The Origins of the Universe

Who or what made the universe? How did it begin? Humans have always wondered: Has the universe always existed like we see it now, or did it somehow start all of a sudden? In the past century, it was discovered that the universe was expanding and people wondered why. These are the questions the Big Bang theory tries to answer. While no one is completely sure of all the details about it, the big bang is the most widely accepted theory about the beginnings of our universe.

The big bang theory states that the universe began by expanding from an infinitesimal volume with extremely high density and temperature. It was initially smaller than the head of a pin. The theory states that space was created at the same time as the big bang and expanded carrying matter with it. Many physicists believe even time began with the big bang. The evidence supporting the big bang was so great that in 1951, the Catholic Church declared the big bang model to comply with the Bible.

One of the first discoveries made to support the big bang model was the discovery that the universe was expanding. An astronomer by the name of Vesto Slipher observed that there are more galaxies receding from the earth than are approaching it. Physicists know that a galaxy is approaching or receding by observing at the spectrum of its light. If its spectrum is toward the shorter wavelength, called Blueshift, then the galaxy is approaching and if its spectrum is toward the longer wavelength, called redshift, then the galaxy is receding. The amount of the shift depends on the speed the object is approaching or receding. Slipher observed more galaxies whose spectrums were redshifted than those whose spectrums were blueshifted.

Further support emerged in the late 1920s, when Ed...

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... big bang gives a clear picture of how the universe began. By tracing back the expanding universe, scientists can picture a hot, violent beginning to the universe. Furthermore high temperatures from the start give an explanation to the high amount of helium and even the existence of deuterium. Moreover, scientists were able to detect the faint radiation from the big bang. The theory that the universe began with a big bang is essentially conclusive and may prove to be one of the greatest astronomical discoveries of mankind.

Works Cited

Big Bang: How Did the Universe Begin?" Ugcs.caltech.edu. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

· THE BIG BANG:" Umich.edu. Web. 20 Apr. 2014

· "Philosophy of Science." Http://www.csus.edu/. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

· "Technology Views Birth of the Universe." NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.