Big Bang
DETAILS/DESCRIPTION: A widely-held theory (developed by Gamow* and originally suggested by American poet Edgar Allen Poe*) of the evolution of the universe, over thirteen billion years ago, from a highly-compressed high-temperature, high-density state to a sudden ( a few seconds) explosion, and then a continuing decrease in temperature and density. During this initial state, many elementary particles may have been present. Within seconds, the temperature dropped enough for certain nuclei to be formed. Hydrogen, helium and lithium were produced.
About a million years later the universe was cool enough for atoms to form, and radiation spread through space (this ‘background’ radiation - at 2.735 degrees Kelvin - was discovered in 1965).
Big Bang theory also predicted that the universe would be found to be filled with neutrinos (fundamental particles with no mass or change), and these have been detected. Evidence that the universe is expanding has also bolstered the Big Bang theory.
ONELINER: Big Bang
OTHER CONNECTIONS: None
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Encyclopedia Britannica
Multimedia:
Connections II #6 "Echoes of the Past”*