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Mod1 - Formation of The Universe

The document discusses cosmological theories about the origin and evolution of the universe. It describes the Big Bang theory, which proposes that approximately 13.7 billion years ago, the universe began in a hot, dense state and has been expanding ever since. It discusses the timeline of the early universe from the inflationary epoch to the formation of stars and galaxies. The document also summarizes the cosmic inflation theory and steady state theory as alternative explanations to the Big Bang theory.

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33 views

Mod1 - Formation of The Universe

The document discusses cosmological theories about the origin and evolution of the universe. It describes the Big Bang theory, which proposes that approximately 13.7 billion years ago, the universe began in a hot, dense state and has been expanding ever since. It discusses the timeline of the early universe from the inflationary epoch to the formation of stars and galaxies. The document also summarizes the cosmic inflation theory and steady state theory as alternative explanations to the Big Bang theory.

Uploaded by

kathloquellano08
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name ________________________ 1st Sem – Prelim

Earth Sci
MODULE
1 Formation of the Universe
Cosmology – from the Greek word “kosmos” which means world and “logia” meaning study. A branch of
astronomy concerned with the studies of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe

Big Bang Theory


 Proposed by a Belgian priest names Georges Lemaitre in the 1920’s
 The top prevailing cosmological model for the early development of the universe
 Based on the findings through CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) – a thermal radiation used in
observational cosmology because it is considered as the oldest light in the universe.
 Overtime, those particles created neutral atoms which allowed light to shine through. The light is the
CMB, also referred to as the “afterglow” of the big bang
 The CMB is believed to have been released 380,000 years after the big bang. It is also used to study the
composition and age of the universe
 3.7 billion years ago there was nothing and nowhere then a great explosion due to random fluctuations in
an empty void
 the explosion sent space, time, matter, and energy in all directions. This event is called the “Big Bang”
 before the Big Bang, the universe is crammed into a time compact point called singularity
 the universe appeared around 13.7 billion years ago in a colossal explosion
 the temperature slowly, from infinite to 3K as of now, cooled down as it expanded and the galaxies
formed

The Big Bang timeline


1. Inflationary epoch (10-35 to 10-33 seconds)
 the universe expanded from the size of an atomic nucleus to 1035 meters in width
2. Formation of the Universe (10 –6 seconds)
 the universe continues to expand. It became distinct: gravity, strong nuclear force that held together
the nuclei together with nuclear force and electromagnetic force. By the first seconds, the universe is
made up of fundamental particles and energy: quarks, electrons, photons, and neutrons among others.
3. Formation of the basic elements (3 second)
 protons and neutron combine to form hydrogen nuclei. Then hydrogen nuclei began to combine in
pairs to form helium nuclei. This process is called the nucleosynthesis
4. Radiation era (10,000 years)
 most of the energy present is in the form of radiation. These include different wavelengths of light, X
rays, radio waves, and ultraviolet rays. They formed what is called the cosmic microwave background
radiation
5. Matter domination (300,000 years)
 matter began to dominate and the end of radiation era at this stage, atoms began to be form. Electrons
joined with hydrogen and helium nuclei to make neutral atoms
6. Birth of stars and galaxies (300 million years)
 the slightly irregular areas of gas cloud gravitationally attract nearby matter and became denser. The
dense gas clouds collapsed and eventually gain enough mass to ignite and producing light. The huge
clouds of gas can be the birthplace of dozens of stars. The groups of stars became the galaxies.

Cosmic Inflation Theory


 Proposed by Alan Guth and Andrei Linde in the 1980’s
 The universe went under rapid expansion in space-time. According to the theory, the universe was a
rapidly expanding bubble of pure vacuum energy. It did NOT have any matter or radiation.
 After the expansion and cooling due to the inflation, the potential energy was converted into kinetic
energy of matter and radiation then a big bang occurred because of the hot dense condition of the matter
 Seconds after the explosion, matter began to clump up together
 The universe continued to expand up to the present time
 This theory became accepted because it answered many puzzles that arose in the big bang theory
 the homogeneity of the objects in space - appearance of smoothness or flatness of the universe
 formation of stars and star systems in later years
 The universe is believed to be composed of dark energy, dark matter, radiation, and ordinary matter
(atoms, ions, protons, electrons, stars, galaxies, and life)
Dark energy is the energy of the empty space and is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate.
It is considered a hypothetical kind of matter that cannot be seen with telescopes. It is believed to account
for most of the matter in the universe.
Earth Science – Module 1 Page 2 1st Sem – Prelim

Steady State Theory


 States that the universe is always expanding, new matter is constantly formed as the universe continues
to expand
 The older bodies eventually became out of sight as a consequence of their increasing distance and rate of
recession
 The universe has no beginning or end in time and even though it is expanding, its appearance remains
the same over time
 Proposed by Sir James Jeans in 1920 which is later on revised in 1948 by Sir Fred Hoyle, Sir Hermann
Bondi, and Thomas Gold as an alternative to the big bang theory
 Towards the 1960’s, evidences that would contradict the unchanging state the of universe were brought
out.
 Galactic bodies such as quasars and radio galaxies were found a long way from the Sun at far distances
in space and found none nearby. It disproved the idea that similar bodies are created and found
everywhere. Hence, distant objects in space are considered ancient and the younger universes are found
nearer. This implies that the universe is actually dynamic.
 In cosmology, this theory is considered as obsolete.

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