The Big Bang Theory: The Beginning Of The Universe!

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.

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.

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. I talked about in this post.

Such as…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.