B Is the Big Bang a Result of a Spontaneous Singularity?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the concept of the Big Bang potentially originating from a spontaneous singularity, with references to theories suggesting it could arise from quantum fluctuations or "ripples" in space energy. Participants clarify that the term "singularity" refers to a unique state rather than a small object, emphasizing that the pre-Big Bang state was hot and dense, not merely a tiny point. The Hartle-Hawking "no boundary" proposal is mentioned as a relevant theory to explore further. Additionally, there are suggestions to look for reputable articles on big-bang cosmology for a deeper understanding. Overall, the conversation highlights misconceptions about the Big Bang and encourages research into established scientific theories.
thetexan
Messages
269
Reaction score
13
It seems I remember hearing (either on tv or mag) that there was a theory that the original singularity which resulted in the big bang could have been created from essentially nothing by ripples or something in the space energy...or something like that.

Can anyone point me toward any articles on this subject please?

tex
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
It is possible that you got something like that off a TV show - but you won't find any reputable sources for it because it is pretty pop-sciencey.
If you are thinking of the big bang in terms of an infinitesimal spot of stuff exploding into the Universe as we know it... this is a common misconception.

The word "singularity" just means "special".
The state preceding the rapid-expansion phase which is often called "the big bang" was hot, dense, and , as far as we can tell, infinite... this is pretty special, not to be confused with the very small dense object GR suggests is inside a black hole (which is infinitesimal and finite) or the singularity of special relativity when relative velocities approach the speed of light (which is infinite).

Probably what you want is the idea that the pre-big-bang conditions come about as a quantum fluctuation ... for instance in the Hartle-Hawking "no boundary" proposal ... which you can google. For the rest, there are good googleable articles introducingbig-bang cosmology.

But this may help: http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/lectures/lec17.html
Perhaps you are asking in context of news like this:
https://medium.com/the-physics-arxi...aneously-from-nothing-ed7ed0f304a3#.mfr7c1vgj
 
  • Like
Likes berkeman
Thank you
 
This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
Asteroid, Data - 1.2% risk of an impact on December 22, 2032. The estimated diameter is 55 m and an impact would likely release an energy of 8 megatons of TNT equivalent, although these numbers have a large uncertainty - it could also be 1 or 100 megatons. Currently the object has level 3 on the Torino scale, the second-highest ever (after Apophis) and only the third object to exceed level 1. Most likely it will miss, and if it hits then most likely it'll hit an ocean and be harmless, but...

Similar threads

Replies
5
Views
248
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
10
Views
3K
Replies
13
Views
5K
Replies
28
Views
6K
Replies
11
Views
2K
Replies
20
Views
4K
Replies
47
Views
643
Back
Top