The universe is a miracle, but no one actually knows how it began. We can survey the future, but not the past, thus there are many theories on how the universe started. In this blog post, we are going to review the 4 main possibilities on how the world started, which ones are most likely, and why we don’t really know why the universe started. Now let’s get right into it.
First of all, the four main possibilities for how existence was formed are :
- The Big Bang
- Steady State
- Oscillating Crunches and Bangs
- Eternal Inflation (The Multiverse)
To start this off, the Big Bang states that in the very beginning, there was a singularity, very similar to what we would call today a black hole. That singularity had all of the energy and all of the matter in the universe in it. But, either Hawking Radiation or pressure caused the singularity to explode, releasing all the energy into the universe (the matter was created by reverse engineering E=mc2).
Next, the steady-state theory says that there was no beginning of the universe, and there will be no end. The universe has always been the same and never changing, and there is a continuous supply of endless matter, in order to explain how the universe is expanding.
After that, there is the eternal inflation, which explains that after the Big Bang, the universe rapidly expanded, and is still expanding to this day, and has been going on infinitely. It also states that there may be an infinite amount of universes popping into existence, which has different physical laws like gravity and the weak force. This collection of universes is supposedly the ‘Multiverse.’
Finally, the oscillating theory is very similar to the Big Bang, and it shows that there has been an infinite series of Big Bangs, and Big Crunches, which is basically the exact opposite Big Bang, where the universe shrinks back into a singularity. This cycle has been going on infinitely, will continue infinitely.
These four hypothesizes and many others like the simulation theory are very cool, but only two, in my opinion, are likely, and there is one theory, that combines the main ideas of two theories. After researching, I believe that the Big Bang or the Oscillating Theory is most likely. This is because the steady-state theory is unlikely, as the discovery of Cosmic Background Radiation was predicted by the Big Bang, and Cosmic Background Radiation is impossible in an infinitely long universe. The eternal inflation theory is also unlikely because Einstein’s Theory on Relativity breaks down on quantum scales, and Eternal Inflation makes Quantum effects as just small fluctuations. The Big Bang Theory and Oscillating theory though, fit most requirements. There is a flaw in it though; It violates the first law of Thermodynamics, which states that Matter can not be created or Destroyed.
In my opinion, though, I believe that the oscillating theory is correct and that our universe has been in the cycle of Bangs and Crunches. But, I also believe that the Eternal Inflation Theory is partially correct, and that there may be infinite amounts of Universe with different physical laws, that we could maybe access with enough energy.
In the end, we have no idea which theory is correct or not. There are imperfections with every theory, and if you are inquisitive, you may ask when infinity and forever started, because the oscillating and steady-state theories say that the universe’s age is infinity. you may also ask why the big bang occurred because we have no hard evidence to show that the singularity exploded because of natural causes like pressure. Some people believe that an Entity, ‘God’, started everything. But if you are really Inquisitive, you may ask when ‘God’ was created. This is the basis for many religions, but we have no proof which is right. Soon, maybe we will discover the beginnings, but until then, we must ponder and imagine what caused the universe to begin.
Fun Facts:
- Fred Hoyle, an avid supporter of the Steady State theory gave the name to the Big Bang as a joke during a presentation.
- Stephen Hawking, one of the most famous Mathematicians and astronomers, disproved the Eternal Inflation theory
- Albert Einstein himself came up with the Oscillating Theory all the way back in the 1920s.
Sources:
https://www.space.com/24781-big-bang-theory-alternatives-infographic.html