If the big bang theory is correct about how the universe was started what was there before the big bang?

Answer 1

That is probably a meaningless question, but the truth is scientists don't know - and neither do god-believers.

Answer 2

The question you ask is a philosophical question rather than a science question, and it is certainly a question that no one knows the answer to today, it is unlikely your question will ever be answered be science as what you ask cannot be observed. Many religions have dogma that discusses the beginning and what existed before, but in most cases science and discovery eventually show that the philosophy of these doctrines cannot be supported by experiment (that obviously doesn’t stop people from believing them).

Here is what one of the most prominent physicists of our time Stephen Hawking guesses; Steven thinks that at the start of the universe there was what is called a “singularity”, this is when all of the cosmos is an infinitesimally small point where neither time, energy or matter exist. So that means that before the start nothing existed, no energy to move or heat things, no matter to be acted upon and no time passed. Essentially there was nothingness.

Now there are some other theories that say that the universe may cycle and there may have been cycles before this cycle. Many astronomers are testing the mass of the universe to see if it will eventually stop expanding due to its own gravity and the begin to collapse back to a singularity (right now they are having trouble finding enough mass). If it does eventually collapse back to a singularity then maybe the process starts again and has done so before, but once again, no one knows.

Answer 3

Who knows? However I have my own theory. I'm am thinking that perhaps all matter in the known universe will be swallowed up by black holes and pull it's self back together because the denser objects get, the more gravitational pull they have on others. And when most or all has accumulated back to one spot, it will change into an unstable substance and the 'big bang' will happen again. Or is this theory too simple?

Answer 4

I don't know if I've got this right, but I get the impression that when space, time, matter and energy are pictured under extreme circumstances they seem to blend together into something that is a combination of all of them.

If I'm not mis-understanding this, then I would guess that the Universe before the big bang was a mixture of space, time, matter and energy.

What sort of properties would this mixture have? I sure couldn't say.

Answer 5

I think it is correct. The big bang is an explosion that took place in the space many years ago which caused the expansion of our universe. It is said that before the big bang the universe was the size of a pea.

Answer 6

If the Big Bang Theory is correct, then there is no such thing as "before the Big Bang."

Answer 7

Assume spacetime (i.e both space and time) came into existence with the big bang.

The word "before" means at an earlier time.

So your question is asking what there was at a time earlier than time existed?

perhaps nothing?
unless the uncertainty principle disallows absolute nothing?

Answer 8

No, the big bang never existited! God made the universe and no one knows how old it is or what happened at the time God made the universe except God of course.

Answer 9

That's sort of like asking, what number comes before yellow, or what the difference between a raven.

Time itself, with "before" and "after", started with the big bang. The English language (like most languages), allows us to put together the words "what", "was", "there", "before", "the", "big", and "bang", and it *seems* to make sense. But in the real physical universe, it doesn't.

Answer 10

Kinda makes me think there is a circular time/space continuum. Don't think about it too long...It will make you nuts ! !