How Did the Universe Begin?

ost major scientific theories come with the

names of great scientific figures firmly attached to them. If someone says gravity the name of Sir Isaac Newton pops instantly to mind. Evolution? Charles arwin. !elativity? "l#ert Einstein. $ut when the words $ig $ang are spo%en& no such name offers itself for convenient tagging. 'or the past few decades the $ig $ang model has #een widely accepted #y cosmologists as the standard e(planation of how the universe #egan& set forth in te(t#oo%s and generalinterest maga)ines ali%e. Nonetheless& the concept is not associated with any one great scientist. "t times it has #een somewhat naughtily suggested #y opponents of the theory that no one really wants to ta%e credit for it. Indeed& the very term Big Bang was coined #y one of its fiercest opponents& $ritish astronomer Sir 'red *oyle& as a way of lampooning the entire idea+#ut the name stuc% anyway. In ,--.& science author /imothy 'erris& astronomer Carl Sagan& and television reporter *ugh owns were the judges for an international competition to come up with a #etter name for the theory. "s 'erris notes in his ,--0 #oo% The Whole Shebang, nothing #etter was found among ,.&1-- entries from 2, countries. 5 /he concept had its #eginnings in a proposal #y 3eorges 4emaitre& a $elgian monsignor of the Catholic Church& who #ecame fascinated #y physics and gained a 5h. . from the 6assachusetts Institute of /echnology in ,-70 at age ... /hat same year& 4emaitre theori)ed that Einstein8s laws of gravitation& spelled out in his ,-,9 general theory of relativity& implied that the universe must #e e(panding at the same rate everywhere and in all directions. 4emaitre further suggested that the universe had #egun in the e(plosion of a primeval atom that contained all the matter in the universe. Edwin *u##le8s su#se:uent discovery that distant gala(ies were moving away from us and from one another in all directions& at speeds proportional to their distance from our own 6il%y ;ay gala(y& gave further credence to 4emaitre8s theory. *u##le had not #een aware of 4emaitre8s concept& #ut the e(pansion of the universe& which he documented in ,-7-& nevertheless served to get more astronomers thin%ing a#out an initial e(plosion of some %ind that could have created sufficient energy to create an e(panding universe. In the ,-21s& physicists intrigued with the concept of an initial e(plosion theori)ed that immediately following such an event&

the resulting plasma would have #een far hotter than the interior of any star now e(isting& #ut it would have cooled over time& while still retaining at least a small amount of warmth. /he residue of this process& they suggested& would create a thic% ha)e that would still e(ist. /his theory of what is now called the cosmic microwave #ac%ground& or C6$& meant that the farther out in space <and #ac% in time= we loo%ed& the thic%er the ha)e should #e. /his idea was largely ignored at the time #ecause most astronomers and physicists didn8t ta%e the $ig $ang theory very seriously& and in any case& there was no way to measure the C6$ or confirm its e(istence. In ,->9& however& "rno 5en)ias and !o#ert ;ilson of $ell 4a#oratories announced that they had detected a steady hiss of C6$ radiation& which they had discovered #y accident while developing a receiver for the first communications satellite& /elstar. /hat changed the thin%ing of a great many cosmologists. /he $ig $ang had #een just another untesta#le theory #efore ,->9& #ut now there was evidence of the %ind of residue that such an initial 6 UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF SCIENCE How Did the Universe Begin? 7 e(plosion should have created. ;hile many important scientists were converted to the theory of the $ig $ang at this point& far more evidence was needed to #ac% it up. Several predictions a#out the nature of a possi#le C6$ had #een made in the ,-21s and ,-91s. Investigations had calculated that it should have a temperature of a#out . degrees a#ove a#solute )ero+the slight warmth that would remain after the cooling that allowed matter to coalesce out of the initial e(plosion. /hat warmth should also #e isotropic+meaning& as /imothy 'erris has put it& that any o#server& anywhere in the universe& should measure the #ac%ground as having the same temperature everywhere in the s%y. "lso& :uantum physics appeared to demand that the C6$ display a black body spectrum, emitting a ma(imum thermal radiation at a wavelength determined #y its temperature+a spectrum that could #e measured using specific :uantum e:uations. "s the importance of the C6$ #ecame clear& the National "eronautics and Space "dministration <N"S"= was persuaded to launch a microwave satellite designed to measure this cosmic #ac%ground. 'ree of the distortions of the Earth8s atmosphere& the Cosmic $ac%ground E(plorer <C?$E= was e(pected to #e a#le to peer #ac% in time to the point a#out 911&111 years after $ig $ang& when the universe cooled sufficiently to allow pure energy to start forming mass& thus ma%ing it possi#le for light to #e released. 4aunched in ,-@-& C?$E more than lived up to the hopes of cosmologists& providing evidence that the C6$ was indeed isotropic& and that its temperature was close to . degrees a#ove a#solute )ero <7.07>A B=. 6oreover& it conformed to the e(pected #lac%#ody spectrum e:uations with astonishing precision. $y ,--7& an allCs%y map compiled #y the C?$E satellite had also su#stantiated another predictionD 6atter& once it #egan to

