36 The Big Bang Theory explains the origin. The Big Bang and the Origin of the Universe

Course work on the subject " Theoretical basis progressive technologies"

Completed by: Larisa Mirzodzhonovna Belozerskaya, Course I

Moscow State Open University, branch

Cosmology is a physical study of the Universe, which includes the theory of everything covered by astronomical observations of the world as part of the Universe.

The greatest achievement of modern cosmology was the model of the expanding Universe, called the theory big bang.

According to this theory, all observable space is expanding. But what happened at the very beginning? All matter in the Cosmos at some initial moment was literally compressed into nothing - compressed into one single point. It had a fantastically enormous density - it is almost impossible to imagine, it is expressed as a number in which there are 96 zeros after one - and an equally unimaginably high temperature. Astronomers called this state a singularity.

For some reason, this amazing balance was suddenly destroyed by the action of gravitational forces - it’s hard to even imagine what they should have been like given the infinitely huge density of the “primal matter”!

Scientists gave this moment the name “Big Bang”. The universe began to expand and cool.

It should be noted that the question of what kind of birth the Universe was - “hot” or “cold” - was not immediately resolved unambiguously and occupied the minds of astronomers for a long time. Interest in the problem was far from idle - after all, for example, the age of the Universe depends on the physical state of matter at the initial moment. In addition, thermonuclear reactions can occur at high temperatures. Hence, chemical composition The "hot" Universe must differ from the composition of the "cold" Universe. And this, in turn, determines the size and rate of development of celestial bodies...

For several decades, both versions - the “hot” and “cold” birth of the Universe - existed in cosmology on equal terms, having both supporters and critics. The matter remained “small” - it was necessary to confirm them with observations.

Modern astronomy can give an affirmative answer to the question of whether there is evidence for the hypothesis of a hot Universe and the Big Bang. In 1965, a discovery was made, which, according to scientists, directly confirms that in the past the matter of the Universe was very dense and hot. It turned out that in outer space there are electromagnetic waves who were born in that distant era when there were no stars, no galaxies, or our solar system.

The possibility of the existence of such radiation was predicted by astronomers much earlier. In the mid-1940s. American physicist George Gamow (1904-1968) took up the problems of the emergence of the Universe and the origin chemical elements. Calculations performed by Gamow and his students made it possible to imagine that the Universe had a very high temperature in the first seconds of its existence. The heated substance “glowed” - it emitted electromagnetic waves. Gamow suggested that they should also be observed in modern era in the form of weak radio waves, and even predicted the temperature of this radiation - approximately 5-6 K.

In 1965, American radio engineers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected cosmic radiation that could not be attributed to any cosmic source known at the time. Astronomers have come to the conclusion that this radiation, which has a temperature of about 3 K, is a relic (from the Latin “remnant”, hence the name of the radiation - “relic”) of those distant times when the Universe was fantastically hot. Now astronomers were able to make a choice in favor of the “hot” birth of the Universe. A. Penzias and R. Wilson received the Nobel Prize in 1978 for the discovery of the cosmic microwave background (the official name of the cosmic microwave background radiation) at a wavelength of 7.35 cm.

The Big Bang is the name given to the origin of the Universe. Within this concept, it is believed that the initial state of the Universe was a point called the singularity point, in which all matter and energy were concentrated. It was characterized by an infinitely high density of matter. The specific properties of the singularity point are unknown, just as what preceded the singularity state is unknown.

An approximate chronology of events that followed from the zero point in time - the beginning of the expansion - is presented below:

There is no reliable information regarding the conditions and events that occurred before the moment of 5·10-44 seconds - the end of the first time quantum. About the physical parameters of that era, we can only say that then the temperature was 1.3·1032 K, and the density of matter was about 1096 kg/m3. The given values ​​are the limits for the application of existing theories. They follow from the relationships between the speed of light, the gravitational constant, Planck’s and Boltzmann’s constants and are called “Planck’s”.

