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Loading...Did the universe suddenly appear out of nothing? Probably not even though many physicists believe it did.
They believe this because observations made by Edwin Hubble indicate all distant galaxies and clusters have an apparent velocity directed away from our vantage point: the farther away, the higher the apparent velocity. The observation that the distance between galactic clusters is increasing today means that everything must have been closer together in the past.
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Seeing the First Light
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Many physicists and cosmologists have taken this concept to the extreme by assuming that in the past the universe originated from a one-dimensional point or singularity, as they like to call it. However, this point could not "contain" three-dimensional space because according to their theories it was created by a very rapid expansion of this one-dimensional point. In other words, they assume the universe and three-dimensional space was created out of nothingness of a one-dimensional point.
This idea has come to be called the Big Bang Theory of cosmic evolution, which for the past 25 years has given us a complete description of the forces that shape our universe. Its predictions have matched experimental data, decimal place for decimal place; with such amazing precision, that many scientists believe that it is the only possible explanation for its beginning.
However, recent observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe-Ia), suggests another possible explanation for its origin because they show the expansion of the universe is accelerating. This means there exists an expansive force or energy that opposes the contractive gravitational forces of the mass.
Scientists call it Dark Energy because they have been unable to define or "see" a source responsible for it.
Nevertheless, they do know an oppositely directed relationship exists between mass and energy because the asymmetry of the equation E=mc^2 defining their relationship tells us that when the thermo energy in a closed system increase the mass in that system must decrease. .
Therefore, due to the asymmetry between the quantity of mass and energy in the universe we should expect an asymmetry between the quantity of forces those systems contain. In other words, we would expect a force to be generated internal to mass that opposes the increasing gravitational forces as an objects mass density increases.
But the existence of Dark Energy also gives one the ability to define a mechanism for the existence of our present universe without having to assume that it was created from nothing.
According to the General Theory of Relativity, gravitational forces would cause a complete collapse of the universe to a one-dimensional point if there were no other forces to contact them. However, as was just mention we now know a force called Dark Energy exists that counteracts gravitational forces.
This means space may not have originated from the expansion of a single one-dimensional point but form an extended three-dimensional volume.
Granted scientists have not determined if the total gravitational forces in the universe are large enough to cause it to contract. However, if it did, the heat generated by its collapse will result in much its mass to be converted to expansive thermo energy. But, as mentioned earlier due to asymmetry of be mass and energy the increasing mass density of a collapsing universe will result in increase relative repulsive forces of Dark energy with respect to its gravitational forces.
Therefore, at some point a collapsing universe must begin to expand because the expansive forces of the thermo energy generated by its collapse reduces its total gravitational mass while the expansive forces of dark energy associated with the remaining mass increase as its density increase.
This means there will be point in time where the expansive forces associated with the thermo energy caused by its collapsed and the repulsive dark energy associated with its increasing mass density will exceed the momentum of its collapses and it will begin to expand.
However, this means the space contained in our present universe may not have been created out of the "nothingness" of a one-dimensional point as many scientists believe but out a re-expansion of a previous universe after it had collapsed to a finite volume. This also means it may be possible to define the reasons why our universe is the way it is based what came before its creation by using the presently accepted physical laws of nature and observations of our present environment.
This conclusion is supported by the observation made by Marc Kamionkowski, Caltech’s Robinson Professor of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics in the Dec 16, 2008 Scientific Frontline article "Researchers Interpret Asymmetry in Early Universe"
"But the perturbation (in the CBR) that the researchers introduced (observed) may also offer the first glimpse at what came before the Big Bang, because it could be an imprint inherited from the time before inflation." All of that stuff is hidden by a veil, observationally," Kamionkowski says." If our model holds up, we may have a chance to see beyond this veil (of the Big Bang)."
Later Jeff
The "Shadows" of four spatial dimensions
Copyright 2009 Jeffrey O’Callaghan
(In a PDF format)
Incredible site!