Around the world, there are countless religions and scientific theories that attempt to describe how our universe began. The information contained below will attempt to outline a few of the main probable origins of the universe.
The Big Bang Theory:.
This is the most popular scientific theory of the origin of the universe. It states that at a specific moment in time, some 10-20 million years ago, there was an immense explosion. The explosion caused extremely high temperatures, sub-atomic particles, ie. matter and energy, and space and time itself. The explosion sent the particles moving outwards, which then cooled, condensed, and formed the universe, as we know it.
The early events, including the explosion itself, are based on quantum physics (the physics of atoms and their constitutes) and remain hypothetical.
Einstein provided the foundations for this theory when he proposed his "Special Theory of Relativity", in which he suggested that mass and energy are simply different forms of the one material. .
There is four main points supporting the "big bang".
1) The universe is expanding. This could be accounted for by the explosion sending matter outwards.
2) The origin of the background radiation. Big bang theorists say that as the temperature cooled enough hydrogen atoms were able to form from electrons and protons. From this time, radiation was released. .
3) Nucleosynthesis of the light elements. That means the creation of the chemical elements by nuclear reactions. It has been proven that the Big Bang, or any nuclear reaction like it would have produced chemical elements similar to that found in the oldest known stars. .
4) Formation of galaxies and large scale structures. Years after the Big Bang, as the universe cooled, matter particles became more numerous than light and other radiation. As the particles slowed down because of the cooler temperatures, they were drawn together because of gravity, until they became dense and formed the galaxies and large-scale structures.