form from the cooling gases of the $ig $ang& did so in clumps that would ultimately give #irth to gala(ies filled with individual stars. /his was in line with the idea that microscopic :uantum fluctuations in the early universe would distur# the generally homogeneous distri#ution of matter. In homespun terms& we are dealing with just slightly lumpy gravy+the flour is almost #ut not :uite evenly distri#uted& and although the lumps may #e few& they stand out. $ac% in ,-.-& *ans $ethe& an "merican physicist& had shown that the heavy elements <in terms of their atomic weight= could #e manufactured within the stars. /hese elements& of which the mass of planets and our #odies are composed& ma%e up only 7E of the total mass of the universe. /he rest is composed of a#out 09E hydrogen and 7.E helium& with a trace of lithium. /hese light elements would have to have #een created in the $ig $ang& physicists calculated& in order to e(plain the a#undance of hydrogen and the ratio of hydrogen to helium in the stars. /he conversion of hydrogen into helium in the Sun alone releases 2 million tons of energy per second& and that process would create far more energy if the hydrogenFhelium #alance had not #een esta#lished #y the $ig $ang itself. /he heavier elements that were smelted in stellar furnaces would ultimately #e thrown out into space& it was #elieved& to seed the universe with the raw materials of solid matter. /he oldest stars& it followed& should retain less of the heavy elements #ecause they would have #een ejecting them for so long+which is just what was ultimately o#served as new technology made such measurements possi#le. /hus& this distri#ution of elements& %nown as cosmic element abundance, also turned out to #e right in line with $ig $ang theory. "t this point& it might seem safe to conclude that the $ig $ang theory had #een proved correct. ;henever a new scientific theory ma%es predictions that can #e tested& and those predictions are su#stantiated #y o#servation or e(periment& scientists rejoice in each succeeding confirmation. ;hen enough such confirmations accumulate& the theory can #e considered proved. $ut while the great majority of cosmologists accept the $ig $ang& it is widely ac%nowledged that pro#lems remain& which are serious enough in their implications to raise :uestions a#out the theory itself. Indeed& pro#lems have cropped up so often that the theory has #een in an almost constant state of crisis. 'red *oyle& who coined the term Big Bang with a derisive sneer& has always #een a major opponent of the theory. In ,-2@& he had proposed what he called the steady state theory& along with *erman $ondi and /homas 3old. "ccording to this theory& the universe is immensely older than astronomical o#servations seemed to indicate& as it had always e(isted and always would. 8 UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF SCIENCE ?ver vast eons of time& gala(ies would #e #orn& mature& and die& and new ones would constantly #e #orn out of the resulting de#ris to ta%e the place of the old ones. New gala(ies would not

