![]() ![]() ![]() There are infinite possible curvature values that the universe might have had. This is fortuitous: You might not be reading this if the curvature were otherwise. Our universe is approximately “flat,” meaning that the rules you learned in geometry class, such as parallel lines never meet, apply everywhere. One was the universe’s spatial curvature - a measure of how initially parallel beams of light diverge as they propagate. By the 1970s, several fissures had emerged, calling the accuracy of the Big Bang into question. Furthermore, no one knew what had caused the Big Bang to begin its prodigious expansion. As far back as the 1940s, cosmologists recognized serious flaws in the theory’s narrative. The Big Bang wasn’t without its contrivances. The inflationary universe is a theory of the ‘bang’ of the Big Bang.” Ironing out the details Alan Guth, who began developing the theory in 1979, wrote in his book The Inflationary Universe that “the standard Big Bang theory says nothing about what banged, why it banged, or what happened before it banged. The most popular model for what preceded it is inflation. ![]() BBN is currently the last epoch of certainty, the final stage in reverse cosmic history where the underlying forces of nature were similar to physics accessible to modern-day particle accelerators.īeyond BBN lies speculation. The Big Bang theory describes the era starting when the lightest elements were formed - called Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN see “The emergence of matter,” page 18) - until today, where distant objects are receding at great velocities. But what happened before the Big Bang may have laid the foundations for what came after. Stephen Hawking considered this inquiry pointless, like asking “What’s south of the South Pole?” While often conflated, the Big Bang and the origin of time are distinct epochs. But they are less sure of what came before. This story comes from our special January 2021 issue, “The Beginning and the End of the Universe.” Click here to purchase the full issue.Ĭosmologists are confident the Big Bang accurately describes the universe we see today. ![]()
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