The events of the period from 5·10-44 to 10-36 seconds are reflected by the “inflationary Universe” model, a description that is difficult and cannot be given within the framework of this presentation. However, it should be noted that according to this model, the expansion of the Universe occurred without a decrease in the volumetric concentration of energy and under negative pressure of the primary mixture of matter and energy, i.e., as it were, repulsion of material objects from each other, which caused the expansion of the Universe, which continues to this day.

To understand the processes that occurred in the period of 10-36-10-4 seconds from the beginning of the explosion, a deep knowledge of elementary particle physics is required. During this period, electromagnetic radiation and elementary particles - different kinds mesons, hyperons, protons and antiprotons, neutrons and antineutrons, neutrinos and antineutrinos, etc. existed in equilibrium, i.e. their volume concentrations were equal. Very important role At this time, the fields of strong and then weak interactions played first.

In the period of 10-4 - 10-3 seconds, the formation of the entire set of elementary particles took place, which, transforming one into another, now make up the entire Universe. The annihilation of the overwhelming majority of elementary particles and antiparticles that existed previously occurred. It was during this period that baryon asymmetry appeared, which turned out to be the result of a very small, only one billionth, excess of the number of baryons over antibaryons. It appeared, apparently, immediately after the era of inflationary expansion of the Universe. At a temperature of 1011 degrees, the density of the Universe had already decreased to a value characteristic of atomic nuclei. During this period, the temperature halved in thousandths of a second. At the same time, the existing and now relict neutrino radiation was born. However, despite its significant density, amounting to no less than 400 pieces/cm3, and the possibility of obtaining with its help the most important information about that period of the formation of the Universe, its registration is not yet feasible.

In the period from 10-3 to 10-120 seconds, as a result of thermonuclear reactions, helium nuclei and a very small number of nuclei of some other light chemical elements were formed, and Substantial part protons - hydrogen nuclei - were not combined into atomic nuclei. All of them remained immersed in the “ocean” of free electrons and photons of electromagnetic radiation. From this moment on, a ratio was established in the primary gas: 75-78% hydrogen and 25-22% helium - by mass of these gases.

In the period between 300 thousand and 1 million years, the temperature of the Universe dropped to 3000 - 45000 K and the era of recombination began. Previously free electrons merged with light ones atomic nuclei and protons. Atoms of hydrogen, helium and a number of lithium atoms were formed. The matter became transparent and the cosmic microwave background radiation, observed so far, “separated” from it. All currently observed features of the cosmic microwave background radiation, for example, fluctuations in the temperature of its streams coming from different areas on the celestial sphere or their polarization, reflect the picture of the properties and distribution of matter at that time.

During the subsequent - first billion years of the existence of the Universe, its temperature decreased from 3000 - 45000 K to 300 K. Due to the fact that by this period of time, sources of electromagnetic radiation - stars, quasars, etc. - had not yet formed in the Universe The relict radiation has already cooled down; this era is called the “Dark Age” of the Universe.

The Big Bang belongs to the category of theories that attempt to fully trace the history of the birth of the Universe, to determine the initial, current and final processes in its life.

Was there something before the Universe came into being? This fundamental, almost metaphysical question is asked by scientists to this day. The emergence and evolution of the universe has always been and remains the subject of heated debate, incredible hypotheses and mutually exclusive theories. The main versions of the origin of everything that surrounds us, according to the church interpretation, assumed divine intervention, and the scientific world supported Aristotle’s hypothesis about the static nature of the universe. The latter model was adhered to by Newton, who defended the boundlessness and constancy of the Universe, and by Kant, who developed this theory in his works. In 1929, American astronomer and cosmologist Edwin Hubble radically changed scientists' views of the world.

He not only discovered the presence of numerous galaxies, but also the expansion of the Universe - a continuous isotropic increase in the size of outer space that began at the moment of the Big Bang.

To whom do we owe the discovery of the Big Bang?