necessarily form where the old ones had #een& #ut the total mass of the universe would remain in #alance. In this view& even the oldest gala(ies we can o#serve are in fact :uite new in terms of the larger picture. 6any cosmologists disli%ed the steadyCstate theory #ecause it suggested that we could never get to the #ottom of things& and most physicists and astronomers are driven #y the #elief that we can. /he fact that *oyle could #e a#rasive in his comments& and was often descri#ed as arrogant #y fellow scientists& didn8t help matters. Nor did his great success with the general pu#lic as a populari)er. ?n the other hand& it can also #e as%ed whether the #elief that we can get to the #ottom of things is not in itself the height of arrogance+certainly there seems enough of that characteristic to go around on all sides of these de#ates. *oyle8s theory had its own pro#lems& as well. 'or one thing& it made use of a modified form of the cosmological constant, a mathematical fudge factor Einstein had introduced into his theory of general relativity to reflect a universe that did not change. In ,-7-& Edwin *u##le& using his studies of the shift of color in distant gala(ies toward the red end of the spectrum& called the redshift& came to the conclusion that gala(ies were flying apart at great rates with the e(pansion of the universe. Einstein8s cosmological constant was no longer needed. Even Einstein called it the worst mista%e he had ever made. /he antipathy toward the cosmological constant among most physicists& com#ined with the discovery of the C6$ in ,->9& appeared to put *oyle8s steadyCstate theory out of #usiness. *e wasn8t a#out to close up shop& however. ;hile there might #e pro#lems with his own theory& he continued to insist that there were even more pro#lems with the $ig $ang. Indeed& the $ig $ang theory %ept running up against new difficulties. ?ne was that the more cosmologists learned& the clearer it #ecame that the early universe did not wor% according to the laws of physics that now prevail. 'or at least the first 911&111 years after the $ig $ang& until there was sufficient cooling to allow the formation of matter How Did the Universe Begin? 9 and the release of light <called photoCdecoupling #ecause light is carried #y photons=& the laws of our present universe did not e(ist. /hat discrepancy forced $ig $ang theorists to turn to the notion that the initial universe was a singularity, a oneCtime event. *oyle and his followers <for he had retained some= jumped all over this idea. Sure& they scoffed& you find something that messes up your $ig $ang theory& and rather than dou#t the theory you come up with a special e(ception that contradicts everything else we %now. *oyle #egan to ma%e some new headway of his own in ,--1& when one of his followers& *alton "rp& an "merican cosmologist at the 6a( 5lanc% Institute in 3ermany& pointed out that there have #een a num#er of o#servations of redshifts that don8t match up with their distance from the Earth. /his was serious trou#le. If

the redshift was not after all a relia#le indicator of the speed of the e(pansion of the universe& it would cut to the heart of $ig $ang theory. 5erhaps gala(ies were not flying apart so fast& after all& and there would #e no need for a $ig $ang to set them in motion. "rp went further& saying in ,--,& It really gives the game away to reali)e how o#servations of these crucial o#jects have #een #anned from the telescope and how their discussion has #een met with desperate attempts at suppression. Ignored evidence? Suppressed de#ate? /he $ig $ang theorists reacted with outrage. 6eanwhile& as Gohn $oslough notes in his ,--7 #oo% Masters of Time, several other physicists were charging that the $ig $ang proponents were either ignoring evidence or developing hypotheses that couldn8t #e tested. Indeed& in ,-@>& Sheldon 3lashow& who shared the ,-0- No#el 5ri)e in 5hysics& joined with his *arvard colleague 5aul 3insparg to warn that physics in general was evolving into an activity so remote that it might end up #eing conducted at schools of divinity #y the future e:uivalents of medieval theologians. /he most significant of the untesta#le new ideas a#out the $ig $ang was that of inflation. 5roposed #y "lan 3uth in ,-@,& it held that at the very start& during what has #een descri#ed as a sliver of a second& the universe e(panded at a rate e(ponentially greater than it now does& going from something analogous to a pinhead to the si)e of an orange or a soft#all in an infinitesimal 10 UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF SCIENCE amount of time. /his may not sound li%e much& #ut mathematically it is staggeringD /he increase in volume was of a factor of ,1 to the 91th power& or a , followed #y ,91 )eroes. "fter that instant of inflation& the universe settled down to the <relatively spea%ing= very leisurely rate of e(pansion that has since prevailed. In other words& at the very start the universe #ehaved li%e Superman for an instant and then decided to :uit that stuff and am#le around li%e Clar% Bent for the rest of cosmic history. /o the general reader this can sound ludicrous& #ut the concept of inflation dispelled a num#er of dar% clouds that were hanging over $ig $ang theory& and it was widely welcomed. "mong the pro#lems it solved was that of the flatness of the universe. Flatness, as it is generally understood& is a somewhat unfortunate term to descri#e the physics involved in the theory& however much sense it may ma%e mathematically. 5hysicists had determined that the universe ought to #e either open, meaning that it would e(pand forever along an infinitely curved surface& or closed, meaning that eventually gravity would cause the universe to fall #ac% into itself& presuma#ly ending up in the %ind of primordial atom that had given #irth to the $ig $ang. Hnfortunately& however& there were no o#serva#le signs that it was either open or closed. It appeared to #e perfectly #alanced #etween these two possi#ilities& and that condition was descri#ed as flatness #ecause the average curvature of space e:ualed )ero& a flat trajectory. /o ma%e things more complicated& the ratio of the universe8s

