There are a lot of theories about how the
universe came to be, and for many, the idea
of an "explosion of life" is the one they
feel is the most plausible.
So join me as I reveal to you the truth about
the Big Bang Theory.
8.
What Is The Big Bang Theory?
Well that would depend.
Because for some, the Big Bang Theory is a
possible explanation for the beginning of
the universe.
And one that has been debated for many decades
since it was "proved" to be real.
The other version of the Big Bang Theory is
a hit TV show from CBS that lasted over a
decade and was the #1 show on television in
many ways.
Would you like to guess which one we're talking
about today?
Yeah, the sitcom!
I kid, we're talking about the space version.
But that begs the question, what IS the Big
Bang Theory?
It's something that is thrown out as the "answer"
to how the universe was made, but is that
really true?
And how do you explain it to those who don't
know about it in full?
Well, to put it at its most basic, when the
universe was "born", a single point in space
exploded with energy.
Though to be clear, it wasn't an actual explosion,
more like it was an...expansion.
Expansion of what?
Matter.
Material, whatever you want to define it as,
it was a point in time when the universe went
from nothing in it, to having objects of various
sizes, colors, and phases of matter (liquid,
gas, solid, plasma).
By the time the "expansion" was done, the
universe was "born" in its earliest of states.
To be clear, life on Earth was NOT there just
yet.
Rather, Earth is believed to have been a rocky
and magma-filled mess.
But, at least it was there.
What's more, the creation of the universe
birthed stars planets, moons, and set everything
in place for where we are right now.
So in short, the Big Bang Theory is a belief
on how the universe went from nothing, to
everything in the matter of seconds.
7.
Why Do They Believe This To Be Real?
Now, hearing all of this on a most basic of
levels may make it sound pretty sci-fi.
After all, the idea that we went from "nothing
to something" in the course of seconds seems
preposterous, right?
Except, in our own world, we know this to
be true in regards to other items that use
this kind of property.
Like how electricity is stored and then used.
Or how a bomb will go from inert to explosive
in milliseconds.
And on and on, so as weird as it sounds, it's
not that far-fetched.
What's more, many scientists have proven that
this is a plausible theory just by looking
at the universe itself.
It all started back in 1922 when Russian mathematician
Alexander Friedmann noted via his own observations
of the universe...that the universe itself
was expanding.
Which struck many as odd, because how can
a universe expand?
But, he was not wrong, in fact, he was proven
correct by other astronomers in other countries
a little over 5 years later.
Knowing that the universe was expanding, it
would make sense that there was a singular
"point of origin" for it all.
Thus, he birthed The Big Bang Theory.
Stating that there was once a "cosmic egg"
from which all life was born from, or in this
case, expanded from.
And it was due in part to the energy of that
expansion that the universe is still growing.
The decades that followed had more and more
scientists pilling in and noting that various
things that they spotted in the universe backed
up the Big Bang Theory.
Such as light worked in the universe, the
distance of galaxies in the universe, and
so on and so forth.
In fact, you could argue that just about every
decade added a new fact or belief in how the
Big Bang Theory was real.
Such as...
6.
When Was It "Proven" To Be Real?
The reason that the Big Bang Theory is still
called a "theory" is because while it was
discussed to be real in all manners and with
real science, it still had be discovered and
technically proven.
Which is very hard to do when you're talking
about an event that started potentially billions
of years ago.
But, there is some proof that the Big Bang
actually happened.
It all started with Robert Wilson and Arno
Penzias, who were radio astronomers.
They would listen to the stars above and see
what signals they could pick up.
During a test of the Holmdel Antenna, which
is in New Jersey, the duo heard a sound they
couldn't explain.
They went through all the likely suspects
but didn't figure out what was going on.
Then, they found out about a theory from a
professor named Robert Dicke, who theorized
that radiation from a universe creating event
could still exist today as "background cosmic
radiation".
Sure enough, this is what Wilson and Penzias
found, and after detailing what they had discovered,
the Big Bang Theory was officially born as
a realistic and believable avenue for the
creation of the universe.
For their efforts in proving this, the two
won a Nobel Prize.
The irony of this is that there were people
at the universe not 5 miles from them that
were ALSO trying to find that "background
cosmic radiation", but they were beaten to
it.
Showing that timing is everything.
Before we get to why the Big Bang Theory may
be flawed, be sure to like the video and subscribe
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5.
The Problems With The Big Bang Theory
Here's the rub, because while it's true, and
fair, to say that the Big Bang Theory CAN
be proven, and that there are numerous people
across the decades (including Albert Einstein)
who helped shape the Big Bang Theory into
what it is today...it's still near impossible
to prove that the Big Bang happened at all.
"What do you mean by that?", you ask?
Well, think about it, most people who believe
in the Big Bang Theory state that the universe
was birthed over 10 million years ago, give
or take a few billion years.
So, if that were to be true...and the universe
has been expanding ever since that point...AND
the universe has been growing and evolving
since that point as well...how do we know
it happened like we think we do?
What's more, if we can't find the "Point of
Origin", which many scientists are honestly
trying to find, how can we know what's out
there in terms of remnants to the Big Bang?
Now, as noted before, there is the "background
cosmic radiation" that would indicate that
there was a 'universe creating event", however,
as we've proven many times over our lives,
we don't know everything there is to know
about space and the universe.
We've had many theories over the generations
that were proven to be either ignorant, wrong,
or missing key facts.
