Is the Big Bang Real? Evidence & Facts Explained

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the validity of the Big Bang theory, exploring its implications, evidence, and the nature of cosmic expansion. Participants examine concepts related to the speed of light, inflation, gravitational forces, and the potential existence of dark matter and energy, as well as alternative models of cosmic events.

Discussion Character

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

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that while nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, space itself can expand at such speeds, particularly during the inflationary period after the Big Bang.
  • Questions arise about whether space existed prior to the Big Bang and how it might facilitate the movement of particles at superluminal speeds.
  • One participant suggests that gravitational forces could lead to periodic collapses and explosions, proposing an alternative view of cosmic events.
  • Another participant challenges the idea of gravitational explosions, arguing that gravity typically attracts rather than repels, and questions the feasibility of such processes being periodic.
  • Concerns are raised about the limitations of current Big Bang theories, particularly regarding their inability to explain the event itself and the nature of forces involved in cosmic expansion.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the existence of a "magical force" or entity responsible for the Big Bang, questioning the foundational assumptions of the theory.
  • It is noted that the current Big Bang theory primarily describes the universe's evolution post-Big Bang, rather than the event itself.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with no consensus on the nature of the Big Bang, the implications of cosmic expansion, or the validity of alternative models. Disagreements persist regarding the mechanics of gravitational forces and the interpretation of cosmic phenomena.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include unresolved questions about the nature of dark matter and energy in relation to cosmic expansion, as well as the definitions and assumptions underlying the Big Bang theory. The discussion also highlights the complexity of defining relative velocities in cosmological contexts.

The_Original5
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You probably know that there is a lot of evidence supporting the big bang, like the expansion of the universe, and many others that i can't name from the top of my head, but I heard on a TV show that the starting partials that came out of the Big bang were faster then the speed of light. They concluded this because if thing did come out the speed of light then we should be able to see the whole universe, although we can't. There is still a very large portion of the universe we can't see because its out of seeing range. So my question is how could the Big Bang be real if it expanded faster than the speed of light, and i think we all know that nothing can go than the speed of light, even though there are some exceptions like techions that go back wards in time and are faster than the speed of light. Also another thing If partials can go over the speed of light, would the big bang appear before it actually blew up. Please correct me if I'm wrong, i was watching the history channel, and not everything is true on that channel.
 
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Nothing can go faster than the speed of light. However, it is possible for space itself to expand faster than the speed of light. Right after the big bang space underwent a period called inflation where this happened.
 
isn't space already present before the big bang actually blew up, but if it come form the big bang does space help the atoms move through it to make it move faster than the speed of light for it to reach the distance they are, because they said that there are galaxy's we can't see because they traveled faster than light
 
The_Original5 said:
So my question is how could the Big Bang be real if it expanded faster than the speed of light, and i think we all know that nothing can go than the speed of light, even though there are some exceptions like techions that go back wards in time and are faster than the speed of light.
In general relativity, there is no unambiguous way to define the relative velocity of two objects that are at a cosmological distance from each other. The impossibility of motion faster than c applies to objects that are close enough so that the velocity of object A relative to object B is well defined. Cosmological redshifts can be interpreted either as Doppler shifts due to relative motion or as being due to the expansion of the space in between.
 
mathman said:
Nothing can go faster than the speed of light. However, it is possible for space itself to expand faster than the speed of light. Right after the big bang space underwent a period called inflation where this happened.

did this expansion of space include dark matter/energy ? or was it already there ?
Since most dark matter is supposed nonbaryonic and does not interact with space directly,
it does not exclude the concept of space/time expansion.
The theory doesn't say anything about it, does it?
 
The_Original5 said:
You probably know that there is a lot of evidence supporting the big bang,

Just using a logic of the top of ones head:
if planets are attracted to each other by gravitational force then they will tend to combine into a cluster or a bigger planet. Now if planet gets bigger at some point the gravitational force would be so strong that may create an explosion which will in turn create smaller planets we call the galaxies or universe.
Finally the big bang would be just one of many or continuous periodic collapsing and exploding.
Mathew Orman
 
icester said:
Just using a logic of the top of ones head:
if planets are attracted to each other by gravitational force then they will tend to combine into a cluster or a bigger planet. Now if planet gets bigger at some point the gravitational force would be so strong that may create an explosion which will in turn create smaller planets we call the galaxies or universe.
Finally the big bang would be just one of many or continuous periodic collapsing and exploding.

1. Big Bang is not an explosion Check FAQ
2. "gravitational force would be so strong that may create an explosion" makes no sense, because gravitation tends to attract, not to repel.
 
Dmitry67 said:
1. Big Bang is not an explosion Check FAQ
2. "gravitational force would be so strong that may create an explosion" makes no sense, because gravitation tends to attract, not to repel.

I was thinking more like extreme gravitational force triggering a nuclear explosion in the core of sufficiently large planet.

Mathew Orman
 
1. Solid planets (like Earth) consist of heavy atoms which won't produce a lot of energy.
2. The process you described is possible if we take giant planets, like Jupiter for example, but:

3. This process can't be 'periodic' because finally all matter would be converted into heavy elements;
4. It is possible in a very narrow mass range, any collision which produces objects heavier than 150-200 solar masses would reasult in 'failed supernova' - gravitational collapse. That is, no fusion reaction can overcome gravity from such heavy objects and stop the collapse, no matter what temperatures and pressure are created.

5. Finally, these local and tiny (on cosmological scale) explosions have nothing in common with the Big Bang.
 
  • #10
Dmitry67 said:
1. Solid planets (like Earth) consist of heavy atoms which won't produce a lot of energy.
2. The process you described is possible if we take giant planets, like Jupiter for example, but:

3. This process can't be 'periodic' because finally all matter would be converted into heavy elements;
4. It is possible in a very narrow mass range, any collision which produces objects heavier than 150-200 solar masses would reasult in 'failed supernova' - gravitational collapse. That is, no fusion reaction can overcome gravity from such heavy objects and stop the collapse, no matter what temperatures and pressure are created.

5. Finally, these local and tiny (on cosmological scale) explosions have nothing in common with the Big Bang.

So, the theory of Big Band assumes some magical force and or matter creating entity which evidence of does not exist at presence.
I wonder what entity is that.

Mathew Orman
 
  • #11
The current theory of the Big Bang does not include the Big Bang. It is a theory of what happened AFTER the Big Bang (excluding t=0).

There are no theories which can explain the BB itself; even there are some candidates; but they are very far from being final. Note that BB is much more fundametal than just an explosion, which can be explained by 'force'. Force itself creates pressure and contre-intuitively slows down the expansion, because pressure creates gravity. Therefore, even 'force' can explain local expansion of some area/object in space, in can't, in principle, explain the expansion of the whole Universe. Also, force is acting in space in time while BB is about how the very fabric of space and time is created.
 

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