I.

ORIGIN AND THE

STRUCTURE OF THE
EARTH
The Universe and the Solar System
 LESSON 1
The Big Bang Theory
Do you have little siblings, nephew,
or niece at home? Have you
noticed that these kids are very
curious about the things around
them? How can you explain to a
kid the origin of the universe in a
'nutshell'?
 Our knowledge about the universe is still
limited. Scientists estimate that the universe
originated 13.7 billions years ago. The solar
system, on the other hand, is believed to have
formed 4.5 billions years ago. Scientists who
persistently explore the universe contributed
to our understanding of the universe and
proposed theories on how all these things
happened.
BIG BANG THEORY
Have you ever wondered how the universe began?
Don’t worry, you are not alone. Most people seek to
find answer to this question. The good thing is,
scientists are working hard to find accurate answers to
these questions. There are various theories trying to
explain the origin of the universe. The most common is
the big bang theory. How did the big bang theory
explained the origin of the universe?
The big bang theory is a cosmological
model explaining how the universe
evolve. It suggests that the universe
started its expansion about 13.7 billion
years ago.
 OVERVIEW OF THE BIG BANG

Some might think of the concept of big bang as

an explosion of something leading to the
creation of the universe. However, the idea of the
big bang theory is somewhat similar to the
bread-raisin model. The bread is compared to
the universe while the raisins are the galaxies.
As shown in Fig. 1, the raisin does not expand. It only
moves apart as the dough rises.
The bread-raisin model is similar to the universe. As shown in
Fig. 2, the galaxies, represented by dots, are not expanding.
Distances in relation too their galaxies just increases because
of the expanding universe.
The big bang theory suggests that the
universe started as a “singularity”— an
area predicted to be in the core of a
black hole with very high temperature
and density. The intense heat led to the
formation of matter and antimatter
particles that were destroyed every
time they collided with each other.
 Nucleosynthesis is the
formation of elements, such as
hydrogen and helium.
The presence of these
elements led to the formation
of the stars and the galaxies.
 PROPONENTS OF THE BIG BANG THEORY

There are different proponents who

suggested an explanation of this expanding
universe. They are Georges Henri Joseph
Edouard Lemaître, Edwin Powell Hubble,
Arno Penzias, and Robert Wilson.
GEORGES HENRI JOSEPH EDOUARD
LEMAÎTRE

Georges Henri Joseph

Edouard Lemaître,a Belgian
priest, suggested the idea of
the expanding universe. He
is considered as the first
proponent of the big bang
theory.
In 1931, during the British Association
meeting, he 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 from the explosion
of this primeval atom was sufficient to
initiate the expansion of the universe.
Lemaître thought that if the universe
came from a hot state, it would leave
traces that can be subjected to analysis.
He then realized that there were indeed
traces in the form of cosmic rays. He
explained that the cosmic rays were
“ashes and smoke of bright but very
rapid fireworks,” and they originated
when the primeval atom disintegrated.
In his publication, he stated that
“Cosmic rays would be glimpses of
the primeval fireworks of the
formation of a star from an atom,
coming to us after their long journey
through free space.”
 EDWIN POWELL HUBBLE
Edwin Powell Hubble was an American
astronomer who established the Hubble’s
law which provided an evidence that the
universe was not static but expanding. In
1923, Hubble spotted what he thought as a
flaring nova star in the M31 nebula or the
Andromeda constellation using a Hooker
telescope.
Andromeda galaxy, the nearest galaxy in the Milky Way.
Hubble carefully studied the
photographic plates captured by
other astronomers and realized
that what he saw was a Cepheid
star ― a star that pulsates
radially, brightening and
dimming periodically.
He then began to classify other
nebulae, measuring their velocities
based on their emitted spectral lights.
Then in 1929, he noticed that all the
galaxies seemed to be moving away
from Earth with velocities that
increased in proportion to their
distance.
This means that the amount
of redshift is proportional to
the distance of the galaxy,
i.e. nearby galaxies have
smaller redshifts than
distant galaxies.
This relationship of the
velocities of distant objects in
the universe in proportion to
their distance from Earth is
called Hubble’s law. He
published a report in the same
year about his discovery. This
ultimately supported Lemaître’s
proposal of the expanding
universe.
ARNO PENZIAS AND ROBERT WILSON

American astronomers, Arno Penzias and Robert

Wilson studied the cosmic radiation in 1964.
They discovered that microwaves with
wavelengths of about 7 centimeters were
present in space. These waves were referred to
as the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
radiation.
CMB radiation is believed to be
the thermal energy released
when the ionized gases became
neutral particles as the early
universe cooled down. This
radiation served like a ‘leftover’
when the universe was formed.
 DRAWBACKS OF THE BIG BANG THEORY

One of the problems in the big bang theory

is that it failed to explain how the universe
was created. It just explains how it evolve
and not where it originated. In addition, this
theory also failed to explain how the
galaxies formed.
 KEY POINTS

● The big bang theory suggests that the

universe started as a “singularity”— an
area predicted to be in the core of a black
hole with very high temperature and
density.
● There are different proponents who
suggested an explanation of this
expanding universe. They are Georges
Henri Joseph Edouard Lemaître, Edwin
Powell Hubble, Arno Penzias and
Robert Wilson.
● Hubble’s law states that the
relationship of the velocities of distant
objects in the universe is directly
proportional to their distance from
Earth.
● The big bang theory failed to explain
how the universe was created.
 CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Big bang theory