What Could Have Possibly Triggered the Big Bang?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential triggers of the Big Bang, exploring the nature of singularity and the conditions leading to the universe's expansion. It encompasses theoretical considerations and speculative reasoning regarding the origins of space and time.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions what could have triggered the Big Bang if singularity is considered the starting point of the universe.
  • Another participant states that current evidence indicates the universe was once in a very dense and hot state, but acknowledges that the breakdown of General Relativity at those conditions means we do not have definitive answers.
  • A participant expresses confusion about the concept of quantum fluctuations occurring without a prior context of space and time, questioning the independence of these fluctuations from temporal constraints.
  • There is a query regarding whether experiments designed to recreate conditions similar to the Big Bang will provide insights into its cause or merely reflect its effects.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus, as multiple competing views and uncertainties regarding the nature of the Big Bang and its triggers remain evident throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the breakdown of known physics at the singularity, the dependence on interpretations of quantum mechanics, and the unresolved nature of the relationship between time and quantum fluctuations.

abhiroop_k
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triggering the big bang!

if we consider singularity as the starting point of our universe...what could have possibly triggered the big bang?
 
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We don't know. All we know is that the available evidence points to the universe once being in a very dense very hot state, after which it expanded. At these densities and temperatures General Relativity, and most known physics, breaks down and are unusable. We quite simply, don't know.
 


What confuses me is that space and time are supposed to have come into existence at the Big Bang. Some claim that the Big Bang happened because of a quantum fluctuation. But how could a fluctuation occur if there was no prior flux in which it could occur? Or, are quantum fluctuations independent of time in some kind of strange way?
 


will the experiments aimed @ trying to recreate the big bang help us understand the cause?...or will they reflect on the effect only?
 

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