What if that's the case here?
What's more, despite all the facts and figures
that state that the Big Bang could've happened
and COULD explain what's going on in the universe...scientists
are honestly really puzzled about what happened
in those early moments of the Big Bang.
Sure, they have theories as to how the expansion
happened, and why it went out in all directions
and what not, but when it comes to the hard
science or proving or nailing a definitive
theory on the early stages of the Big Bang?
It's just not there, and a lot of scientists
dismiss the Big Bang Theory because of that
lack of knowledge.
And they're not the only ones who dismiss
it.
4.
God vs. Science
By and large, one of the biggest debates taking
place in history, and one that continues to
this day, is that of how the universe was
born.
Because while many people believe in the Big
Bang Theory, there is a counter-argument that
technically can't be dismissed either.
The God Theory.
Even if you're not religious, you likely know
the score, whether it's Christianity, Islam,
the Greek or Roman pantheons, Norse lore or
what have you, there was stated to be a God
or gods that have helped shaped the universe,
and watch over us to this day.
In the eyes of those who believe in these
faiths and religions, it's very clear how
the universe came to be.
So imagine their...disappointment...that there
are people trying to explain how the universe
was made...in arguably a more outlandish notion
than a god.
To them, this is science trying to disprove
their faith, while in the eyes of scientists
this is them doing their due diligence to
try and explain the universe in a way that
isn't "blind faith'.
Needless to say...the arguments get pretty
heated.
The irony though is that both sides have merit.
For example, one of the biggest flaws of the
Big Bang Theory is that the "placement" of
the universe is too perfect in some ways.
For example, Earth.
The Earth is perfectly placed so we get enough
light and heat from the sun to survive without
being burned alive, overexposed, or pumped
full of deadly radiation.
If the Big Bang was the birth of it all, how
can we have gotten such a perfect result?
Was it really dumb luck?
In contrast, if there was a God, or gods,
that made the universe, why would they make
it expand infinitely in a way we have truly
proven?
Would they not want there to be a finite limit
to their works?
Or was this a part of their "divine plan"?
No one side can prove the other wrong, and
that's why the God vs. Big Bang debate rages
on in all the ways that matter.
Because both sides want to be proven right...and
not be proven wrong.
3.
Recent Events
Further adding fuel to the fire of what the
Big Bang Theory is and isn't the 2019 Nobel
Peace Prize winner, Jim Peebles, who noted
in his accepting of the Nobel (for his work
in physical cosmology) that he did not support
the Big Bang Theory for reasons that were
very clear to him:
"It's very unfortunate that one thinks of
the beginning whereas in fact, we have no
good theory of such a thing as the beginning."
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, don't you
think?
After all, if a guy who helped study the physics
of space doesn't like the Big Bang Theory,
it makes you wonder why so many others do.
But in the end, it all traces back to the
theories of WHY the universe is expanding
at all, and when you get more theories...you
get more problems.
2.
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
For example, one of the things that many Big
Bang Theorist believe is that the universe
is expanding now not because of the original
Big Bang energy (which in their minds would've
burned out billions of years ago) but because
of another force in the universe.
Mainly, Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
These two theoretical properties are said
to have been made during the Big Bang.
Dark Energy is said to be what keeps the universe
held together, as scientists believe that
the energy of the Big Bang would've kept things
flying apart from each other.
To the extent that 85% of the universe may
be comprised of Dark Matter.
Meanwhile, Dark Energy is what is causing
the "expansion" wave throughout the universe.
The problem?
Well...they're both theoretical.
By the admission of the scientists who proposed
them, these "entities" are both invisible
and undetectable by our current instruments.
Which is a problem when you're trying to prove
that they're a factor in the creation and
expansion in the universe.
But, should they be proven, and scientists
are working to prove them right now with things
like the Particle Accelerator, then it would
be a big step forward to the proving of the
Big Bang Theory.
1.
Counter Theories To The Big Bang
So, if some scientists don't believe in the
Big Bang Theory...what other options are there?
Honestly...quite a bit.
In fact, there have been numerous counter
theories to the Big Bang and many of them
go from basic, to crazy...to Star Trek, and
back.
But, one of the most popular ones is known
to many comic book fans...the Multiverse Theory.
Mainly, that our universe is not alone, that
the expansion of life created not just one
universe, but many.
In fact, certain scientists who believe in
the Big Bang Theory also believe in the Multiverse
Theory.
"It's hard to build models of inflation that
don't lead to a multiverse," Alan Guth, a
theoretical physicist at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, said during a news
conference in March 2014 concerning the gravitational
waves discovery.
(Guth is not affiliated with that study.)
"It's not impossible, so I think there's still
certainly research that needs to be done.
But most models of inflation do lead to a
multiverse, and evidence for inflation will
be pushing us in the direction of taking [the
idea of a] multiverse seriously."
I'm loving this already!
Of course, the Multiverse Theory also states
that there are a near infinite number of Earths,
but all of them are different based on the
different choices the people of that particular
Earth made.
Like one where a war didn't happen, or went
on longer than it did on our Earth.
Or a certain "close encounter" changed everything,
and so on and so forth.
Look up theories on the creation of the universe,
and you're going to find some very interesting
things.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What do you think about the Big Bang Theory
as a whole?
Do you think that it really is the explanation
for how everything came to be in the universe?
Or do you think that there is another explanation
for where we came from?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure
to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!