Albert Einstein's work on the theory of relativity and his gravitational equations allowed de Sitter to create a cosmological model of the Universe. Further research was tied to this model. In 1923, Weyl suggested that matter placed in outer space should expand. The work of the outstanding mathematician and physicist A. A. Friedman is of great importance in the development of this theory. Back in 1922, he allowed the expansion of the Universe and made reasonable conclusions that the beginning of all matter was at one infinitely dense point, and the development of everything was given by the Big Bang. In 1929, Hubble published his papers explaining the subordination of radial velocity to distance; this work later became known as “Hubble’s law.”

G. A. Gamow, relying on Friedman’s theory of the Big Bang, developed the idea of high temperature original substance. He also suggested the presence cosmic radiation, which did not disappear with the expansion and cooling of the world. The scientist performed preliminary calculations of the possible temperature of residual radiation. The value he assumed was in the range of 1-10 K. By 1950, Gamow made more accurate calculations and announced a result of 3 K. In 1964, radio astronomers from America, while improving the antenna, by eliminating all possible signals, determined the parameters of cosmic radiation. Its temperature turned out to be equal to 3 K. This information became the most important confirmation of Gamow’s work and the existence of cosmic microwave background radiation. Subsequent measurements of the cosmic background carried out in outer space, finally proved the accuracy of the scientist’s calculations. You can get acquainted with the map of cosmic microwave background radiation at.

Modern ideas about the Big Bang theory: how did it happen?

One of the models that comprehensively explains the emergence and development processes of the Universe known to us is the Big Bang theory. According to the widely accepted version today, there was originally a cosmological singularity - a state of infinite density and temperature. Physicists have developed a theoretical justification for the birth of the Universe from a point that had an extreme degree of density and temperature. After the Big Bang occurred, the space and matter of the Cosmos began an ongoing process of expansion and stable cooling. According to recent studies, the beginning of the universe was laid at least 13.7 billion years ago.

Starting periods in the formation of the Universe

The first moment, the reconstruction of which is allowed physical theories, is the Planck epoch, the formation of which became possible 10-43 seconds after the Big Bang. The temperature of the matter reached 10*32 K, and its density was 10*93 g/cm3. During this period, gravity gained independence, separating itself from the fundamental interactions. The continuous expansion and decrease in temperature caused a phase transition of elementary particles.

The next period, characterized by the exponential expansion of the Universe, came after another 10-35 seconds. It was called "Cosmic inflation". An abrupt expansion occurred, many times greater than usual. This period provided an answer to the question, why is the temperature at different points in the Universe the same? After the Big Bang, the matter did not immediately scatter throughout the Universe; for another 10-35 seconds it was quite compact and a thermal equilibrium was established in it, which was not disturbed by inflationary expansion. The period provided the basic material - quark-gluon plasma, used to form protons and neutrons. This process took place after a further decrease in temperature and is called “baryogenesis.” The origin of matter was accompanied by the simultaneous emergence of antimatter. The two antagonistic substances annihilated, becoming radiation, but the number of ordinary particles prevailed, which allowed the creation of the Universe.

The next phase transition, which occurred after the temperature decreased, led to the emergence of the elementary particles known to us. The era of “nucleosynthesis” that came after this was marked by the combination of protons into light isotopes. The first nuclei formed had short term existence, they decayed in inevitable collisions with other particles. More stable elements arose within three minutes after the creation of the world.

The next significant milestone was the dominance of gravity over other available forces. 380 thousand years after the Big Bang, the hydrogen atom appeared. The increase in the influence of gravity marked the end of the initial period of the formation of the Universe and started the process of the emergence of the first stellar systems.

Even after almost 14 billion years, cosmic microwave background radiation still remains in space. Its existence in combination with the red shift is cited as an argument to confirm the validity of the Big Bang theory.

Cosmological singularity

If, using the general theory of relativity and the fact of the continuous expansion of the Universe, we return to the beginning of time, then the size of the universe will be equal to zero. The initial moment or science cannot describe accurately enough using physical knowledge. The equations used are not suitable for such a small object. A symbiosis is needed that can combine quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity, but, unfortunately, it has not yet been created.

The evolution of the Universe: what awaits it in the future?

