Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very beginning of our universe. Discoveries and physics have revealed beyond a reasonable doubt that the universe did have a beginning. Before that moment, there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe. The big bang theory is the endless, debatable conclusion to explain what happened after that moment.

According to standard theory, the universe sprang into existence as a singularity around 13.7 billion years ago. No one knows for sure what the exact definition of a singularity is, but is theorized as zones which defy the understanding of physics. These zones are thought to exist at the very core of black holes. Black holes are areas of intense gravitational pressure. The pressure is so intense that matter is believed to be produced through density. It is the zones of density that are called singularities. Our universe is thought to have begun as a small, hot, and infinitely dense something. We still are not certain where it came from or why it appeared.

After the initial appearance, it inflated, expanded and then cooled going from very small and hot to the size and temperature of our current universe. It continues daily to expand and cool as we reside within it. Just think, the universe, as a result of the big bang theory, leaves incredible creatures living on a unique planet circling a beautiful star clustered together with several hundred billion other stars in a galaxy soaring through the cosmos all of which lie inside of an expanding universe that began as a single moment that appeared out of nowhere for reasons unknown.

There are many misconceptions surrounding the Big Bang theory. For example, we tend to imagine a giant explosion. Experts however say that there was no explosion; there was, and continues to be an expansion. Rather than imagining a balloon popping and releasing its contents, imagine a balloon expanding: an extremely tiny balloon expanding to the size of our current universe.

Another misconception is that we tend to imagine the singularity as a little fireball appearing somewhere in space. According to the many experts however, space did not exist prior to the Big Bang. According to their calculations, time and space had a finite beginning that corresponded to the origin of matter and energy. The singularity did not appear in space; rather, space began inside of the singularity. Prior to the singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or energy - nothing. So where and in what did the singularity appear if not in space? We don't know. We don't know where it came from, why it is here, or even where it is. All we really know is that we are inside of it and at one time it didn't exist and neither did we.

If there is so much uncertainty about the existence of the Big Bang theory, what evidence supports such a theory? First of all, we are reasonably sure that the universe had a beginning. Secondly, galaxies appear to be moving away from us at speeds that are consistent with their distance from us. This supports the notion that the universe was once compact and is always expanding away from us. Finally, there are an abundance of light elements of helium and hydrogen that support the origin of the Big Bang Theory. When combined, there appears to be sufficient evidence to at least consider the Big Bang Theory as a plausible event 13 billion years ago.

The only thing we know for sure is that the universe had a beginning. The Big Bang Theory is the effort to explain what happened at the beginning of our universe. It may not be the only theory, but it remains as the most popular theory.