Is the same amount of matter in the universe now as there was in the beginning?

Question

By "universe" I mean EVERYTHING. All of the stars, planets, everything on them... everything.

By "universe" I mean EVERYTHING. All of the stars, planets, everything on them... everything. The plants and animals. Any life form. Just, everything.

Answer 1

I'm not exactly sure how it works but I think nuclear fusion made us have less matter in the universe? If it isn't nuclear fusion, I think yes.

Answer 2

Matter cannot be created nor destroyed.
The real question is,"what type of matter?" The original universe had only hydrogen. Through the formation of gigantic stars, they produced other light elements. As they exploded they sent these other elements into space which created other stars that formed more elements. As newer stars formed, they produced heavier and heavier elements. I think the heaviest element a star can form is iron, although I'm not sure about that. That is what they mean when they say, "we are the stuff of stars." We are made from the dust and elements formed in the cores of stars.

Answer 3

"At the beginning" there was only energy (and/or heat). At the Planck Time (look it up in wiki), very early after the beginning, the temperature was so high that only energy existed. Even the forces were still unified (gravity being the first one to come into a distinct existence)

As the temperature cooled, some of the energy turned into matter (quarks, other particles, eventually electrons, protons, neutrons). Basically running E = m c^2 in reverse (using up energy to create mass)

We had to wait (as if we had nothing to do in the meantime...) for nearly 400,000 years until the temperature coled enough for electrons and protons to remain bound to each other. The first neutral atoms.

After that time, the fusion of the simplest atoms into more massive atoms liberates a bit of energy (meaning that a tiny bit of the matter goes back as energy).

So, in summary and in general: the amount of matter grew for the first 400,000 years. After that is remained relatively steady, with maybe perhaps a tiny bit of a reduction over time.

Answer 4

Well if you mean type of matter, then no, all matter existed as quantum particles, and earlier then as energy since they are equivalent. If you mean pure amount of matter, then yes. The current amount of matter in the universe came from the Big Bang and spread out quickly in a rapid expansion phase, as it cooled it turned to atoms of hydrogen, which coalesced into stars, which churned out heavier elements, which formed the basis of planets when those stars went supernova.

Answer 5

nope, in the beginning there was no matter. according to Einstein energy and matter are the same, energy can change into matter and vice versa. so in the beginning there was no matter, it was only superheated energy. once that energy cooled down to a few billion degrees matter was able to form. some matter is changed into energy in stars. when 2 hydrogen atoms combine to form helium the mass of helium is slightly less than that of 2 hydrogen atoms, thats the energy given off. matter and anti-matter collide and annihilate eachother, forming energy.

so technically, no, there hasnt always been the same amount of matter, just the same amount of energy.

Answer 6

Excuse me, but matter can and is converted into energy at an astounding rate throughout the universe. Imagine all those trillions upon trillions of stars out there converting matter (hydrogen) to energy at the rate of more than 4 million metric tons per second per star. (on average)

So, no, there is significantly less matter in the universe than there was 13 billion years ago.

Answer 7

define beginning.

shortly after the big bang there was an inflationary period where more matter seems to have been created. Also as the universe expands, the new space is filled constantly with virtual particles and energy.

Answer 8

Pretty much, yeah. That's the idea. Of course, energy and mass are interchangable, so it might be in a different form than it started in, but all the energy and mass we have now was around then too.

Answer 9

No. - Matter has been being converted to
energy in stars since they first formed.

Answer 10

As Micheal D says it all goes back to the law of converstion of mass "Matter cannot be created or destroyed" but however it can change forms.