Scientists are considering two possible options development of events: the expansion of the Universe will never end, or it will reach a critical point and the reverse process will begin - compression. This fundamental choice depends on the magnitude medium density substances contained in its composition. If the calculated value is less than the critical value, the forecast is favorable; if it is more, then the world will return to a singular state. Scientists currently do not know the exact value of the described parameter, so the question of the future of the Universe is up in the air.

Religion's relationship to the Big Bang theory

The main religions of humanity: Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Islam, in their own way support this model of the creation of the world. Liberal representatives of these religious denominations agree with the theory of the emergence of the universe as a result of some inexplicable intervention, defined as the Big Bang.

The name of the theory, familiar to the whole world - “Big Bang” - was unwittingly given by the opponent of the version of the expansion of the Universe by Hoyle. He considered such an idea "totally unsatisfactory." After the publication of his thematic lectures, the interesting term was immediately picked up by the public.

The reasons that caused the Big Bang are not known with certainty. According to one of the many versions, belonging to A. Yu. Glushko, the original substance compressed into a point was a black hyper-hole, and the cause of the explosion was the contact of two such objects consisting of particles and antiparticles. During annihilation, matter partially survived and gave rise to our Universe.

Engineers Penzias and Wilson, who discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation of the Universe, received Nobel Prizes in physics.

The temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation was initially very high. After several million years, this parameter turned out to be within the limits that ensure the origin of life. But by this period only a few a large number of planets.

Astronomical observations and research help to find answers to the most important questions for humanity: “How did everything appear, and what awaits us in the future?” Despite the fact that not all problems have been solved, and the root cause of the appearance of the Universe does not have a strict and harmonious explanation, the Big Bang theory has gained sufficient quantity confirmations that make it the main and acceptable model of the emergence of the universe.

Mysteries of the Big Bang

Our Universe began 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang, and scientists have been trying to understand this phenomenon for generations.

At the end of the 20s of the 20th century, Edwin Hubble discovered that all the galaxies we see are flying apart - like fragments of a grenade after an explosion, at the same time the Belgian astronomer and theologian Georges Lemaitre put forward his hypothesis (in 1931 it was published in the pages of Nature ). He believes that the history of the universe began with the explosion of the “primary atom”, and this gave birth to time, space and matter (earlier, in the early 1920s, the Soviet scientist Alexander Friedman, analyzing Einstein’s equations, also came to the conclusion that “The universe was created from a point” and it took “tens of billions of our ordinary years”).

At first, astronomers decisively rejected the reasoning of the Belgian theologian. Because the Big Bang theory fit perfectly with Christian faith into God the Creator. For two centuries, scientists prevented the penetration into science of any religious speculation about the “beginning of all beginnings.” And now God, expelled from nature under the measured rocking of the wheels of Newtonian mechanics, unexpectedly returns. He is coming in the flames of the Big Bang, and it is difficult to imagine a more triumphant picture of his appearance.

However, the problem was not only in theology - the Big Bang did not obey the laws of the exact sciences. The most important point history of the Universe was beyond knowledge. At this singular (special) point located on the space-time axis, general theory relativity ceased to operate, because pressure, temperature, energy density and space curvature rushed to infinity, that is, they lost all physical meaning. At this point, all these seconds, meters and astronomical units disappeared, turned not into zero, not into negative values, but into their complete absence, into absolute meaninglessness. This point is a gap that cannot be overcome on the stilts of logic or mathematics, a hole right through in time and space.

It was not until the late 1960s that Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking convincingly showed that, within Einstein's theory, the Big Bang singularity was inevitable. However, this could not make the work of theorists easier. How to describe the Big Bang? What, for example, caused this event? After all, if there was no time before it at all, then it seems that there could not be a reason that gave rise to it.

As we now understand, to create a complete theory of the Big Bang, it is necessary to connect together Einstein's teaching, which describes space and time, with quantum theory, which deals with elementary particles and their interaction. Probably, more than one decade may pass before it is possible to do this and derive a single “formula of the universe.”

