I see lots of misinformation about the ‘Big Bang’ among the general people. They tend to argue without knowing what the ‘Big Bang’ is. Here are some myths about the ‘Big Bang’ and its science.
Big Bang is a big explosion – Myth – There was no explosion like a bomb or ‘bang’ at the Big Bang – Even though the name sounds like; no two massive objects collided at the universe’s birth.
So, what is the Big Bang theory?
The theory states that the entire universe was confined to a small dot. There was no space/time in the beginning. Energy and matter were technically the same. The small, extremely hot dot expanded (and is still expanding like a balloon), giving birth to space/time, which led to the formation of galaxies and stars we see today.
How do we know the universe was a tiny dot?
Because the universe is still expanding, it won’t be completely wrong to assume that the universe started from a tiny dot.
How do we know the universe is expanding?
By observing deep space objects. Light coming from those objects appears red. This is called redshift – the wavelength of light gets stretched, making them appear more in red in color.
The universe is infinite – While it is true that astronomers in the past thought the universe was infinite, it is not our understanding now. The size of the observable universe is 93 billion light-years.
The universe always existed – No universe never ‘always’ existed. The age of the universe is 14 billion years. (Read about Hubble’s constant how did science calculate the age of the universe)
Science says there is no God – Myth. All we know is that the universe started from nothing. We don’t know what lies beyond the universe or what triggered the Big Bang, what was before Big Bang, and what the universe is expanding into.
Above all, Big Bang is a THEORY that most scientists and astronomers widely accepted across the globe. It is not a PROVEN LAW yet.
We could be completely wrong about it, but Big Bang is the closest answer to our questions with all our data.
If you ask why the universe is 14 billion years old and 93 BLY wide, that means the universe expanded faster than the speed of light?
Yes. The universe expanded exponentially at the Big Bang, faster than the speed of light. But no physical entity (matter, energy, or photons) ever traveled. It was the space that expanded. So technically, nothing traveled faster than the speed of light.
Source:
- “Big Bang” by Kurzgesagt
- “The Big Bang and expansion of the universe” – NASA
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings