HOW DID THE UNIVERSE BEGIN?

 

 

“First of all, the Big Bang wasn’t very big.Second of all, there was no bang. Third, the Big Bang Theory doesn’t tell you what banged, when it banged, how it banged. It just said it did bang. So the Big Bang theory in some sense is a total misnomer.”

–Michio Kaku 

The briefest answer to the question is The Big Bang created it. An ‘explosion’ created our universe. Well, that is an incomplete answer. The actual theory is much deeper than the ‘explosion creating everything’. 

 

Many religions and ideologies believe that the universe has existed for an infinite amount of time, and will continue to do so. Well, science has disproved that theory. The universe does have a definite origin. It has not existed forever. Twoobservations supporting this theory are: 

 

1) In the early 20th century, a scientist named Edwin Hubble concluded that the universe was expanding. He was looking at stars through a telescope and he noticed that the light from the stars was red-shifted. It means that the stars appearredder than they actually are. Red-shift only takes place when objects are moving away from the observer at high velocities. 

 

This would imply that the stars, galaxies and everything was moving away from each other. Prior to this discovery, it was assumed that the universe wasn’t expanding. However, if the universe is expanding it can be safely assumed that it must be concentrated at one point in the past. This would further imply that the universe had a beginning when it was concentrated at a single point of infinite density. On calculating, it was found that the universe did have a specific time of origin. Our universe is 13.8 billion years old, with an error of +/- 1%. 

 

2) Some stars are millions of light years away from us. This means that the light would take millions of light years to reach us. It means that the stars you see at night are how they looked many light years ago. 

 

If our universe had existed for an infinite amount of time, all the light would’ve reached us by now and our night would be as bright as the day. In a nutshell, the universe would be uniformly bright. The amount of light anywhere in the universe would be the same. But there is still light from stars we are still receiving. This means that our universe had an origin. 

 

 

The Big Bang: 

 

A misconception amongst people is that the universe ‘exploded’ into existence at the moment of the Big Bang. But the Big Bang wasn’t an explosion. The Big Bang is actually the expansion of space. There was nothing before the Big Bang. No time, no space, nothing. The idea that our existence came from nothing is absurd but it is true. Stephen Hawking stated that asking what existed before the Bang is like asking ‘Where is the south of the South Pole?’ It doesn’t exist. 

 

But it still doesn’t answer the question:’ What happened that created the universe?’ 

Well, physicists still cannot answer that question. Our equations break down the moment the Big Bang took place as time did not exist before the Bang. Scientists are using string theory among other theories to try and figure out what happened prior to the Big Bang. 

 

So, we know that the Big Bang created the universe. But we still do not what caused it. Maybe it was due to the collision of two universes. Or the annihilation of antimatter and matter. Or maybe something else entirely.

The 3 types of Civilisations

It all started with the discovery of fire, a few million years ago. Humanity has been discovering and inventing things ever since. The last few centuries though are the most important in the history of humanity. Calculus, relativity, quantum physics, electronics, atomic energy, biotechnology, cryptocurrency, medicine, robotics, engineering and so many more have developed over the years. However, the question is: What type of civilisation are we compared to the amount of energy we consume?

Russian astrophysicist Dr Nikolai Kardashev prepared what is known as the ‘Kardashev Scale’ to measure the technological advancement of a civilisation based on the amount of energy it can use. He classified the civilisations into 3 types:

1) Type 1 civilisation( planetary civilisation):
This type of civilisation can use all of the energy it obtains from its parent star. They can control any planetary level event. These civilisations can easily control tsunamis, snowstorms, earthquakes etcetera. Controlling anything planetary is a plaything for such civilisations. These civilisations require about 10^16 watts of power.

2) Type 2 civilisation( stellar civilisation):
This type of civilisation harnesses all of the energy produced by its parent star. One of the ways of tapping into this energy is by constructing a Dyson Sphere around the star. This sphere surrounds an entire star to tap into its energy. This concept is still a thought experiment as building something as vast as a sphere in space, completely encompassing the star is beyond today’s engineering techniques. These types of civilisations use about 10^26 watts of power. ‘The Enterprise’ from Star Trek is a Type 2 civilisation.

3) Type 3 civilisation( galactic civilisation):
This civilisation taps into the energy of millions of stars in its parent galaxy to fulfil its energy requirements. These civilisations consume about 10^36 watts of power. ‘The Empire’ from Star Wars can be said to be a Type 3 civilisation.

Our civilisation is still a Type 0 civilisation.  Our energy consumption is about 10^12 watts while a Type 1 civilisation requires a 10^16 watts of power. According to theoretical physicist and futurist Dr Michio Kaku, we will become a Type 1 civilisation in about 100 years. By the next century, we will use all the energy provided by the sun. As for the Type 2 and Type 3 civilisations, it will take us some time to reach there. But we will.

The formula for calculating the type of civilisation; P denotes Power

The figure of a Dyson Swarm

The 3 types of civilisations

Black Holes In a Nutshell

If we talk about a star, whose mass, is a few times our sun’s mass, the energy produced by the star would be massive. The energy is produced due to the thermonuclear processes taking place inside the star. The star could break apart because of the tremendous energy produced, but it doesn’t, because the force of gravity balances it out. While the nuclear force tries to break the star apart, gravity keeps the star intact. After billions of years, however, when the star runs out of fuel, gravity is the only force acting on it, since the star doesn’t have nuclear fuel. The star collapses under its own gravity. It shrinks smaller and smaller, to the point where its density becomes infinite. The math behind this is: Density is equal to mass by volume. In this case, the volume of the star decreases, while keeping the same mass. As a result, the density increases, since density and volume are inversely related to each other. When the density of the star becomes infinite, it shrinks to a very small point which is called a singularity. The gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong, that not even light can escape it, and it distorts the space-time around it. Since it does not reflect light or any other electromagnetic radiation it cannot be seen.

Theoretically, any body can be converted into a black hole, if its entire mass can be compressed in a very tiny volume. The radius, beyond which, the density of an object becomes infinite, is called the ‘schwarzschild radius’. The schwarzschild radius of Mt. Everest is around 1 nanometer. Practically, compressing a body into such a small area is not possible. However, it is possible for stars because of their gravitational pull.

A non-rotating black hole has 3 basic parts:

1) The photon sphere:
This is the outermost part of a black hole. Light entering the photon sphere, does not get sucked in, but it cannot escape either.It actually orbits around a black hole, which gives it the name ‘photon sphere.’

2) The event horizon:
This is an imaginary belt of a black hole. It marks the point of ‘no return.’ Even if light enters the horizon, it gets sucked in. Any activity occurring beyond this point cannot be witnessed by the outer world as the gravity is so strong the light cannot come out of it.

3) The singularity:
This is the final stage of a black hole where the gravity becomes infinite. This part of a black hole is completely mysterious, since there is no way of observing it. An object entering it, is lost forever. However, scientists say that information of an object can never be lost, which leads to the theory that the singularity could lead to another part of space or another universe, but for now, not much is known.

If a person is falling into a black hole, with the outside world observing him, they will notice the following things:

When the person is passing through the photon sphere, the outside world will notice that the speed at which the person is falling, decreases continuously. The light being reflected by the person, is highly red-shifted.The flow of time slows down for the person travelling through the black hole, although he would feel that time is ticking normally for him, although it continuously slows down.

When the person reaches the event horizon, the light would completely be absorbed by the extreme gravity, thus the outside world would never see the person cross the horizon. For the outside world, the person is lost forever, and information can make it to the outside world.

As the person descends towards the singularity, the gravity is so strong that the person is stretched apart and the person’s individual atoms and molecules are separated before he even make it to the singularity. This process is called ‘spaghettification.’

FAITH AND NIHILISM

 

Photo by Thais Cordeiro on Pexels.com

 

 

 

“What is the truth, but a lie agreed upon.” 
-Friedrich Nietzsche

I often contemplate and question the reality in which we exist. The rules and laws that we observe, the ‘certain way’ we are expected to behave in society, things that we label as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and others. If you think closely, these rules are made by man himself through millennia of his existence.  The laws that make our Constitution, the distinction we make between what is right and what is wrong, are all based on the scenario and the circumstance of our society, and the perception of it by us.  It is our perception and belief, among other things, that leads us to make the distinction between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. If you start analyzing each situation this way you will realize that the ideology we currently follow, the segregation of things into right and wrong, is all so fragile. 

So the question arises: Are there a fixed set of laws which would always hold true regardless of our interpretation and belief? Well, there are laws that arise from and govern nature itself, like the laws of physics. These laws are not subject to our beliefs or emotions. For example, the speed of light being the universal speed limit, or the uncertainty involved in measuring the velocity of an electron. These laws control the entire universe so they cannot be violated by us. 

In summary, there are two types of laws: 
1) The natural law which is extremely sacred. It cannot be violated or altered and is independent of any and all entities. These laws have existed ever since the start of the universe. They govern everything from the motion of atoms to the expansion of the universe. Since these laws were never made by us, the possibility of them being subject to our interpretation or sentiment or belief goes out of the window. 

 

 

 

 

 Credits to the owner (John Atkinson,Wrong Hands)

 

2) The second type is the law is made by us; by human beings. These laws are based  on perception, faith, ethics, society, circumstances, superstitions, et cetera. Essentially, wouldn’t this mean that everything around us, in actuality, is false. Doesn’t it mean that there is no absolute truth? Ironic, isn’t it? Now, it is not possible to always view the world in such  philosophical fashion. The intention of this article is not to change one’s current perception into something so dangerously philosophical, or to show that life is meaningless, but to make one more aware about everything around them. To enable one to think beyond the ordinary. To question and reason things. If a person ceases to believe in rules set by society and dismisses any form of faith because life is essentially meaningless, the person would end up a nihilist. And I believe that faith is the only thing that separates existentialism from nihilism. And I believe that faith is a very important virtue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW DID THE UNIVERSE BEGIN?