Where, for example, could that enormous amount of energy come from that gave rise to this explosion of incredible power? Perhaps our Universe inherited it from its predecessor, which collapsed into a singular point? However, then where did she get it from? Or was the energy spilled in the primordial vacuum, from which our Universe slipped out like a “bubble of foam”? Or do the Universes of the older generation transfer energy to the Universes of the younger generation through those singular points - in the depths of which, perhaps, new worlds are born that we will never see? Be that as it may, the Universe appears in such models “ open system”, which does not quite correspond to the “classical” picture of the Big Bang: “There was nothing, and suddenly the universe was born.”

The universe at the time of its formation was in an extremely dense and hot state.

Or is it possible, as some researchers believe, that our Universe is generally... devoid of energy, or rather, its total energy is zero? The positive energy of radiation emitted by matter is superimposed on the negative energy of gravity. Plus and minus equals zero. This notorious "0" seems to be the key to understanding the nature of the Big Bang. From it - from “zero”, from “nothing” - everything was instantly born. Accidentally. Spontaneously. Just. An insignificant deviation from 0 gave rise to a universal avalanche of events. The following comparison can be made: a stone ball, balancing on a thin, spire-like peak of some Chomolungma, suddenly swayed and rolled down, generating an “avalanche of events.”

1973 - physicist Edward Trion from America tried to describe the process of the birth of our Universe using the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, one of the fundamentals quantum theory. According to this principle, the more accurately we measure energy, for example, the more uncertain time becomes. So, if the energy is strictly zero, then the time can be arbitrarily large. So large that sooner or later a fluctuation will arise in the quantum vacuum from which the Universe is to be born. This will lead to the rapid expansion of space, seemingly out of nothing. “It’s just that Universes are born sometimes, that’s all,” Trion simply explained the background of the Big Bang. It was a big random explosion. That's all.

Could the Big Bang happen again?

Oddly enough, yes. We live in a universe that can still bear fruit and give birth to new worlds. Several models have been created that describe the “Big Bangs” of the future.

Why, for example, not new fluctuations appear in the same vacuum that gave birth to our Universe? Perhaps over these 13.7 billion years, countless worlds have appeared next to our universe, without any contact with each other. Different laws of nature operate in them, there are different physical constants. On most of these worlds, life could never have arisen. Many of them die immediately and experience collapse. But in some Universes - by pure chance! – conditions arise under which life can arise.

But the point is not only in the vacuum that exists before the beginning of “all times and peoples.” Fluctuations fraught with future worlds can also arise in the vacuum that is diffused in our Universe - more precisely, in the dark energy that fills it. This kind of model of a “renewing Universe” was developed by an American cosmologist, a native Soviet Union, Alexander Vilenkin. These new “big explosions” pose no threat to us. They will not destroy the structure of the Universe, will not burn it to the ground, but will only create a new space beyond the limits accessible to our observation and understanding. Perhaps similar “explosions”, marking the birth of new worlds, occur in the depths of the numerous black holes that dot the cosmos, believes American astrophysicist Lee Smolin.

Another native of the USSR living in the West, cosmologist Andrei Linde, believes that we ourselves are capable of creating a new Big Bang by collecting at some point in space a huge amount of energy exceeding a certain critical limit. According to his calculations, future space engineers could take an invisible pinch of matter - just a few hundredths of a milligram - and compact it to such an extent that the energy of this bunch would be 1015 gigalectronvolts. A tiny black hole is formed and begins to expand exponentially. This is how a “daughter Universe” will arise with its own space-time, rapidly separating from our Universe.

...There is a lot of fantastic stuff in the nature of the Big Bang. But the validity of this theory is proven by a number of natural phenomena. These include the expansion of the Universe that we observe, the distribution of chemical elements, as well as cosmic background radiation, which is called the “relic of the Big Bang.”

The world doesn't exist forever. It was born in the flames of the Big Bang. However, was it a unique phenomenon in the history of space? Or a recurring event, like the birth of stars and planets? What if the Big Bang is only a phase of transition from one state of Eternity to another?

Many physicists say that initially there was Something, not Nothing. Perhaps our Universe, like others, was born from an elementary quantum vacuum. But no matter how “minimally simple” such a state is—and the laws of physics do not allow it to be less than a quantum vacuum—it still cannot be called “Nothing.”

