we now know about the cosmos, to think that all this was created for just one species among tens of millions of species who live on one planet circling one of a couple of hundred billion stars that are located in one galaxy among hundreds of billions of galaxies, all of which are in one universe among perhaps an infinite number of universes all nestled within a grand cosmic multiverse, is provincially insular and anthropocentrically blinkered? which is more likely? that the universe was designed just for us, or that we see the universe as having been designed for us?' “
.

Answer 9

Both of the previous answerers have valid points, but didn't help your question...
No offense, guys.
Check this out:
"Simply Einstein: Relativity Simplified", by Richard Wolfson.
Published by W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London, copyrighted 2003.
This book helped me to 'wrap my head' around the whole set of ideas.

Answer 10

The Big Bang is based on the religious assumption that the universe is finite. If you assume the universe is infinite, you get a very different picture. Unfortunately, the Big Bangers have attained the status of the religious establishment of the scientific community. They are so powerful that they can prevent heretics from getting any government funding.