actual density <the amount of matter creating gravitational pull= to the density that would #e re:uired to cause it to collapse in upon itself& e:ualed one. /he 3ree% letter omega was assigned to this ratio. 6athematically& an open universe would have a ratio that was less than omega& and a closed universe would have a ratio greater than omega. /hus& whether referring to curvature& with its value of )ero& or the density ratio& with its value of one& the result was a flat universe. 'or the first time& "lan 3uth8s concept of inflation made that result reasona#le. Never mind that inflation is often descri#ed in terms of a pinhead #ecoming an orange& which is assuredly round. 'ocus on the fact that the more a #alloon is inflated& the more flat surface it has& and that #ecause of the tiny instant of time in which inflation too% place& it actually How Did the Universe Begin? 11 had a flattening effect. /he mathematics& we are informed #y No#el 5ri)e winners& wor%. </he mathematically challenged may simply prefer to thin% of an orange run over #y a truc% and let it go at that.= Interestingly& one of the arguments against inflation accuses its proponents of letting things go at that on a cosmic scale. ;hen "lan 3uth was developing the concept& he ran into a pro#lem that caused him to delay pu#lication for two years. /he theory predicted that such rapid e(pansion would have created a num#er of separate #u##les. /he walls of those #u##les should still #e apparent& and they are not. In the end& 3uth decided to pu#lish anyway& in the hope that other cosmologists would #e sufficiently interested to try to solve that pro#lem. /hey were& around the world. !ussian physicist "ndrei 4inde was the first to come up with an answer& which was su#se:uently also reached #y others. *e was a#le to show mathematically that the #u##les& which had #een renamed domains& would have developed independently of one another. ;hat8s more& our %nown universe would ta%e up a mere #illionCtrillionth of just one of these domains& and the walls of the #u##le would #e so distant as to remain forever #eyond our o#servation. /his calculation managed to remove an o#trusive elephant from the living room and to tether it conveniently out of sight #ehind the #arn& #ut it was also the %ind of thing that made Sheldon 3lashow tal% a#out medieval theology. Nevertheless& li%e the idea of inflation itself& the #u##leCdomain theory was enthusiastically accepted among most cosmologists& including Stephen *aw%ing& widely regarded as the greatest living physicist. /he #u##leCdomain theory& although untesta#le& solved pro#lems of inflation <also untesta#le=& and inflation had e(plained not only the flatness of the universe #ut also other difficulties with the $ig $ang theory& including the fact that matter was so homogeneously distri#uted throughout the universe+the inflationary instant having acted as a %ind of cosmic #lender. /o some critics& such as *alton "rp and 'red *oyle& this is all far too convenient& however elegant the mathematics may #e& however