Perhaps the Universe we see is just another aggregate state of Eternity? And the bizarre arrangement of galaxies and galaxy clusters - something like a crystal lattice, which in the n-dimensional world that existed before the birth of our Universe had a completely different structure and which was possibly predicted by the “formula of everything” sought by Einstein? And will it be found in the coming decades? Scientists are intensely peering through the wall of the Unknown that has fenced off our universe, trying to understand what happened a moment before, according to our usual ideas, there was absolutely nothing. What forms of the Eternal Cosmos can be imagined, endowing time and space with those qualities that are unthinkable in our universe?

Among the most promising theories, into which physicists are trying to squeeze an entire Eternity, we can name the theory of quantum geometry, quantum spin dynamics or quantum gravity. The greatest contributors to their development were Abey Ashtekar, Ted Jacobson, Jerzy Lewandowski, Carlo Rovelli, Lee Smolin and Thomas Tiemann. All of these are the most complex physical structures, entire palaces built from formulas and hypotheses, just to hide the abyss hidden in their depths and darkness, the singularity of time and space.

Age of Singularity

The circuitous paths of new theories force us to step over truths that are obvious at first glance. Thus, in quantum geometry, space and time, previously infinitely crushed, suddenly break up into separate islands - portions, quanta, smaller than which there is nothing. All singular points can be embedded in these “blocks of stone.” Space-time itself turns into an interweaving of one-dimensional structures - a “network of spins”, that is, it becomes a discrete structure, a kind of chain woven from individual links.

The volume of the smallest possible loop of space is only 10-99 cubic centimeters. This value is so small that in one cubic centimeter there are much more quanta of space than those same cubic centimeters in the Universe we observe (its volume is 1085 centimeters per cube). Inside the quanta of space there is nothing, neither energy nor matter - just as inside a mathematical point - by definition - one cannot find either a triangle or an icosahedron. But if we apply the "submicroscopic fabric of the universe" hypothesis to describe the Big Bang, we get startling results, as Abey Ashtekar and Martin Bojowald of the University of Pennsylvania have shown.

If we replace the differential equations in the Standard Theory of Cosmology, which assume the continuous flow of space, with other differential equations, following from the theory of quantum geometry, then the mysterious singularity will disappear. Physics does not end where the Big Bang begins - this is the first encouraging conclusion of cosmologists who refused to accept the properties of the universe that we see as the ultimate truth.

The theory of quantum gravity suggests that our Universe (like all others) was born as a result of a random fluctuation in the quantum vacuum - a global macroscopic environment in which there was no time. Every time a fluctuation of a certain size occurs in the quantum vacuum, a new Universe is born. It “springs off” from the homogeneous environment in which it was formed and begins its own life. Now it has its own history, its own space, its own time, its own arrow of time.

IN modern physics created a number of theories showing how from an eternally existing environment, where there is no Macro-time, but at certain points in which micro-time flows, such a huge world as ours can arise.

For example, physicists Gabriele Veneziano and Maurizio Gasperini from Italy, within the framework of string theory, suggest that initially there was a so-called “string vacuum”. Random quantum fluctuations in it led to the energy density reaching a critical value, and this caused a local collapse. Which ended with the birth of our Universe from vacuum.

Using the theory of quantum geometry, Abey Ashtekar and Martin Bojowald showed that space and time can emerge from more primitive fundamental structures, namely “networks of spins.”

Eckhard Rebhan of the University of Düsseldorf and – independently – George Ellis and Roy Maartens of the University of Cape Town are developing the idea of ​​a “static universe”, which was considered by Albert Einstein and the British astronomer Arthur Eddington. In their quest to bypass the effects of quantum gravity, Rebhan and his colleagues came up with a spherical space in the middle of an eternal void (or, if you prefer, an empty eternity), where there is no time. Due to some instability, an inflationary process develops here, which leads to a hot Big Bang.

