What can we say about the composition of the universe shortly after the big bang?

nearc

I've been looking for more information about the state of matter [or soon to be matter] shortly after the big bang. As time progressed after the big bang matter started to develop and it became more and more complex and massive [for the most part], we had quarks then protons then neutrons then atoms, etc... obviously this is an simplified history but the pattern is that as the universe cooled matter, for the most part, became more massive. So working backwards what can we say about the mass of the stuff right at or right after the big bang? I know that we don't know much about that time as our physics does really work well at that time, but can we say anything about the mass of the universe right at creation?

bcrowell

Are you asking about the state of matter, or the amount of matter? If it's the amount:

FAQ: How does conservation of energy work in general relativity, and how does this apply to cosmology? What is the total mass-energy of the universe?

http://physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=506985

Tanelorn

When the universe became transparent after around 300,000 years I was told here that the entire universe looked like a diffuse, orange hydrogen gas.

phinds

Yeah, but he's asking about almost immediately after the BB. MANY orders of magnitude fewer time units than 300,000 years

Tanelorn

Sorry. I was interpreting after the BB as meaning after inflation.