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Asking A Brief History of Time: "What was the universe like shortly before the big bang?" > "Shortly before the Big Bang, the universe was incredibly hot and
by alex_young 4y ago
Asking A Brief History of Time:
"What was the universe like shortly before the big bang?"
> "Shortly before the Big Bang, the universe was incredibly hot and dense, with all matter and energy concentrated into a single point. This point contained all the mass and energy of the entire universe, and it was expanding at an incredibly rapid rate. This expansion created space and time, and eventually, the universe as we know it today."
"Why can't we know what the universe was like before the big bang?"
> "The Big Bang marks the beginning of the universe as we know it, so it is impossible to know what the universe was like before it. We can, however, make educated guesses based on the laws of physics and the data we have collected. For example, some theories suggest that the universe may have undergone a period of inflation before the Big Bang, which could explain why the universe is so large and homogeneous."
- pyinstallwoes 4y agoPerhaps it's not about time, but about the Word. Given there exists no words to describe something before some thing. "In the beginning was the Word..."
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- alex_young 4y agoAlso: "Why is space flat?" > "Space is flat because of the Cosmological Principle, which states that the universe is homogeneous and isotropic. This means that it is the same in all directions and on all scales, so it appears to be flat. The Cosmological Principle is supported by observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, which is the most distant light that can be detected." "Why is space curved?" > "Space is curved because of the presence of matter and energy. According to Einstein's theory of general relativity, gravity is not a force, but rather a consequence of the curvature of space and time caused by the presence of mass and energy. This curvature of space causes objects to move along curved paths, which explains why the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun."
- Tepix 4y agoI asked why space was able to expand faster than the speed of light during inflation, but not afterwards. The response isn't very good: "During inflation, the universe was expanding exponentially, which means that the rate of expansion was increasing with time. This meant that the speed of light was not a limiting factor, and space was able to expand faster than the speed of light. After inflation, the rate of expansion decreased, and the speed of light became the limiting factor, so space could no longer expand faster than the speed of light."