The Big Bang Theory - Communications Paper
The Big Bang
For decades the Big Bang theory has been the leading theory on the beginning of our universe. Alternate theories come and go, but mainly go. As new data and research are continually eliminating alternatives to the standard model of cosmology, the Big Bang just keeps getting stronger.
Before discussing the alternate theories to the Big Bang theory, the basics of the early universe should first be understood. The main points opposing the theory are based around a few aspects that will be defined in the explanation of the early universe. These points include inflation, dark matter and dark energy, the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and red shift.
The theory states that the universe sprung from a singularity an infinitely dense point. A process called inflation took over from there, and all the matter expanded exponentially from one very small point to something the size of a basketball in a fraction of a second. Inflation is very important to the Big Bang theory, as it is required to explain the uniformity of particles in the very early universe, among other problems. The inflation period ended, but the expansion continued, and continues today. Expansion will be discussed further later.
The Big Bang theory cannot be proven through visual observation. Most people are aware that the light from an object 3 million light years away will take 3 million years to reach the Earth. In this way, scientists can "look" back in time to see far into the history of our universe. This is limited, however, as at one point the universe was dark. Even the most powerful telescopes of the future will not be able to look into the first billion years of our universe.
Adam Frank (2006) describes this early, and dark, period of our universe in his article describing the "First Billion Years." According to the Big Bang theory, (and Frank), immediately after the initial event and inflation took place, our universe was a consistent and smooth "soup" of particles.
For decades the Big Bang theory has been the leading theory on the beginning of our universe. Alternate theories come and go, but mainly go. As new data and research are continually eliminating alternatives to the standard model of cosmology, the Big Bang just keeps getting stronger.
Before discussing the alternate theories to the Big Bang theory, the basics of the early universe should first be understood. The main points opposing the theory are based around a few aspects that will be defined in the explanation of the early universe. These points include inflation, dark matter and dark energy, the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and red shift.
The theory states that the universe sprung from a singularity an infinitely dense point. A process called inflation took over from there, and all the matter expanded exponentially from one very small point to something the size of a basketball in a fraction of a second. Inflation is very important to the Big Bang theory, as it is required to explain the uniformity of particles in the very early universe, among other problems. The inflation period ended, but the expansion continued, and continues today. Expansion will be discussed further later.
The Big Bang theory cannot be proven through visual observation. Most people are aware that the light from an object 3 million light years away will take 3 million years to reach the Earth. In this way, scientists can "look" back in time to see far into the history of our universe. This is limited, however, as at one point the universe was dark. Even the most powerful telescopes of the future will not be able to look into the first billion years of our universe.
Adam Frank (2006) describes this early, and dark, period of our universe in his article describing the "First Billion Years." According to the Big Bang theory, (and Frank), immediately after the initial event and inflation took place, our universe was a consistent and smooth "soup" of particles.
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