Of course, the listed models are speculative, but they fundamentally correspond to the current level of development of physics and the results of astronomical observations of the last few decades. In any case, one thing is clear. The Big Bang was more of an ordinary, natural event, and not the only one of its kind.

Will these kinds of theories help us understand what could have happened before the Big Bang? If the Universe was born, what gave birth to it? Where in modern theories does the “genetic imprint” of its parent appear in cosmology? 2005 - Abey Ashtekar, for example, published the results of his new calculations (Tomasz Pawlowski and Parampreet Singh helped to do them). From them it was clear that if the initial premises were correct, then the same space-time existed before the Big Bang as after this event. The physics of our universe, as if in a mirror, is reflected in the physics of the other world. In these calculations, the Big Bang, like a mirror screen, cut through Eternity, placing nearby the incompatible - nature and its reflection. And what is authenticity here, what is a ghost?

The only thing that can be seen “from the other side of the mirror glass” is that the Universe was not expanding at that time, but was contracting. The Big Bang became the point of its collapse. At this moment, space and time stopped for a moment in order to be reflected again - to continue - to rise like a phoenix in the world already familiar to us, the universe that we measure with our formulas, codes and numbers. The universe literally turned itself inside out, like a glove or a shirt, and has been steadily expanding ever since. The Big Bang was not, according to Ashtekar, “the creation of the entire Universe from Nothing,” but was only a transition from one dynamic form of Eternity to another. Perhaps the Universe is experiencing an endless series of “big bangs”, and these tens of billions (or whatever) years separating its individual phases are only periods of the “cosmic sine wave”, according to the laws of which the universe lives?

They say that time is the most mysterious matter. No matter how much a person tries to understand its laws and learn to control them, he always gets into trouble. Taking the last step towards the solution great mystery, and considering that it is practically already in our pocket, we are every time convinced that it is still just as elusive. However, man is an inquisitive creature and the search for answers to eternal questions for many becomes the meaning of life.

One of these secrets was the creation of the world. Followers of the “Big Bang Theory,” which logically explains the origin of life on Earth, began to wonder what happened before the Big Bang, and whether there was anything at all. The topic for research is fertile, and the results may be of interest to the general public.

Everything in the world has a past - the Sun, the Earth, the Universe, but where did all this diversity come from and what came before it?

It is hardly possible to give a definite answer, but it is quite possible to put forward hypotheses and look for evidence for them. In search of the truth, researchers have received not one, but several answers to the question “what happened before the Big Bang?” The most popular of them sounds somewhat discouraging and quite bold - Nothing. Is it possible that everything that exists came from nothing? That Nothing gave birth to everything that exists?

Actually, this cannot be called absolute emptiness and are there still some processes going on there? Was everything born from nothing? Nothingness is the complete absence of not only matter, molecules and atoms, but even time and space. Rich soil for the activity of science fiction writers!

Scientists' opinions about the era before the Big Bang

However, Nothing cannot be touched, ordinary laws do not apply to it, which means you either speculate and build theories, or try to create conditions close to those that resulted in the Big Bang and make sure your assumptions are correct. In special chambers from which particles of matter were removed, the temperature was lowered, bringing it closer to space conditions. The observation results provided indirect confirmation scientific theories: Scientists studied the environment in which the Big Bang could theoretically occur, but calling this environment “Nothing” turned out to be not entirely correct. The mini-explosions that occur could lead to a larger explosion that gave birth to the Universe.

Theories of universes before the Big Bang

Adherents of another theory argue that before the Big Bang there were two other Universes that developed according to their own laws. What exactly they were is difficult to answer, but according to the theory put forward, the Big Bang occurred as a result of their collision and led to the complete destruction of the previous Universes and, at the same time, to the birth of ours, which exists today.

The “compression” theory says that the Universe exists and has always existed; only the conditions of its development change, which lead to the disappearance of life in one region and the emergence in another. Life disappears as a result of the “collapse” and appears after the explosion. No matter how paradoxical it may sound. This hypothesis has a large number of supporters.