“First of all, the Big Bang wasn’t very big. Second of all, there was no bang.Third, the Big Bang Theory doesn’t tell you what banged, when it banged, how it banged. It just said it did bang. So the Big Bang theory in some sense is a total misnomer.

-Michio Kaku

 

 

The briefest answer to the above question is that The Big Bang created it. The universe ‘exploded’ into existence. Well, that answer is incomplete and only partly true. 

 

A number of religions and ideologies believe that the universe has existed for an infinite amount of time and will continue to do so. Science has disproved that theory. The universe does have a definite origin. It has not existed for an eternity. The two observations supporting this that prove that the universe is not eternal are: 

1)  In the early 20th century, a scientist named Edwin Hubble concluded that the universe was expanding. While observing stars through his telescope, he noticed that the light from the stars was being red-shifted. This means that the stars appear redder than they actually are. Red-shift takes place only when an object is moving away from the observer at high velocities. 

 

    This would mean that stars, galaxies, and everything else is moving away from each other. It means that space itself is expanding. Prior to this discovery, it was assumed that the universe wasn’t expanding. However, since the universe is expanding it can be safely assumed that it must have been concentrated at one point in the past. This would mean that had a beginning when it was concentrated at a single point of infinite density. On calculating, it was found that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, with an error of ±1%.

2)  If the universe existed since infinity, all the light from distant bodies would have reached us. Our night sky would be as bright as the day as the brightness at any place in the universe would be the same. But we are still receiving light from objects that are millions of light years away. This also supports the fact that the universe had a definite beginning.

THE BIG BANG:

  Most people believe that the Big Bang was an explosion that created the universe. The Big Bang wasn’t an explosion. The point at which space itself came into existence is called the Big Bang.    

So, what caused the Big Bang? 

Physicists still do not know. Our equations break down at the instant of the Bang as time did not exist prior to it. So there was nothing before the Big Bang. No time, no space, nothing. Creation itself  came out of nothing. The idea that such a vast universe came out of nowhere is strange but it is what it is.

According to Stephen Hawking, asking what existed prior to the Big Bang is like looking for the south of the South Pole. It does not exist.

Scientists are using String Theory, amongst others to figure out what happened before the Big Bang.

In short, we know that the Big Bang created the universe. But what triggered the Big Bang? We still do not know that. Maybe the Big Bang took place due to the collision of two universes. Or maybe it was the annihilation of matter and antimatter. Or maybe something else entirely.

 

 

 

 

 

How Will It All End?

In 1929 astronomer Edwin Hubble, while observing the night sky noticed that the galaxies and the stars were red-shifted. As time passed, the red shift increased . This phenomenon led to the conclusion that the universe was expanding. How did Hubble come to this conclusion? As objects move away from each other the light emitted from the objects move towards the red end of the spectrum. Think of it this way: if a vehicle with a siren is moving towards a person, the intensity of the sound would be different when it is moving towards him as compared to the intensity of the sound emitted as the siren moves away from the person. Same happens in the case of light. As the object moves away from the observer, the red-shift increases too. The universe is expanding due to something called ‘dark energy.’ ‘Dark Energy’ is an unknown from of energy which is believed to be the driving force behind the expansion of the universe. The dark energy pushes galaxies away from each other. Like dark matter, dark energy is something which scientists are still working on since its working and interaction is still unknown.

The universe is accelerating at a tremendous rate, and it isn’t slowing down. In fact, its speed is increasing. Scientists have proposed 3 potential theories about the end of the universe:

• The Big Rip:

If the universe accelerates at the current rate, the dark energy would at one point overcome the force of gravity. Dark energy would be so powerful that galaxies would move away from each other at greater than light speed. The Earth’s skies would be completely black because the universe would be expanding so fast that light from stars wouldn’t be able to make it to the Earth. At one point, even atoms and sub-atomic particles would start separating from each other and finally the fabric of space-time and space-time continuum would break apart due to the tremendous force of dark energy.

• The Big Crunch:

What if the rate at which the universe is expanding slows down, comes to a halt, and then gravity takes over? This is what ‘The Big Crunch’ is. It suggests that the universe would stop expanding and start to contract. In the end the entire universe could shrink back to a tiny little point just like it all started. Once it shrinks back to a small point it explodes causing another big bang and the formation of another universe. If this theory is true it could prove something else too: History repeats itself.

• The Big Freeze:

What if the universe would expand infinitely without breaking of the space-time continuum or shrinking and exploding into another universe? That would certainly be reasurring but that’s not ‘The Big Freeze.’ The universe would certainly expand till infinity but it would start getting colder. At one point it would grow so cold that life cannot exist. Even stars would freeze at one point. The universe would grow so cold, that at one point, life simply cannot exist. The temperature of the universe would tend to absolute zero i.e. 0K.

These are the 3 potential theories but there is a lot we do not know about dark energy, the way it interacts and the way it works, so there is no way of accurately predicting the ‘End Of The Universe’ as of now.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton