Origin of the Universe

Pearson Anthony S. Santiago

 Objectives

• Describe the structure and composition of the Universe;

• Explain the red-shift and how it used as proof of an
expanding universe
• State the different hypothesis/theories that preceded the
Big Bang Theory of the Origin of the Universe
• Explain the Big Bang Theory
 Words to ponder

• Baryonic matter- "ordinary" matter consisting of protons,

electrons, and neutrons that comprises atoms, planets,
stars, galaxies, and other bodies

• Dark matter- matter that has gravity but does not emit
light.

• Dark Energy- a source of anti-gravity; a force that

counteracts gravity and causes the universe to expand.
 Words to ponder

• Protostar - an early stage in the formation of a star

resulting from the gravitational collapse of gases.

• Thermonuclear reaction - a nuclear fusion reaction

responsible for the energy produced by stars.
 Words to ponder

• Stars- stars that fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium

atoms in their cores; outward pressure resulting from
nuclear fusion is balanced by gravitational forces

• Light years- the distance light can travel in a year; a unit

of length used to measure astronomical distance
Earth has witnessed 4.5 billion years’ worth
of sunrises and sunsets. Every time we
see this spectacular view, we begin to ask:
• Where did the sun come from?
• Where did earth come from? How did life begin?
DENOMINATIONS
• Everything that exists in any place, all of
space, matter, and energy in existence is
called the universe!
• The universe as we currently know it comprises all space
and time, and all matter and energy in it. It is made of
4.6% baryonic matter
• 24% cold dark matter(matter that has gravity but does not
emit light),
• 71.4% dark energy (a source of anti-gravity)
• Dark matter can explain what may be holding galaxies
together for the reason that the low total mass is
insufficient for gravity alone to do so while dark energy
can explain the observed accelerating expansion of the
universe.
Hydrogen, helium, and lithium are the three most abundant
elements.
• Stars- the building block of galaxies-are born out of clouds
of gas and dust in galaxies. Instabilities within the clouds
eventually results into gravitational collapse, rotation,
heating up, and transformation into a protostar-the hot core
of a future star as thermonuclear reactionsset in.
The Big Bang Theory
 Time begins

• The universe begins

~13.7 Billion years ago
• The universe begins as
the size of a single atom
• The universe began as
a violent expansion
– All matter and space
were created from a
single point of pure
energy in an instant
 ~ 3 minutes after big bang
• The universe has grown from the
size of an atom to larger than
the size a grapefruit
• E=mc2
• energy froze into matter
according to Albert Einstein’s
equation.
• This basically says that like
snowflakes freezing, energy
forms matter into clumps that
today we call protons, neutrons
and electrons.
• These parts later form into atoms
~ Several hundred thousand years after Big
Bang
• ATOMS form (specifically
Hydrogen and its isotopes
with a small amount of
Helium.)
• The early Universe was
about 75% Hydrogen and
25% Helium. It is still
almost the same today.
~200 to 400 million
years after Big Bang
• 1st stars and
galaxies form
 ~ 4.6 billion years ago

• Our Solar
system
forms
 Misconceptions about the Big Bang

• there was no explosion; there was (and

continues to be) an expansion
– Rather than imagining a balloon popping and releasing
its contents, imagine a balloon expanding: an
infinitesimally small balloon expanding to the size of
our current universe
• We tend to image the singularity as a little fireball
appearing somewhere in space
– space began inside of the singularity. Prior to the
singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or
energy - nothing.
Big Bang Timeline – •Big Bang – energy
Include, label and color •Matter
1.What happened •E=mc2
2.When each event (thing) •protons
happened •Neutrons
•electrons
•Atoms
•Hydrogen
•helium
•Stars and galaxies
•Our solar system
•Sun and all planets
•Earth (present day)
 Big Bang evidence

1) Universal expansion and Hubble’s Law

2) Background radiation
3) Quasars
4) Radioactive decay
5) Stellar formation and evolution
6) Speed of light and stellar distances
 1. Universal expansion and Hubble’s Law
a) Hubble observed the majority of galaxies are moving away
from us and each other
b) The farther, the faster they move
c) Red Shift
 2. Back ground radiation
a) Noise radiation (static) is
evenly spread across space
b) The amount of radiation
matched predictions
c) C.O.B.E satellite confirmed
for the entire universe that
noise radiation (static) is
evenly spread
d) Law of conservation of
energy (energy can neither
be created or destroyed) –
energy remains constant
over time
3. Quasars - super large (solar system size) galactic
cores that put out more light than whole galaxies

• Only found 10-15 billion

light years away
• Found nowhere else
• Nothing exists past them
 4. Radioactive decay
• Radiometric dating – gives us the
age of items from the decay of
radioactive materials found within
the object
• Moon rocks have been dated
and found to be older than Earth
– Gives us an estimated time that
Earth and the Moon formed
5. Stellar formation and evolution

• We observe the life

cycles of stars across
the universe using tools
such as satellites and
telescopes
• we view stars form, burn
and explode
6. Speed of light and stellar distances
• The speed of light is a universal
constant of 300,000 km/s2
• We observe stars millions/billions of
light-years away
• A light-year is the distance that light
travels in 1 year – the light we see
today from a star 500 light years
away is 500 years old
• The furthest stars away are 10-15
billion light years away
• We have telescopes that can see
further, but there isn’t anything
viewable
Proxima Centauri
 Our Galaxy
• Our solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy.
• The Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral shaped galaxy.
Other Theories
 STEADY STATE UNIVERSE
• Who: Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Sir Fred
Hoyle
• When: 1948
• Where: Earth
• What: Proposed the Steady State Theory
• Why: An alternative theory to the Big Bang
 The Theory
•The universe is always the same, all the time,
always static, always contracting or
expanding.
 THE LOGIC
• AS THE UNIVERSE KEEPS ON EXPANDING
MATTER IS ALSO CONTINIOUSLY CREATED!

• STEADY STATE!
 BIG BANG VS. STEADY STATE

The big bang does not explain the ball of matter and the
steady state does not explain how the universe was
formed.

The difference are many.

• The big bang theory believes that the universe always

changes but the steady state theory believes it is and
always has been the exact same for ever and will never
change.
 The Meaning
• Radio galaxies and quasars occur
only at very large distances

• Implies red-shift

• Thus, evolution of universe

 The Conclusion
• The Big Bang Model prevails present day

• Steady State theory helped to prove Big Bang

through its testability
 ACTIVITY TIME :D

• Brief report on the following topic/questions.

• What is the fate of the universe? Will the universe

continue to expand or will it eventually contract because
of gravity?
 LASTLY – we are pretty sure
everything has a beginning, right?