The Origin of the Universe and the Solar System

Review
 When a wave (either a sound wave or electromagnetic wave) travels between two objects, the
wavelengths seem to change if one or both of them are moving.
o The Doppler effect is the change in the wavelength (or frequently) of a wave when
there is motion that increases or decreases the distance between the receiver and the
source.
o Redshift occurs when electromagnetic waves shift to longer wavelengths (shift towards
the red end of the spectrum when the source of the waves is moving away from the
observer).
 In 1916, Albert Einstein proposed the theory of general relativity describing the concept of space-
time as fabric that can be stretched (a concept originated by Hermann Minkowski in 1908).
- The concept of redshift describes that as space-time stretches, any photon that
travels in space also stretches, increasing its wavelength. Therefore, the photons
that travel from far away galaxies are stretched more, making larger redshifts as
compared to photons from nearby galaxies.

Lesson 1.1: Theories on the Origin of the Universe

2 Governing Structures of the Universe
1. Physical Cosmology
- is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the Universe and is concerned
with fundamental questions about its origin, structure, evolution, and ultimate fate. The subject
matter of this field is studied using scholarly methodology, including the scientific method and
reason.
2. Religious Cosmology
- is a way of explaining the origin, the history and the evolution of the cosmos or universe based on
the religious mythology of a specific tradition. Religious cosmologies usually include an act or process
of creation by a creator deity or a larger pantheon.

Bible – the narrative from Genesis, described how God separated light from darkness, created the sky,
land, sea, moon, stars, and every living creature in a span of six days.

Rigveda – the Hindu text describes the universe as an oscillating universe in which a “cosmic egg” or
Brahmanda including the sun, moon, planets, and space, expands out a single concentrated point called
Bindu, and eventually with collapsed again.
Primordial Universe – Greek philosopher, Anaxagoras believed in this theory.

- The origin state of the cosmos was a primordial mixture of all its ingredients, which
existed in infinitesimally small fragments of themselves.
- Some ingredients were present in higher concentrations that others, this mixture
was set in motion by the action of the “nous” or mind.

A whirling motion was produced, which sifted and separated the ingredients
ultimately producing the cosmos of separated material objects, all with different
properties we see today.

Atomic Universe – Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus believed in this theory.

- The universe was composed of very small, indivisible and indestructible atoms.

All the objects in the universe are composed of different arrangements of

these eternal atoms and an infinite void in which they form different
combination and shapes.

Rene Descartes – French philosopher who outlined the universe with many of the characteristics of
Newton’s Static, infinite universe.

- The vacuum of space was not empty at all but was filled with matter that swirled
around large and small vortices.
- His model involved a system of huge swirling pools of fine matter producing what
would later be called gravitational effects.

George Lemaitre – Attributed for his theory on Big Bang

- Singularity; Inflation; Annihilation

Sir Isaac Newton – Principia

- Described a static, steady-state infinite universe

- Matter on the large scale is uniformly distributed and the universe is gravitationally
balanced but essentially unstable.

Albert Einstein – Theory of relativity

- It was static, dynamically unstable, which was neither expanding nor contracting.
- Cosmological constant which would have caused the universe to collapse.
- He later abandoned this theory because of Edwin Hubble.
 BIG BANG THEORY
It is a cosmological model explaining how the universe began. It suggests that the universe
started its expansion about 13.8 billion years ago.

 According to this theory, the universe started as a “singularity” – an area predicted to be in

the core of a black hole with very high temperature and density.
- In the big bang theory, matter dilutes as the universe expands.
 This singularity constantly expands and cools.
 The rate of expansion is almost equal to the rate of cooling.
 The intense heat led to the formation of matter and antimatter particles that were destroyed
every time they collided with each other.
o The concept of big bang is not a literal explosion of something leading to the creation of
the universe.
Nucleosynthesis – the formation of elements, such as hydrogen and helium.

- The presence of these elements led to the formation of the stars and the
galaxies.
- The presence of the starts and galaxies, led to formation of other cosmic
bodies such as planets, comets, and asteroids.

