The Big Bang Theory: Sciences God Particle - Research Paper Example

? The Big Bang Theory: Science’s God Particle Jennifer Martin Research Writing Methods/3345 Dr. Mary E. Henderson May 6, To satisfy thehuman propensity to know, many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the universe. From the Big Bang Theory to Creationism, to numerous theories in between, human civilization is still far away from definitively understanding where the solar system, or systems, came from. Recent years have seen expansion of the Big Bang Theory by such renowned scientists as Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow, and Albert Einstein. While these theories have certainly gone a long towards explaining what happened to create the universe, they still do not fully answer they ‘why’ question that we would all like to know. This study analyzes the reality of the Big Bang Theory, all the while exploring the thoughts and ideas of members of society. Like religion, believing in the scientific definition of our origin requires an element of faith. While many may be willing to put their faith in the existence of God, other are unwilling to place their trust in science that cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. The reality is that we do not exactly what happened to turn the nothingness that existed before our universe into the vast expanse of galaxies that we know today. This paper, however, seeks to make sense of the big questions and move people towards a deeper understanding of the reality and complexities of the universe. Keywords: Big Bang, Stephen Hawking, NASA, Leonard Mlodinow, Hubble Telescope, Age of the Universe, Particle Expansion, Albert Einstein, Mass Acceleration, God Particle, Large Hadron Collider (LHC) The Big Bang Theory, Science’s God Particle Introduction/Literature Review Do you ever look into the sky, whether it is day or night, and wonder where it all started? Maybe you wonder where we came from, or how everything that we know today came about. People from all walks of life ask these questions; although how one is raised play a big part in what one is willing to accept as reality. This paper aims to explain the Big Bang Theory and how it scientifically ties into the birth of the universe. The Big Bang Theory is just one of many ideas formed in an effort to explain the process by which the universe was created. The theory is more than just conjecture, however, as it is based on scientific reasoning that has evolved through the years. Recent discoveries in the areas of astronomy and physics point to the reality that our universe did has some type of beginning, and the Big Bang Theory is an educated effort to explain the beginning and offer new insight as to our origins. Humans have long been fascinated with the universe, but few answers really existed as to how it all started. To be certain, there have been many conjectures made over the years, some based on science and others on religion, but the lingering question still existed. If there was nothing prior to the creation of the universe, there must have been a precipitating event that set off a chain reaction that formed the universe, as we know it today. While it can be argued that nobody can know for certain how the universe was created, the Big Bang Theory does seem to indicate, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there was a certain process by which this occurred. To begin a review of the Big Bang Theory, one should start at the beginning. The most commonly held belief amongst physicists is that the universe came into being about 13.7 billion years ago (Kargh, 1996). This figure takes into account the creation of the universe beginning as “singularity”. While scientists admit that they truly do not understand how this happens, singularity is attached to the term to describe an event that defies our current ability to understand certain aspects of physics. Interestingly enough, it is this fact that gives credence to the other popular theory of creation, which forms the basis for this study to follow. Singularities can be likened to black holes. Such holes are areas in the university that are subject to intense gravitational pressure. This pressure is severe that the human mind, never mind the world of physics, cannot even fathom it. The pressure can take finite matter and squash it down to a density of infinite proportion that we could never replicate, even in our own minds (Hawking & Penrose, 1970, p. 535). It is out of these dense zones that singularities arise. This applies to the Big Bang Theory because the universe is thought to have begun as an extremely small, hot, and dense entity, now referred to as a singularity. To this day, we do not know where this singularity came from or how it appeared in the first place. Ever since the theory was created, and perhaps as a result of its name, people have improperly concluded that the Big Bang Theory advocates the idea that the universe is the result of a cataclysmic explosion that occurred billions of years ago. According to physicists and other experts in the field, this is not actually the case. In fact, the explosion never really happened, as the creation of the universe is the result of a gradual expansion of mass that continues to this day (Lemaitre, 1931). The universe began microscopically small and has expanded into the current size and mass that it is today. Many have mistakenly believed that the Big Bang Theory teaches that our solar system began as a fireball somewhere in this great expanse of time. The theory, however, actually espouses the belief that space did not exist prior to the Big Bang billions of years ago (Lematire, 1931). Expounding upon Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Stephen Hawing began to look more closely at the concept of time. According to Hawing, George Ellis, and Roger Penrose, time and space actual began at the same time as matter and energy was created. In this regard, the singularity did not appear in space. It actually began inside the singularity for the simply fact that space did not exist back then (Hawking & Ellis, 1968, p. 29). Nothing existed. This means that time, matter, and energy were not present prior to the Big Bang. The mind-boggling thing is that scientists cannot really explain where space, matter, and energy came from. All that is really known is that one moment there was no concept of space or time, and the next there was, which resulted in the creation of our universe that we have enjoyed all this time. As we have shown to this point, the Big Bang Theory does not purport to have all of the answers. In this way, it is similar to religion. Parts of the theory have no known answer. The reality is that the Big Bang Theory proposes