neat the dovetailing of theory with theory. $ut the critics remain rather lonely figures. "lthough many more individual physicists 12 UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF SCIENCE have difficulty accepting aspects of the $ig $ang and the theory of inflation& they are willing to challenge the new orthodo(y only on smaller points& while #eing careful not to scoff at the whole. 'or the moment& the $ig $ang continues to reign as the #est e(planation for the origin of our universe. /he emphasis should #e on our. on8t forget those other domains& with walls forever #eyond our %en. 'rench physicist /rinh Iuan /huan writes in his ,--9 #oo% The Secret Melody, ?ur universe is just a tiny #u##le& lost in the vastness of another #u##le& a metaCuniverse& or superuniverse& that is tens of million #illion #illion times larger. "nd that metaCuniverse is itself lost among a multitude of other metauniverses& all created during the inflationary era from infinitesimally small regions of space& all disconnected from one another. /he grandness of this vision can #e alluring or just mindC#oggling. Some find it frightening. ?thers thin% it sounds li%e a religious concept& which can #e reassuring or distressing& depending on one8s #eliefs. Some commentators have #een at pains to point out that 3eorges 4emaitre& who had the first notion a#out what would ultimately turn into $ig $ang theory& was a Catholic monsignor first and a physicist second& whereas 'red *oyle& champion of the steadyCstate theory& is an atheist. /hat may #e too clever a distinctionD It has also #een said that some of $ig $ang #eliever Stephen *aw%ing8s wor% eliminates the need for 3od. "s telescopes and computers #ecome ever more powerful& capa#le of o#serving or simulating greater swaths of our universe& as :uantum physics e(periments delve ever deeper into the #i)arre world of su#atomic particles& it seems inevita#le that the additional %nowledge gained will at times seem to support the $ig $ang theory& while other discoveries confront it with new hurdles to overcome. In Gune 7111& a frontCpage story in the New ork Times reported on a ro#otic telescope in "ustralia& which had produced the first largeCscale map of agglomerations of gala(ies that form what can #e thought of as cosmic continents. Enormous though these continents proved to #e& their si)e did not e(ceed the predictions of $ig $ang theory concerning such structures. /he headline read& !o#otic /elescope "ffirms "ssumption ?n Hniverse8s $irth. In the past& however& the Times has carried many headlines a#out discoveries that challenged other $ig $ang How Did the Universe Begin? 13 assumptions. Some optimists& including Stephen *aw%ing& #elieve that we are close to understanding the whole of the universe& and that a grand unified theory is not far away. $ut even among champions of the $ig $ang& there are many who suspect that we have only #egun to understand how the universe wor%s& and that we pro#a#ly never will unravel its ultimate mysteries. 'or now& the $ig $ang is the standard theory. It is not yet truth.

14 UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF SCIENCE

This photograph, taken !pril ", "##$, by the %ubble Space Telescope, shows gaseous pillars in M"&'the (agle Nebula. The pillars are columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust, which act as incubators for new stars. They contain globules called ())s *for +e,aporating gaseous globules-., which are also more literally embryonic because they contain the embryos of stars, which will be unco,ered through an erosion process created by the ultra,iolet light emanating from massi,e newborn stars in the region. These spectacular columns are thus pillars of stellar creation. Courtesy N"S" <Geff *ester and 5aul Scowen& "ri)ona State Hniversity=.

g To investigate !rther
'erris& /imothy. The Whole Shebang. New Jor%D Simon K Schuster& ,--0. 'erris is widely regarded as the #est science writer in the #usiness these days& and this #oo% is a further feather in his cap. It is slightly more difficult to grasp than his earlier /oming of !ge in the Milky Way #ut still very reada#le. Su#titled " StateCofCtheCHniverse<s= !eport& it covers a host of cosmological issues #ut gives a particularly wellC#alanced account of $ig $ang controversies. $oslough& Gohn. Masters of Time. !eading& 6"D "ddisonC;esley& ,--7. "lthough new developments have changed the picture somewhat since this #oo%8s pu#lication& it remains the clearest criti:ue of the $ig $ang theory availa#le& detailing the crises the theory had faced in the ,-@1s& and pulling together the dou#ts of many eminent scientists& which are often parceled out in small doses and not pic%ed up #y the mass media. " science reporter with a distinguished career& $oslough emphasi)es the continued validity of G. $. S. *aldane8s statement of many years ago& the universe is not only :ueerer than we suppose& #ut :ueerer than we can suppose. 4i%e 'erris8s #oo%& $oslough8s contains a very useful glossary of terms. /huan& /rinh Iuan. The Secret Melody. New Jor%D ?(ford Hniversity 5ress& ,--9. " #estCseller in 'rance& where it was originally pu#lished </huan has also taught at "merican universities=& this is an elegantly written #oo% #y an astronomer who fully accepts $ig $ang theory and the concept of inflation. It is wellillustrated with charts& has several appendices that delve more deeply into the mathematics involved& and has a glossary. 6itchell& ;illiam C. The /ult of the Big Bang0 Was There a Bang1 Carson City& NLD Cosmic Sense $oo%s& ,--9. /his is an oddity& #ut an intriguing one. Selfpu#lished #y an electrical engineer who wor%ed on a num#er of N"S" projects while with /!;& it is a flatCout attac% on $ig $ang theory. ;hile the author has no credentials that would #e accepted #y most physicists& this #oo% has hardly gone unnoticed. It has #een endorsed #y several cosmologists who themselves dispute the $ig $ang& including *alton C. "rp of the 6a( 5lanc% Institute& whose opposition to the theory is discussed in all the #oo%s listed here