Big Bang Theory: What We Know So Far

[Mwyn]

Big Bang...?

ok so this is basically what I know of the theory can sombody point out if I'm go wrong with any of thi? ok so once there was an endless void of nothingness.there was no matter no particles nothing, and then a random explosion accured in the empty void and thus crated particles which later became compositions of an atom. Can some body point out if I'm wrong or missing somthig? thanks and one more thing can atoms randomly pop out of and into agsistance or is that a myth?

 

[EL]

ok so this is basically what I know of the theory can sombody point out if I'm go wrong with any of thi? ok so once there was an endless void of nothingness.there was no matter no particles nothing, and then a random explosion accured in the empty void and thus crated particles which later became compositions of an atom. Can some body point out if I'm wrong or missing somthig? thanks and one more thing can atoms randomly pop out of and into agsistance or is that a myth?

Actually the Big Bang theory just models what happened AFTER "the birth" of our universe. It says nothing what was before, and in any case, what is ment by "before" if there is no time... :tongue2:

 

[russ_watters]

Also, since the Big Bang was the start of space, there is/was no void. The expansion of space is the expansion of space itself - not just motion of the objects in it. Because of that, the term "explosion" isn't really correct.

 

[Mwyn]

so particles were already in exsistence even before the big bang?

 

[Chronos]

That is unknowable at this point. It is much easier to explain how order arose from chaos than it is to describe the state that preceeded it. Under current theory, the initial state was pure energy. Matter was unable to emerge until things cooled off a bit... which took several Planck time intervals.

 

[turbo]

thanks and one more thing can atoms randomly pop out of and into agsistance or is that a myth?

According to quantum theory, even in the vacuum of space at zero degrees absolute (as cold as cold can be), particle/antiparticle pairs will spontaneously pop into existence and annihilate one another. The energy of this virtual particle field is called zero-point energy. The existence of this field has been experimentally verified (do a Google search on "Casimir Effect"), although without access to a "true" vacuum to measure against, we are unable to measure the immense energy level of the ZPE field.

 

[Phobos]

Welcome to Physics Forums, Mwyn!

The Big Bang was the beginning of time, space, and everything that is part of this universe…as far as we know. As Russ said, it was not an explosion of stuff into the Void. Under the current model (Big Bang Theory), there is no external existence. Rather, the entirety of the universe…at least the portion that is visible to us…was in a very small volume or even a point (often called the Big Bang “singularity” although others will describe that “singularity” not as a point, but as a particular state of the universe where there was no variation). As was said, modern science cannot say very much at all about that singularity or what was “before” it, if such a time is possible. For whatever reason, that singularity rapidly expanded. In other words, the points of space got farther apart…incredibly quickly (thus, the “Big Bang”). That space was full of energy which cooled as space expanded (cooled because it was spread out). At first, there was a hot plasma of fundamental particles throughout the universe. Eventually, that cooled enough for the particles to join together and form atoms. Gravity pulled the atoms into stars and galaxies….throughout the universe, because that energy/particle soup was already throughout the universe. A tough thing to understand is that there is no center or edge to ordinary 3D space. For practical purposes, the universe is infinite and always was…except maybe at Time = 0. Space is still expanding and spreading out the galaxies farther apart from each other, but not expanding into any larger void (again, that we know of).

That said, there are some other models that try to explain where that Big Bang seed came from, but they remain mathematical and not verified by experimental evidence. If you’re interested in that, you could check out String Theory (M-Theory), but you may want to get a hold on Big Bang Theory first, which describes how the universe has changed since the Beginning.

 

[Mwyn]

is there proof that all of this is real?

 

[turbo]

is there proof that all of this is real?

Which parts? Some parts are more easily supported than others.

 

[Mwyn]

the parts of particles being made out of energy and waves and that all was created by the big bang.

 

[russ_watters]

the parts of particles being made out of energy and waves and that all was created by the big bang.

The big bang theory says nothing about how everything was created, it just sets the date. The wave/particle duality of matter an energy, however, has an enormous amount of physical evidence behind it. Everything from lasers to computers depends on it.

 

[turbo]

the parts of particles being made out of energy and waves and that all was created by the big bang.

That's a really tall order. Before the Big Bang was even conceived, though, the wave nature of EM radiation (like light and longer and shorter waves) was already nicely established. You may want to start exploring there, first. After that, you may want to explore the duality (particle vs wave) of EM radiation to see what appeals to you. That will keep you engaged for a very long time, unless you insist on jumping ahead to a concept such as the Big Bang. You don't need to study BB cosmology to examine the nature of EM radiation, and it will probably benefit you greatly if you avoid BB until after you've assimilated some classical physics regarding electromagnetism.

 

[Mwyn]

forgive my off topic randomness (I have a bad habbit of doing that) but can anny body summerise the string and flux theory for me?

 

[Phobos]

forgive my off topic randomness (I have a bad habbit of doing that) but can anny body summerise the string and flux theory for me?

I recommend starting a new topic for these.

 

[Phobos]

the parts of particles being made out of energy and waves and that all was created by the big bang.

Alan Guth's book "The Inflationary Universe" has a good description of current thinking about the early universe immediately following the Big Bang. However, the book can be tough to read at times if you're not already familiar with many of the concepts.

 

[Mwyn]

were could I find the book I'm fammiliar with a lot of things about quantum physics and I've read many theories from Einstein,to Hawking, to Feynman and I understand it perfectly but I always keep finding little wholes or every thing I read always raises another question about somthing else.