There is another assumption: as a result of the Big Bang, a new Universe arose from nothingness and inflated, like a soap bubble, to gigantic proportions. At this time, “bubbles” budded from it, which later became other Galaxies and Universes.

Theory " natural selection" suggests that we are talking about "natural cosmic selection", like the one Darwin talked about, only in a more large sizes. Our Universe had its own ancestor, and it, in turn, also had its own ancestor. According to this theory, our Universe was created by a Black Hole. and are of great interest to scientists. According to this theory, in order for a new Universe to appear, “reproduction” mechanisms are necessary. The Black Hole becomes such a mechanism.

Or maybe those who believe that as our Universe grows and develops is expanding, heading towards the Big Bang, which will be the beginning of a new Universe, are right. This means that once upon a time, an unknown and, alas, disappeared Universe became the progenitor of our new universe. The cyclical nature of this system looks logical and this theory has many adherents.

It is difficult to say to what extent the followers of this or that hypothesis came close to the truth. Everyone chooses what is closer in spirit and understanding. Religious world gives his answers to all questions and puts the picture of the creation of the world into a divine framework. Atheists are looking for answers, trying to get to the bottom of things and touch this very essence with their own hands. One may wonder what caused such persistence in searching for an answer to the question of what happened before the Big Bang, because it is quite problematic to derive practical benefit from this knowledge: a person will not become the ruler of the Universe, according to his word and desire, new stars will not light up and existing ones will not go out . But what is so interesting is what has not been studied! Humanity is struggling to solve mysteries, and who knows, maybe sooner or later they will fall into man’s hands. That's just how he is with these secret knowledge will he use it?

Illustrations: KLAUS BACHMANN, GEO magazine

(25 votes, average: 4,84 out of 5)

Big Bang

Big Bang. This is the name of the theory, or rather one of the theories, of the origin or, if you like, the creation of the Universe. The name is perhaps too frivolous for such a terrifying and awe-inspiring event. Especially frightening if you have ever asked yourself very difficult questions about the universe.

For example, if the Universe is all that is, then how did it begin? And what happened before that? If space is not infinite, then what is beyond it? And where should this something actually fit? How can we understand the word “infinite”?

These things are difficult to understand. Moreover, when you start to think about it, you get an eerie feeling of something majestic and terrible. But questions about the universe are one of the most important questions that humanity has asked itself throughout its history.

What was the beginning of the existence of the Universe?

Most scientists are convinced that the existence of the Universe began with a tremendous big explosion of matter that occurred about 15 billion years ago. For many years, most scientists shared the hypothesis that the beginning of the Universe was laid by a grand explosion, which scientists jokingly dubbed the “Big Bang.” In their opinion, all matter and all space, which is now represented by billions and millions of galaxies and stars, 15 billion years ago fit into a tiny space no larger than a few words in this sentence.

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How was the Universe formed?

Scientists believe that 15 billion years ago this small volume exploded into tiny particles smaller than atoms, giving rise to the existence of the Universe. Initially it was a nebula of small particles. Later, when these particles combined, atoms were formed. Star galaxies were formed from atoms. Since that Big Bang, the Universe has continued to expand, like an inflating balloon.

Doubts about the Big Bang Theory

But over the past few years, scientists studying the structure of the Universe have made several unexpected discoveries. Some of them question the Big Bang theory. What can you do, our world does not always correspond to our convenient ideas about it.

Distribution of matter during an explosion

One problem is the way matter is distributed throughout the universe. When an object explodes, its contents scatter evenly in all directions. In other words, if matter was initially compressed into a small volume and then exploded, then the matter should have been evenly distributed throughout the space of the Universe.

The reality, however, is very different from the expected ideas. We live in a very unevenly filled Universe. When looking into space, individual clumps of matter appear at a distance from each other. Huge galaxies are scattered here and there outer space. Between the galaxies there are huge areas of unfilled emptiness. For more high level galaxies are grouped into clusters - clusters, and these latter - into mega clusters. Be that as it may, scientists have not yet come to an agreement on the question of how and why exactly such structures were formed. In addition, a new, even more serious problem has recently arisen with everything.