informative Report - Big Bang

Frank Darko                                                                                                    09/25/2019

Professor Nargiza Matyakubova

ENGL 21003 – F

Informative Report

                                                     How the Universe Began

There are questions that have crossed our minds one day or the other. We ask questions such as where do we come from? What is our purpose on earth? And finally, where do we go after we die? Although these questions are very important, it is impossible to answer if we do not know how the universe began in the first place. At what point did our universe begin. Was there a time the universe never existed? There has been so may theories proposed by scientist as the possible theory responsible for the beginning of this universe. Most scientists believe that Darwin's theory of evolution really explains our existence as humans but what it does not explain is the beginning of the universe. In order words, if we don’t know how the universe began how certain are we, that evolution is even right.

Theories such as the panspermia; which means life came from a different planet has been used as one of the possible theories for the beginning of the universe (Scharf). There is also the theory from the Bible that states; the world was created by God. The big bang theory is probably the most trusted and respected theory in today’s world. The big bang theory is a theory that proposes a possible way the universe was made without the involvement of a creator (Strickland, 2008). It is important to note that just as the name implies; it is just a theory. The pages of this theory are still been written and new information comes out every year.

                                    Background to the Big Bang Theory

The big theory was proposed by a Belgian priest named George’s Lemantre in 1920 (Britannica). He suggested that the universe probably began from a single primordial atom (Britannica). Although this theory was first proposed by George Lemaitre, it was Edwin Hubble that observed this theory. Edwin's theory was extracted from Albert Einstein's equation of general relativity; which describes the basic relationship between gravitational force and energy (Smith). Scientist propose that if we look back at the universe one second after the big bang, we will discover huge number of protons, neutrons, positrons and photons. This will be followed by the cooling down of the universe. The cooled down universe causes neutrons to decay into protons or electrons. The continuous cooling of the universe will then cause electrons to combine with nuclei to form neutral atom (Chow). The neutral atoms will absorb free electrons causing an afterglow. These after glow or photons are known as Cosmin Background Radiation

Evidence for The Big Bang Theory

Although the big bang theory is accepted by most scientists, it must still be tested to determine its reliability and authenticity. First and foremost, observed recession of galaxies is one evidence that support the big bang theory. Most astronomers believe that Hubble's relationship between the distance to galaxies and their recession velocity is due to the expansion of space (Britannica). If there is an expansion of space, then scientists assume that the spaces between galaxies were much closer. If the galaxies were much closer could it be that the galaxies were together. Something might have happened that caused the galaxies to separate and move far from each other. For example, galaxies closer to our planet are bigger than the ones farther away.

Another evidence for the big bang theory will be cosmic microwave background radiation.  In 1992 NASA, launched a mission to research and investigate the cosmic background radiation. The team was named Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). The COBE team announced that they have discovered a primordial hot and cold spot in cosmic background radiation (John Mather and George Smoot). The spot discovered are related to the gravitational field in the early universe. Another mission was set up to continue the work done by COBE. With sophisticated and improved equipment, they survey the sky and discovered that a map of the sky with hot and cold regions. All these discoveries can only be explained by the big bang theory. In the figure below, picture of earth showing the different temperature of the background radiation. The hot spots are marked red, the cold spots are marked blue.

Figure 1:

Also, the amount of activity must have been greater in the past than in our present time. Unlike the steady state theory that states that the earth will remain the same with time, the big bang theory suggests a universe that will evolve as time goes on (Kaku, Michio).

Shortcomings of the Big bang theory

Although there are plenty of evidence that suggest that the early might have gone   through a rapid expansion, there is no direct evidence that the universe arose from a single atom.  According to Silva Neres, a physicist, “the big bang is nothing but a theory”.

The big bang theory is the most accepted explanation for the beginning of the earth. In its simplest way, the big bang theory states that the earth started with a small singularity about 13.8 billion years ago. Although the big bang theory is really accepted among scientist all over the world, it still stands as theory. Current instruments will not allow this theory to be tested. This is one of the biggest issues with this theory. As such mathematical formulas and models was what was used to come to this conclusion; that the universe started as a singularity.

Effects of the Big Bang Theory

According to NASA, few seconds after the universe started, the temperature must have been around 10 billion degrees Fahrenheit. Obviously this condition is not conducive for life but it is a perfect condition for the universe to expand. This allows us to determine or guess the age of the universe. Without the big bang theory, we will have no idea that there was a beginning. As such will never be able to predict the age of the universe.

 As stated earlier, the big bang theory states that the universe is neither flat nor unchanging but constantly evolving and expanding over time. The key to determining the age or when exactly the big bang occurred is for scientist to work backwards. If the earth is expanding. Then we track its history backwards. This is exactly the same as an investigator at a crime scene, who works backwards to determine what really happened at the scene. Scientists, in order to do this, must determine the proportion of dark matter to dark energy. Dark matter is a term used for the 80 percent of mass in the universe that scientists cannot directly observe (Redd). Dark energy on the other hand, is an energy that counteracts gravity, causing the universe to expand. This is very difficult to do because they’re very little information about dark energy and dark matter. Also these two factors are very hard to measure. “Whiles dark energy is a face that accounts for the expanding universe, dark matter explains how group of objects function together. Figure 2 shows an area observed of dark matter.

Figure 2: Star clusters in Abell 1689, an area observed for dark matter research via NASA/Hubble

Figure 3

There is no doubt t that scientist will keep on expanding on the topic of the big theory. The big bang theory has made much easier to understand how the universe work. We can estimate the age of the universe. “It has been calculated that roughly 25-27% of the universe is dark matter” (Kaku, Michio). Dark energy makes up about 68-70% of the known universe. Scientists are now investigating whether dark matter is older the big bang. The results could shift our knowledge on how the universe began entirely

 

 

 

 Works Cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. Georges Lemaître. 13 July 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Lemaitre. 25 September 019.

Chow, Denise. "The Universe: Big Bang to Now in 10 Easy Steps." Science & Astronomy (October): 2. https://www.space.com/13320-big-bang-universe-10-steps-explainer.html.

John Mather and George Smoot. Cosmic Background Explorer. 15 July 2015. https://science.nasa.gov/missions/cobe. 25 September 2019.

Scharf, Caleb A. "The Panspermia Paradox." Scientific American (2012): 2. document.

Smith, Robert. Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 September 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edwin-Hubble. 25 September 2019.

Kaku, Michio. "Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos." 1st Edition, Doubleday, December 28, 2004.

Philosophical Transactions: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol.361, No. 1812, The Search for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe (Nov. 15,2003), pp. 2497-2513