The Big Bang Theory

Unit 1
Earth and Space Science
 Theories of How the Universe Began
✩ One alternative theory is the Steady State universe. An early rival to the Big Bang theory, Steady State
posits continuous creation of matter throughout the universe to explain its apparent expansion. This type
of universe would be infinite, with no beginning or end. However, a mountain of evidence found since the
mid-1960s indicates that this theory is not correct.
✩ Another alternative is the Eternal Inflation theory. After the Big Bang, the universe expanded rapidly
during a brief period called inflation. The Eternal Inflation theory posits that inflation never stopped, and
has been going on for an infinite length of time. Somewhere, even now, new universes are coming into
existence in a vast complex called the multiverse. Those many universes could have different physical
laws.
✩ The Oscillating model of the universe involved an endless series of Big Bangs, followed by Big Crunches
that restarted the cycle, endlessly. The modern cyclic model involves colliding "branes" (a "membrane"
within a higher-dimensional volume called the "bulk").
✩ Implications found in quantum gravity and string theory tantalizingly suggest a universe that is in reality
nothing like how it appears to human observers. It may actually be a flat hologram projected onto the
surface of a sphere, for example. Or it could be a completely digital simulation running in a vast computer.
✩ The Creation Theory states that a supreme being known as God created the universe. Evidence of this can
be found in the Bible.
From: Space.com
 Introduction to the Big BANG
☆ Have you ever thought how the universe was formed?
☆ Look up into the starry sky. On a clear night, you can see so many stars in the sky.
☆ Some are bright, and the others are so faint that you can barely see them. Where did they all come
from?

☆ People always wondered about the origin of the universe.

☆ Most scientists believe that the universe was formed about 14 billion years ago as a tiny, dense, hot ball
of material that exploded with tremendous force.
☆ This theory is known as the Big Bang theory.
 THe big bang Theory
☆ Let us see how the universe began, according to the Big Bang theory.
 THe big bang Theory
☆ The Big Bang theory is one of the most accepted theories of modern
science.
☆ According to the Big Bang theory, nothing existed in the universe before
the big bang.
☆ A tiny point or bubble that was far smaller than an atom, but hotter and
denser than anything else we can imagine, suddenly exploded, and the
universe was born.
☆ When the Big Bang happened, it let loose huge amounts of energy into
the universe.
☆ Inside the universe, the energy went zipping around all over the place.
☆ Within seconds, the universe grew from smaller than a single atom, to
bigger than a galaxy.
☆ Time, space, and matter were all formed out of that sheer energy.
☆ It kept on growing at a fantastic rate; in fact, it is still expanding today.
☆ The cosmos has been expanding outward from the explosion for about
14 billion years.
☆
The Big bang Theory
The early universe was a very hot and densely packed matter
enclosing a few millimeters.
☆ Later, this huge mass exploded, and it started to expand and
cool gradually.
☆ It is thought that the universe formed from the tiny, dense,
intensely hot center.
☆ The Big Bang theory explains how the stars and planets
formed.
☆ It also explains why most of the matter in the universe is made
of hydrogen and helium, and why the universe seems to be
expanding in all directions.
☆ Most of all, it attempts to explain the origin of the universe
itself.
☆ Initially, the hydrogen and helium expanded and formed
enormous clouds.
☆ The rate of the expansion was important: if the universe had
expanded more rapidly, only the hydrogen would have formed.
☆ If the universe had expanded at a less rapid pace, the more
STages in the formation of the universe
1. The universe was formed and became gaseous, nebular
clouds.
2. The condensation of clouds occurred due to the gravitational
force. Due to this condensation, the temperature rose to about
15 million degrees. The nuclear fusion reactions began at this
temperature. The gas and dust particles became luminous
stars.
3. These clouds of hydrogen initiated the formation of galaxies.
4. The hydrogen atoms underwent fusion and formed other
elements.
☆
The Big bang Theory
Here, the balloon represents the universe.
☆ Mark spots on the balloon to represent the galaxies in the universe.
☆ As you blow up the balloon, the galaxies move further apart.
☆ This is an example of how an expanding universe appears to us.
☆ The main drawback of the Big Bang Theory was it didn't explain what caused
the initial expansion.
☆ Why do scientists believe that the universe is expanding?
☆ If you look up at the night sky, you will see fuzzy patches.
☆ They are the galaxies beyond our own, and their study has helped us to
understand that the Universe is expanding.
☆ The different pieces of evidence of the expanding Universe include Redshift,
Hubble's law and Doppler Effect
 Redshift
☆ Redshift is one of the major pieces of evidence
for the Big Bang theory.
☆ As the galaxies appear to move away from us,
their light waves are stretched and appear to
be redder.
☆ This phenomenon is called the redshift. This
happens to the light from all stars.
☆ This is because all stars are moving away from
us as the universe expands.
☆ However, when a galaxy appears to approach
us, its light waves become shorter and bluer.
 Hubble’s Law
☆ A great American astronomer and scientist named
Edwin Hubble spread out the light observed from
each galaxy into a spectrum.
☆ He found that spectral lines of light from the other
galaxies were moving toward the red color, which
showed that they were moving away from us.
☆ The galaxies appear to move away from us at a speed
proportional to their distance.
☆ Hence, the farther a galaxy, the faster it is receding
from the Earth.
☆ This is called Hubble's law.
☆ This observation supports the expansion of the
universe and suggests the universe was once
compacted.
 Doppler Effect
☆ The Doppler Effect is an apparent change in wavelength of any wave
motion caused by the changing relative position of an observer versus
the wave source.
☆ Light waves emitted from stars can also exhibit the Doppler Effect.
☆ The combination of wavelengths of light is called the spectrum of light.
☆ Shorter wavelengths bend more than larger wavelengths.
☆
Doppler Effect
We use the spectrum of light from a star or a galaxy to determine whether the object
is moving away from us.
☆ When a star is moving away from the Earth, the light it emits appears redder than it
actually is, because its wavelength appears longer.
☆ This is called redshift. Stars moving closer to the Earth have their light waves shifted
toward the blue or shorter wavelengths of the spectra.
☆ This type of shift is a blue shift.
 Vocabulary
● Big Bang theory: The theory which states that the universe was
formed by the explosion of a dense, hot, and massive ball of material.
● Doppler effect: The apparent change in wavelength of any wave
motion caused by the changing relative position of an observer versus
the wave source.
● Hubble's law: A law which states that the spectral lines from other
galaxies are changing towards the red color, showing that the galaxies
move away from us (our universe).
● Redshift: The phenomenon where the galaxies appear to move away
from us with their light waves stretched (longer) and appearing to be
more red.
Fin.