Big Bang

Here are 10 big bang facts. You probably don’t know these facts. Learn why the name big bang was an accident and why Einstein wasn’t a fan at first. Let’s get started! #1 A Mislabeled Event Typically, we picture the big bang as a sudden explosion, giving birth to an entire universe.  And, rightfully so, given its world-renown name.  However, the big “bang” was not believed to be an actual “bang” at all.  Rather, a moment in time in which everything appeared from nothing.  Therefore, a more accurate title may be the “big emergence?” #2 An accidental name Ironically, English astronomer, Fred Hoyle first coined the term “big bang” as a mockery.  Originally, upon learning of the newly-formed theory of an expanding universe, Hoyle showed his contempt and disbelief by jokingly labeling it the “Big Bang Theory.”  Ultimately, the title caught on. #3 Where Did the Big Bang happen? Often, people wonder where the big bang took place.  After all, we do see objects occurring at specific places and times in space.  However, the big bang happened everywhere all at once. Indeed, this is tough to wrap a human mind around.  But, often, science compares this concept to a balloon being inflated.  Equally, the universe expanded in every direction at once. Therefore, it is impossible to draw a line formally tracing back to a definite point in space.  It is space. #4 Everything from nothing Another unfathomable concept regarding the universe is that it came from nothing.  In physics, a singularity is an infinitely small space.  Furthermore, within this small space exists infinite gravity and density.  In fact, gravity within a singularity is so great that even light is unable to escape. As a result, pure darkness ensues.  Actually, black holes are also believed to contain a singularity. #5 Are we inside of a black hole? As mentioned previously (Where Did the Big Bang happen?), black holes also contain singularities.  Therefore, many current theories believe our universe is inside of a black hole.  Not to mention, some theories even provide a fairly concrete mathematical proof of such concepts. #6 The Hottest Time in History Occurring within a singularity, the big bang was the ultimate extreme. Simply put, the entire universe was jammed into an infinitely small space. In turn, this gave way to infinite temperatures—literally, temperature in which no numeric value can describe.  In fact, the same can be said for density, pressure, and most other universal measurements. #7 When did the big bang happen? Currently, science dates the big bang at slightly over 13.7 billion years ago.  First of all, it’s impossible to trace back to a single place where the big bang occurred because the universe has no center or edge.  Instead, every piece of the universe is constantly expanding, even today.  However, scientifically rewinding time does reveal when everything would have been crammed together in a singularity. #8 Life before the big bang Indeed, science and astronomy consider the big bang the start and creation of everything.  However, without light, humans are unable to observe this moment. Therefore, even many astronomers acknowledge that there may have been more that happened before the big bang.  Whether we will ever see or know this remains unknown. #9 You Can Watch the Real Big Bang on TV (No, Not the Sitcom) Blanketing the sky, the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) is the actual leftover radiation from the big bang.  As the universe’s first radiation occurred 380,000 years after the big bang, its thermal proof remained frozen in time.  No matter which direction you observe, our human limits reach this wall of energy. Because of this, when analog TVs (using antennae) flicker with static, a smaller percentage is due to the CMB.  However, only around 1% is from the big bang.  Nevertheless, still pretty cool. #10 Einstein Was NOT a Fan, at First! In 1927, Belgian priest Georges Lemaître proposed the idea that our universe could be expanding.  And, this concept also meant that the universe could have been dramatically smaller in the past.  Lemaître wrote to Einstein, sharing the exciting information. In his reply, Einstein remarked, “your calculations are correct, but your physics is abominable!”

This is how you can watch live the birth of our universe on TV—the so-called Big Bang. Television and radio antennae are sensitive to the Big Bang’s microwave frequency. So if you want to witness live the birth of our universe and all the details about it, then you’re in the right place. Let’s get started! The Big Bang on TV The Big Bang is, flat-out, the single greatest mystery to human beings. It is the missing key to understanding how life began and also how life may end.  But, no matter how mysterious, did you know that you can simply watch our universe’suniverse’s creation from your home through Big Bang TV static? Well, maybe you can’tcan’t actually watch it happen. But, you can observe real evidence from the Big Bang through TV static.  You know those random black and white specs you hear and see when you are in between channels, or your antenna is broken?  These are radiation waves.  And a small percentage of these waves is the afterglow of the universe’suniverse’s biggest mystery, the Big Bang. To understand more about where these waves come from, let’slet’s do a VERY general overview of the Big Bang. Flashback to 13.77 billion years ago. Just after the Big Bang, the universe was an extremely hot and opaque plasma of protons, electrons, and photons.  Typically, these components would combine to form simple atoms, like hydrogen. But, at this time, the universe was so hot that such combinations were not possible.  In fact, photons could not even pass through this dense plasma, rendering them unable to move freely. Now, 378,000 years later, the hot, thick electron-proton stew cooled enough to allow the matter to combine, forming hydrogen elements.  At this point, the universe was no longer opaque but completely transparent, and photons could now freely travel through space. This is the first light in our universe called the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB). Ever since that era, this light has been traveling through space. It has traveled for billions of years and sextillions of miles to reach our telescopes on Earth.  The light has become stretched out over these unimaginable distances as the universe has expanded, leaving them in the microwave spectrum. Seeing the Big Bang TV Static Fortunately, some of our television and radio antennae are sensitive to this microwave frequency.  So, when you are flipping through channels, or when your cable is down, you witness the Big Bang. Most of this static is caused by things like our Sun, other electronics, and lighting. But, a small portion (around 1%) is, in fact, the afterglow of our universe’suniverse’s creation.  The Internet will lead you across an array of different percentages and debates on the truth of this TV static theory. But, even reputable organizations, like CERN, acknowledge that this is a valid theory. Ultimately, when our televisions switched from analog to digital in 2013, the universe’suniverse’s magical static was canceled. These modernized electronics now receive different frequencies that are not residuals of the Big Bang. So, if you have an “”old school”” television sitting covered in dust in a crawlspace, it could be worth pulling out.  Turn off the Kardashians, and tune in to the beginning of everything we know.  After all, what could be more entertaining than our universe being born? How the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Formed Just after the Big Bang, the universe was an extremely hot and opaque plasma of protons, electrons, and photons.  Typically, these components would combine to form simple atoms, like hydrogen.  But, at this time, the universe was so hot that such combinations were not possible.  In fact, photons could not even pass through this dense plasma, rendering them unable to move freely.