what happened to create the universe, but is does not answer the important question of ‘why’ that would satisfy human curiosity. The reality is, simply put, that the Big Bang Theory in and of itself does not explain the Big Bang (Gengui, 2009, p. 667). It is explained that, “Big Bang models do explain the existence of an expanding, evolving, universe that in the past was denser and hotter than it is today” (Gengui, 2009, p. 667). This reality is able to point us towards several main points of the Big Bang Theory that will help explain why it is considered to be the most plausible explanation of the creation of the universe. Hubble’s law is an extension of the Big Bang Theory that explains the reason behind the expansion of the universe. Basically, Edwin Hubble observed that the recessional velocity of distant galaxies was proportional to their distance. This is part of the reason why the planets and the solar are in perfect orbit with one another and have sustained themselves for billions of years. A second aspect of the Big Bang Theory revolves around the existence of and properties contained within certain cosmic microwaves. This is the background radiation that is present throughout the universe. This background explains that the universe, in its very early days, was remarkably hot and extremely dense (Parker, 2005, p. 759). These conditions created a situation under which matter and radiation became tightly grouped together. This alone allowed the early universe to create a continuous series of physical interactions that, over time, slowly developed the planets and the life forms that are in existence today (Parket, 2005, p. 759). Scientists believe, as a part of the Big Bang Theory, that as the universe began to cool, it expanded. It was during this process that the universe finally cooled to some yet unknown temperature whereby photons existent in space were no longer powerful enough to destroy light atoms that formed. Because of this, matter in the universe no long disintegrated; rather, it became more structured and photons separated from it. As a result of this, photons began to move around the universe, forming the background of what our galaxies look like today (Tomlan, 1934). The interesting aspect of the Big Bang Theory is that, during the first several billions of years, no light existed in the universe. It was just a big expanse of darkness. We now can predict how light by looking at various schools of thought. According the Gengui (2009), “Theory predicts that [light] happened event earlier in the history of the universe than the decoupling of the cosmic background radiation. When the temperature of the universe was around a billion Kelvin free protons and neutrons began joining together” (p. 668). This eventually formulated light and is the process known as Big Bang Nucleoshynthesis. With all of this scientific explanation rooted in physics, it is often to boil down the Big Bang Theory into more common everyday language that can be more easily understood. It is first useful to understand that the theory purports the claim that the universe had a definite beginning. This is critical to the foundation of the scientific principles of the Big Bang. Subsequent to this knowledge is the evidence that galaxies began to move away from each other at a speed that is directly proportional to their distance, which is an amazing scientific discovery in its own right. This school of thought became known as Hubble’s Law and was made known in 1929. The discovery itself supports the Big Bang Theory by explaining what happened during the expansion of the universe and supports the idea that the universe was actually one compact entity. To summarize a third point, it is useful to understand that the universe was once extremely hot, so much so that it is not even fathomable to us today. As the universe gradually began to cool down, certain light elements were formed, which resulted in the formation of hydrogen and helium (Press and Spergel, 1989, p. 29). These two elements support the Big Bang model of the origin of the universe and, as we now know, form the basis for life today. The Big Bang Theory, in addition to the theories held by many religious people, are not the only theories about the origin of the universe. In reality, it is simply the most well known and considered to be the most plausible. As it cannot be proven, however, it remains theory. One would suppose that the important thing to consider is that we are here and we continue to survive. Understanding our origin, however, will continue to be the life’s mission of many people around the world. It is important to understand the unique nature of the earth, the other plants in this solar system, and other galaxies. Perhaps this is not the only universe in existence. The reality is that we do not yet know why the universe was created, but new scientific discoveries are bringing us closer to a possible answer. It will be interesting to see what the future hold in this area as we move towards a deeper understanding of the universe and the distance from which we have all traveled. While the Big Bang Theory goes into great detail in its attempt to explain the origins of the universe, it is far from perfect or complete. As new scientific discoveries are made, the theory continues to be refined, but its basic premise has remained the same. It is important to remember, however, that the Big Ban models explain how our universe has evolved up to present time, but it cannot as of yet explain its origin. Perhaps that is why so many of a religious persuasion put their faith in another explanation of how we came into existence. Until science can definitely explain why the Big Bang happened, there will likely continue to be fierce debates on either side, which forms the basis for the study to follow. Method Data were taken from an email survey conducted over a period of 10 days. Participants were asked to answer 7 questions pertaining to their general awareness of the Big Bang Theory, (and 1 asking for permission to use their answers in data analysis), with answers being presented in either multiple choice or fill in the blank formats. Answer format was based on the type of data desired for analysis. Questions were as follows; 1.) What age bracket do you fall into? Multiple choice - possible answers: 18-25/26-30/31-37/37-45/46 and over; 2.) What is your gender? Multiple choice - possible answers: Male/Female; 3.) What is your belief system? Multiple choice - possible answers: Christian (or variation of)/Catholic/ Agnostic/Other/Prefer not to answer; 4.) Do you know what the Big Bang Theory is? Multiple choice – possible answers: Yes/No (skip to question 8); 5.) Where did you learn about the Big Bang Theory? Multiple choice – possible answers: School/Friends/Television/Internet/Other (please explain); 6.) Do you believe in the Big Bang Theory? Multiple choice – possible answers: Yes (skip to question 8)/No/Maybe; 7.) Why not? Multiple choice/fill in – possible answers: I don’t know enough about it to make an informed decision/The bible explains the universe/I don’t care/Other (please explain); 8.) Do you authorize me to use the data compiled from your answers in my research paper? Multiple choice – possible answers: Yes/No. The population of interest for this study was defined as all adults over 18 years of age with a reported interest in either religion or science. The analyses reported are based on a sample of 15 respondents who reported to be 18 years of age or older. Results Results are presented by question, with comments reported directly from the survey tool. Questions one and two were primarily demographic information. Responses to question one had the highest level of respondents in the 31-37 age group with 53%. Twenty seven percent of respondents reported their age as 37-45, and 46 or older, while 20% reported in the 26-30 category. No respondents reported their age in the 18-25. Question two, indicating respondent gender, indicated that 53% of respondents were female, while 47% were male. In response to question three, as noted in figure one, 53% of respondents reported Christian (or a variation of) as their belief system, with 27% reporting Catholic and Agnostic. Twenty percent or respondents reported something other than the options given, or preferred not to answer. Question three, indicating whether or not participants knew what the Big Bang Theory is, 80% reported yes, while 20% reported no, with those individuals being instructed to skip to question 8, the authorization for release. (They were also given the brief synopsis of the theory that it is a cosmological belief that the universe developed from a single particle that, when expired, systematically exploded, continuing to expand in mass into the universe we know today). Question five asked respondents where they learned about the theory, with 80% reporting it was taught in school, 13% stating television, and 7% indicated the internet was their primary source of information. No respondents answered friends or other. Question six asking whether or not participants believed in the Big Bang Theory indicated, as seen in figure 2, 20% stated yes, while 27% stated no. The highest percentage, 33%, was reported under maybe. Finally, question seven asked respondents why they do not believe in the Big Bang Theory with 33% stating the bible explains the universe. 6% indicated they do not know enough about the subject to make an informed decision, and 6% stated they don’t care. Thirteen percent answered other, with one explanation being “I know enough to know I know nothing for certain”, and the other being “ I was raised Catholic, and was taught to believe God created everything, however I am opened minded enough to know it may be possible”. Figure 1. Religious Preference Figure 2. Belief in Big Bang Discussion and Implications The purpose of this study was to identify the general knowledge base of my peers, and see if there was a trend in religious preference versus the acceptance of a theory of existence other than what religion offers. My hypothesis was that the more religious one is, the less likely that person is to believe something other than God created the universe. Surprisingly, there was no notable trend exhibited to correlate religion to cosmology, see figure 3. Figure 3. Religion vs. belief in BBT Religion is similar to science in that it aims to explain the unexplainable. Humans have an unquenchable desire to understand the supernatural, yet like science, this is often not possible. The Big Bang Theory is certainly one plausible explanation about how the universe was created, yet the theory of creationism espoused by the major religions in our society seek to explain the origins of the universe differently. As indicated by the results of this study, people have become divided over which theory is more plausible. On the one hand, religion seems to teach that there is one creator and he alone is responsible for the creation of the universe. This cannot be proven, but must be taken by faith. On the other hand, science espouses the belief that physics caused the creation of the universe billions of years ago, but again, this cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. In essence, science requires faith as well. In the end, it must come down to human reasoning and personal beliefs. Science does indicate a process by which certain chemical reactions could have certainly caused the formation of this planet and solar system that we now call home. Theories have been proposed and replicated in the laboratory. The idea behind the Big Bang Theory certainly seems viable and believable on hand, but fanciful and far-fetched on the other. Then, we have religion to teach us an actual factual account of how the universe was created; yet no one person can say for sure that the account is accurate. Others would call this idea unbelievable as well, which in the end leaves us right back where we started. In summary, this study has shown that society is still divided about how the world was formed. Even people who identify closely with a religious belief appear willing to consider a scientific approach to the issue. Perhaps that is what we can take from this. An open mind is needed to consider and ponder the origins of the universe. New discoveries are made every year, so they should at least be added to our body of knowledge as we continue to decipher the mysteries of the universe. References Gangui, A. (2009). No explosion in bag bang cosmology: Teaching kids the truth of what cosmologists really know. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 5(S260), 666-669. Hawking, S., and Ellis, G. (1968). The cosmic black-body radiation and the existence of singularities in our universe. Astrophysical Journal, 152(1), 25-36. Hawking, S., and Penrose, R. (1970). The singularities of gravitational collapse and cosmology. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 314(1), 529-548. Kragh, H. (1996) Cosmology and Controversy. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press. Lemaitre, G. (1931). The evolution of the universe: Discussion. Nature, 128(3234), 699-701. Parker, D. (2005). Thermodynamic irreversibility: Does the big bang explain what it purports? Philosophy of Science, 72(5), 751-763. Press, W., and Spergel, D. (1989). Cosmic strings: Topological fossils of the hot big bang. Physics Today, 42(3), 29. Tomlan, R. C. (1934). Relativity, Thermodynamics, and Cosmology. Clarendon Press. Read More