Proponents of the Big Bang Theory

Georges Henri Joseph Edouard Lemaitre [Belgian priest]

 He suggested the idea of expanding universe.

 He is considered as the first proponent of the big ban theory.
- Explained that the universe originated in an explosive act of primeval atom or the ‘cosmic egg’ which
was like a huge atomic nucleus. The immense energy forms the explosion was sufficient to initiate
that expansion of the universe.

Edwin Powell Hubble [American astronomer]

 He established the Hubble’s Law which provided evidence that the universe was not static but
expanding.
 This means that the amount of redshift is proportional to the distance of the galaxy. (Nearby
galaxies have smaller redshifts that distant galaxies)
- This relationship pf the velocities of distant objects in the universe in proportion to their distance
from the Earth is called Hubble’s Law.

Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson [American astronomers]

 They discovered that microwaves with wavelengths of 7 centimeters were present in space.
 They were referred to as the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation.
- CMB radiation is believed to be the thermal energy released when ionized gases became neutral
particles as the early universe cooled down.
 Drawbacks of the Big Bang Theory
 It failed to explain how the universe was created
 It just explains how it evolve and not where it originated.
 It also failed to explain how galaxies formed.

The Steady State Theory

Is another theory that tries to explain the origin of the universe. As opposed to the big bang
theory, this theory states that the universe has no beginning and no end.

 Another view that proposes that the universe has always been expanding.
 Predicted a universe that expanded but did not change its density; matter was inserted
into the universe to maintain a constant density.
 Suggests that the universe has always been here and will always be present.
 During the expansion, the density of the universe remains constant; hence, the name
steady state. It also explains that the rate of the death of stars is equal to the rate of birth
of the stars.
- The universe is not evolving over time.
- Both big bang theory and steady state theory explains that the universe id expanding.
However, the difference is that the big bang theory shows that as the universe expands, the
density of matter decreases over time. On the other hand, steady state theory shows that
the universe maintains a constant density as it expands.

Proponents of the Steady State Theory

The steady state theory was proposed by Herman Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle in
1948.

Drawbacks of the Steady State Theory

 It is not parallel with the law of conservation of energy and mass.
 The discovery of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation significantly supported
the explanations given by the big bang theory and led many scientists to reject the
steady state theory in 1965.

The Oscillating Universe Theory

  That the universe is expanding and will contract once all the energy after the big bang
has been used up, only to expand again once it approaches the point of singularity.
 Also referred to as the pulsating theory.
- Once the universe reverses and attains the point of singularity, another universe will be
born.

Proponents of the Oscillating Universe Theory

The theory was proposed by Richard Tolman, a physical chemistry and mathematical physics
professor at California Institute of Technology (Caltech0.

- Called the birth of another universe as the big bounce.

Drawbacks of the Oscillating Universe Theory

 It suggests that the universe would collapse on its own after it reached its full
expansion, which would violate some current laws of physics, such as postulated
existence of dark energy.
 The currently postulated end of the universe is by big freeze or heat death.

The Big Crunch

- The oscillating universe is a combination of big crunch and big bang.
- Big crunch occurs when the universe expands and eventually reverses, then collapses
causing the formation of a singularity.
- Singularity results to a big bang and the birth of a new universe.
 The Origin of the Solar
System
Two popular models:
1. Geocentric model
- coined by Claudius Ptolemy (often called Claudius Ptolemaeus, Ptolomaeus,
Klaudios Ptolemaios, and simply Ptolemeus)
- states that Earth is at the central of the Solar System.
- This model was the accepted explanation of the different motions in the
universe.
- The sun, moon, stars, and five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn) moved around Earth.
Their idea of the Solar System at that time was their ides of the universe where planets
move with respect to five stars, with changing brightness, changing speed, and having
retrograde motion. (Strange motion caused by the Earth’s motion)

2. Heliocentric model
- An opposing idea developed by Nicholas Copernicus.
- States that the Sun is the center of the solar system.
- Became the foundation of the Copernican revolution.

Theories explaining the Origin of the Solar System

Nebular Hypothesis