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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    The Beginning Made Easy

    How Did the Big Bang Happen?

    Virtually all astronomers and cosmologists agree the universe began with a “big bang” — a tremendously powerful genesis of space-time that sent matter and energy reeling outward.

    By David J. Eicher (Astronomy)


    BIG-TIME THEORY. The discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) confirmed the Big Bang theory. The CMB’s clumpiness gives astronomers evidence for theories ranging from what our universe’s contents are to how modern structure formed.
    Astronomy: Roen Kelly


    The evidence is clear, ranging from the underpinnings of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, to the detection of the cosmic microwave background by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in the 1960s, to the confirmation of ripples in the fabric of ancient space-time from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite in 1992. But the devil is in the details, and that’s where figuring out how Big Bang cosmology really works gets interesting.

    The Big Bang model is typically broken down into a few key eras and events. Standard cosmology, the set of ideas that are most reliable in helping decipher the universe’s history, applies from the present time back to about a hundredth of second after the Big Bang. But before then, particle physics and quantum cosmology ruled the universe.

    When the Big Bang occurred, matter, energy, space, and time were all formed, and the universe was infinitely dense and incredibly hot. The often-asked question “What came before the Big Bang?” is outside the realm of science because it can’t be answered by scientific means. In fact, science says little about the way the universe behaved until some 10–43 second after the Big Bang, when the Grand Unification Epoch began (and lasted only until about 10–35 second). Matter and energy were interchangeable and in equilibrium during this period, and the weak and strong nuclear forces and electromagnetism were all equivalent.









    HIGH-RES ECHO. Evidence for the Big Bang comes from detailed data from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellites. In 1992, COBE produced the first good CMB map (top); nine years later, WMAP followed with a far-more detailed version.
    NASA/WMAP Science Tea


    The universe cooled rapidly as it blew outward, however, and by 10–35 second after the Big Bang, the epoch of inflation occurred, enlarging the universe by a factor of 1050 in only 10–34 second. During this wild period, cosmic strings, monopoles, and other exotic species likely came to be.

    As sensational as inflation sounds, it explains several observations that would otherwise be difficult to reconcile. After inflating, the universe slowed down its expansion rate but continued to grow, as it does still. It also cooled significantly, allowing for the formation of matter — first neutrinos, electrons, quarks, and photons, followed by protons and neutrons. Likewise, antiparticles were produced in abundance, carrying the opposite charge of their corresponding particles (positrons along with electrons, for example).

    As time went on and particles’ rest-mass energy was greater than the thermal energy of the universe, many were annihilated with their partners, producing gamma rays in the process. As more time crept by, these annihilations left an excess of ordinary matter over antimatter.
    Chemistry has its roots deep in the history of the universe. At a key moment about one second after the Big Bang, nucleosynthesis took place and created deuterium along with the light elements helium and lithium.

    After some 10,000 years, the temperature of the universe cooled to the point where massive particles contributed more to the universe’s overall energy density than light and other radiation, which had dominated until then. This turned on gravity as a key player, and the little irregularities in the density of matter were magnified into structures as the universe expanded.




    COSMIC DISCOVERY. Robert Wilson (left) and Arno Penzias unexpectedly discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation with this horn-shaped antenna.
    Astronomical Society of the Pacific


    The relic radiation of the Big Bang decoupled (picture heavy traffic suddenly clearing) nearly 400,000 years later, creating the resonant echo of radiation observed by Penzias and Wilson with their radio telescope. This decoupling moment witnessed the universe changing from opaque to transparent. Matter and radiation were finally separate.

    Observational astronomers consider much of the history of the early universe the province of particle physicists, describing what happened up to the formation of galaxies, stars, and black holes as “a lot of messy physics.” They are more interested in how the first astronomical objects, the large-scale inhabitants of the universe, came to be about 1 billion years after the Big Bang. But before these astronomers can gain a clear picture of that process, they need to consider the role of the wild card — dark matter.
    Majestically enthroned amid the vulgar herd

  2. #2
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tomcat View Post
    But before these astronomers can gain a clear picture of that process, they need to consider the role of the wild card — dark matter.
    . Was there moreto that article? This ending feels abrupt

  3. #3
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    strigils's Avatar
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    ^ yes but that bit is hard so had to be left out

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    Was there moreto that article? This ending feels abrupt
    ...I did a c+p of the entire article as published...

  5. #5
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    I remember reading a Sci-Fi book a long time ago about a pre-industrial society in an alien planet where a a bright star suddenly appeared in the sky , it was a long time ago and I don't remember it well, but it chronicles all the generations and advancement that eventually lead them to develop the technology and go to investigate the star.
    As it turns out the alien life forms were , if I remember correctly, mercury based, and had a lifespan of a second but for them processes were so fast that a second was enough to live a lifetime, and the star was humans coming to the planet to investigate, but because they existed in different timescales they could not even perceive each other.
    I wish I could remember the title of the book, I would love to re-read it. When I originally read it I was too young to appreciate it. If it rings a bell to anyone the name of a main character was "Easy Flow"
    The point being that what we consider the "big bang" or inflation theory, to another entity existing in much different time frame could simply be a strobe light and what we consider the "Big bang" could simply be one cycle of the strobe -light.
    all a matter of perspective,

    Slow down the strobe light enough and you have inflation cycles. speed it up enough and all you got is white light. . So for every perspective the only thing that really exists is the white light of information.
    Last edited by Buckaroo Banzai; 12-04-2021 at 08:08 AM.
    The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.

  6. #6
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    a bright star soddenly appeared in the sky
    ...so, during a rainstorm then...

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