Early Cosmic Inflation: Questions & Answers

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around early cosmic inflation and the state of matter in the universe shortly after the Big Bang. Participants explore the nature of plasma during the early universe, the rate of expansion, and the transition from different states of matter. The conversation touches on theoretical concepts and the timeline of cosmic events.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Kylie questions whether matter existed in a plasma state for the entire 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
  • Some participants clarify that the plasma state persisted, but there were nuances regarding the early moments of the universe.
  • There is a distinction made between "inflation" and "expansion," with inflation described as a rapid expansion occurring shortly after the singularity.
  • One participant notes that the expansion rate was not constant, indicating that it slowed down during the period leading up to the formation of atoms.
  • Another participant mentions the existence of a quark-gluon plasma before the plasma of nuclei, electrons, and photons.
  • Kylie expresses curiosity about the origins of the Big Bang and what preceded it, highlighting ongoing questions in cosmology.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the existence of a plasma state after the Big Bang, but there is disagreement regarding the specifics of its properties and the timeline of expansion. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the fundamental questions about the Big Bang itself.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the early universe and the definitions of terms like "inflation" and "expansion" are not fully explored, leading to potential misunderstandings. The discussion also reflects varying interpretations of the timeline and nature of cosmic events.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in cosmology, the early universe, and theoretical physics may find this discussion relevant and thought-provoking.

Kylie87
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Hello,

In the early stages of Cosmic Inflation, immediately after the Big Bang, all matter was basically energy in a plasma form. It continued to expand for 380,000 years before cooling enough to form the first atoms. I have two questions:

1. Did this matter continue to exist in a plasma state for that entire 380,000 years?
2. Did that plasma continue to expand at a constant rate for that entire 380,000 years?

Thanks,
Kylie
 
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Your title question is about inflation and then your actual question is about expansion. They are different.

Inflation is a proposed, but not fully known to be actual, "expansion" at a rate that defies human understanding and is hypothesized to have occurred during a very tiny fraction of a second after the singularity. It solves several known issues with how the universe has formed.

Following inflation, the universe has been expanding (THIS is "expansion") ever since.

About 5 billion years ago a non-understood force (or SOMETHING) that is called "dark energy" for want of a better name, started to overcome the gravitational slowdown of the expansion and caused the expansion to accelerate, which it is still doing.

For exactly what happened at 380,000 years, Google "surface of last scattering". It was not a change in the rate of the expansion but at change in the opacity of the plasma ("let there be light").
 
1. Did this matter continue to exist in a plasma state for that entire 380,000 years?
Neglecting the first seconds, it did.
2. Did that plasma continue to expand at a constant rate for that entire 380,000 years?
No, expansion slowed down during that period (and the following billions of years - accelerated expansion is a relatively "new" effect).
 
Thanks for the answers. Mfb, if it was not a plasma for the first seconds, what was it?
 
Not a plasma of nuclei, electrons and photons.
Before that, it was a plasma of nuclei, electrons and positrons and photons, and before that, it was a quark-gluon plasma.
Timeline
 
Thanks heaps for that. It's just amazing to think that the universe was so basic in the early days; just energy really. Still, the biggest question of all still remains, which is why the big bang happened in the first place, and what was before it?
 

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