servationof mass and energy. It seemed convincing that the laws of physics could breakdown at acertain point but more and more evidence gathered against the Steady State Theory,leading to many modifications to it. Until finally the theory was dropped completely withthe discovery of the smooth microwave background radiation (radiation so ancient it hadshifted right out of the visible spectrum into microwave radiation). A smooth backgroundto the universe suggested that it was hot and uniform - the ideal conditions for the BigBang. The Big Bang was almost exactly what it sounds like - a giant explosion. During thisexplosion all the materials in the universe today (matter, energy and even time) wereexpelled into a vacuum about 12 billion years ago. The combined mass of the universe wasinterpolated to a point of zero volume (therefore infinite density). It is impossible to guesswhat the universe would physically be like because the density of the universe cannot beplugged into any physical equation.The history of the universe can be traced back to a moment 10- 33 seconds after the bigbang. At this moment the universe is filled with a sea of various exotic particles along withelectrons, photons, and neutrinos (and their respectable anti-particles). At this time thereare also a small number of protons and neutrons. The protons and neutrons areparticipating in sub-atomic reactions. The two most important of these reactions are: Antineutrino + Proton ----* Positron (anti-electron) + Neutron Neutrino + Neutron ----* Electron + Proton In effect the protons are becomingneutrons and vice-versa. The energies are so great that simple atoms being formed fallapart immediately after coming together. As the universe expands, and loses energy the electrons and positrons begin to collide,effectively annihilating one another, leaving only energy in the form of photons andneutrinos. Appropriately fourteen seconds after the Big Bang simple atoms are formed lik...
