Where did the big bang come from?

Question

What went bang, and where did that come from, whatever it was that exploded and formed the universe..

Answer 1

I'm always wary of science questions posted in the R&S section, since they're usually from people who aren't interested in answers, but rather hope that rhetorical questions somehow prove the existence of God.

But I digress. I'll try to sum this up in layman's terms the best I can.

To quote Stephen Hawking, this is like asking "What's 10 miles north of the north pole?" We've known for about a century now that time and space are not these constant entities like Newton has assumed. On scales like this, Newtonian physics has been replaced by the work of Einstein and other later physicists.

For example, we know that the universe is expanding. Not that the boundary is getting bigger, but the distances between all matter is increasing, just like marked points on the surface of a balloon as you inflate it more. From this and all other sorts of oberservations, it's been conlcuded that all of space was contained in one astronomically dense region, called a singularity. So the Big Bang wasn't an "explosion" in space. Rather, it was the formation of space and time itself.

Here are some pages that explain it further:
http://universe.nasa.gov/science/bigbang.html
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/strange/html/singular.html
http://www.astronomycafe.net/anthol/bang.html

Answer 2

A super condensed point of matter/energy "exploded" to create the universe. This is a simple explanation, and it would take a book to completely explain it. Look up Big Bang Theory on wikipedia or something for a general description.

There are also several ideas as to where the matter/energy came from. One idea is that it was always there. Another is that a previous universe collapsed, as many predict our universe will do, creating the super condensed point. And that our universe has been exploding and collapsing forever. It is also thought that before the Big Bang, there was no time. Therefor there was no "what was there before".

Answer 3

We do not really know.

I think you have a misconception about the big bang. This was not a gigantic explosion of matter/energy in a pre-existing space, but a rapid expansion of space causing the incredibly (possibly infinitely) dense energy to spread out and partially condense into matter.

There are hypotheses that this was caused by 11 dimensional membranes colliding in a meta-universe, causing our universe to come into existence. Look up String Theory or Brane Theory, or M-Theory for more information.

Answer 4

No one knows yet, its impossible to tell at the moment. One day I'm sure it will come to us. On the off chance that you are a Christian supposedly pointing flaws in the scientific version of events, let me say that the first cause argument is one used by many Christians, the idea that God was the first cause that set the universe in motion. The first cause does not have to be God, it could equally be the Big Bang.

Answer 5

It was not an 'explosion', in the conventional sense... it was the rapid expansion of a 'singularity'... kind of like a 'black hole'. We know what happened from a fraction of a second AFTER the expansion began... but we don't (presently) know where the singuarity came from, or what (if anything) CAUSED it's rapid expansion (called 'inflation'). Scientists are working on it, and there are several promising theories... but the simple fact is, we may never know.

Everwhere we look in the universe, though, the universe is 'telling' us that complexity arises from simplicity, and in the process, 'emergent' properties appear. (look up: 'self-organizing complex systems' and 'emergence')

So far, we have not had to evoke the 'invisible, magical, all-powerful, supernatural sky-fairy' hypothesis to explain anything.
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Answer 6

The big bang came from the same place that the opinions of people who say the bible is made up come from.

It's something that man invented.

Those who postulate about it don't truly believe that there is a solid basis for knowledge.

Faith in God alone gives those who love the truth a sure foundation for knowing what is and an answer for why what is is.

Answer 7

I don't know. That's really the only proper answer. Your question may also be flawed in that it presumes the big bang came from something. It may not have.

Answer 8

Maybe, and I stress the word MAYBE, the Big Bang happened as a result of a certain Somebody saying "let there be light".

Answer 9

Da big bang came from da big gun

Answer 10

Whenever someone puts a science question in R&S, you most likely don't want genuine answers. You're just looking for someone to agree with you. I know you won't take my answer seriously, so why bother?