Difference between revisions of "Big Bang theory"

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(Undo revision 915836 by JimJast (talk)The Big Bang theory is NOT pseudoscientific. I don't accept it, but it's scientifically rigorous.)
(Creationist and Theistic Evolutionary Views: Sorry, this is laughable. Within the naturalistic assumptions of science the Big Bang theory is sound.)
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The universe appears to be [[Fine tuned universe | fine tuned]] for life, suggesting that God set the laws of physics that allow the universe, complexity, and life to exist. Scientists have been baffled by these "coincidences" as they examine the parameters of the big bang and other physical constants.
 
The universe appears to be [[Fine tuned universe | fine tuned]] for life, suggesting that God set the laws of physics that allow the universe, complexity, and life to exist. Scientists have been baffled by these "coincidences" as they examine the parameters of the big bang and other physical constants.
  
Some creationists argue that the '''Big Bang theory''' is part of an effort to deny [[God's]] creation of all of existence.  Christian physicists, such as Dr. John Hartnett,<ref>http://creation.com/starlight-and-time-a-further-breakthrough</ref> have noted that the Big Bang theory was constructed to account for serious pitfalls to the [[theory of evolution]], particularly the needed timescale of billions of years, amply contradicted by terrestrial and astronomical evidence.  Thus, the big bang is trotted out by [[atheist]] evolutionists to silence [[creationist]] opponents, even though the theory is based on little more than guesswork, speculation, and dubious assumptions.
+
Some creationists argue that the '''Big Bang theory''' is part of an effort to deny [[God's]] creation of all of existence.  Christian physicists, such as Dr. John Hartnett,<ref>http://creation.com/starlight-and-time-a-further-breakthrough</ref> have claimed that the Big Bang theory was constructed to account for serious pitfalls to the [[theory of evolution]], particularly the needed timescale of billions of years, amply contradicted by terrestrial and astronomical evidence.  Thus, the big bang is trotted out by [[atheist]] evolutionists to silence [[creationist]] opponents.
  
 
Young earth creationist scientists contest the Big Bang Theory stating that it is scientifically unsound.
 
Young earth creationist scientists contest the Big Bang Theory stating that it is scientifically unsound.

Revision as of 23:46, September 13, 2011

According to the Big Bang theory, the universe originated by expanding into space from an extremely dense and hot state called the original singularity.
According to the Big Bang theory, the three possible geometries of the universe depend on the value of the cosmological constant.

The Big Bang theory is a scientific theory used to account for the acceleration of matter throughout the Universe.

Big bang theories are actually a class of scientific models that describe the Universe as expanding from a very hot, dense state approximately 13.7 billion years ago[1] (although this number has changed several times throughout recent history). It was first proposed by the Catholic priest Georges-Henri Lemaitre and evidence for the expansion was observed by Edwin Hubble[2]. Later George Gamow predicted that the Big Bang would leave an observable microwave background radiation (or CMBR). This radiation was allegedly discovered by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson at Bell Labs; they claimed that it was found to be close to that predicted by Gamow (Gamow predicted a background radiation level equivalent to a roughly 3 K black body object, and the observed level is that of a 2.725 K body).

The term "Big Bang" implies an explosion of matter into pre-existing space, but the theory actually indicates that space is dynamic and more space is constantly created in the interstices between particles as the density of the universe falls. In other words, the Big Bang describes the expansion of space and time. Big Bang theorists state that the Hubble redshift is a consequence of this stretching of the fabric of space.

Observations of distant supernovae indicate that the Universe is actually undergoing accelerated expansion[3][4] and galaxy surveys[5][6] and recent observations of the microwave background[7][8] have allegedly corroborated these claims. Atheists claim that the acceleration is caused by something called 'dark energy', for which there is only observational evidence but no experimental evidence. There is no viable naturalistic explanation of what dark energy is, which even a few atheists admit, yet they insist that dark energy is a naturalistic phenomenon.

Scientists refer to the theoretical exact moment the Big Bang supposedly began as t=0 ("t" standing for "time"). At this time, according to their theory all of the matter in the universe - in fact, the universe itself - was contained within a single point (a single point in mathematics is infinitesimally small). A burst of energy known as the Big Bang is claimed to have issued forth, and the universe began.[9] 1.0×10-43 seconds later, the force of gravity separated from the other forces.[10]

In 2006, researchers used the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (launched by NASA in 2001) to measure variations in the cosmic microwave background (a "faint glow which permeates the universe"). According to these measurements, the universe is estimated to be about 13.7 billion years old, "give or take a few hundred-thousand years".[11]


Creationist and Theistic Evolutionary Views

The universe appears to be fine tuned for life, suggesting that God set the laws of physics that allow the universe, complexity, and life to exist. Scientists have been baffled by these "coincidences" as they examine the parameters of the big bang and other physical constants.

Some creationists argue that the Big Bang theory is part of an effort to deny God's creation of all of existence. Christian physicists, such as Dr. John Hartnett,[12] have claimed that the Big Bang theory was constructed to account for serious pitfalls to the theory of evolution, particularly the needed timescale of billions of years, amply contradicted by terrestrial and astronomical evidence. Thus, the big bang is trotted out by atheist evolutionists to silence creationist opponents.

Young earth creationist scientists contest the Big Bang Theory stating that it is scientifically unsound. [13] [14][15][16][17] In addition, young earth creationism holds that the book of Genesis is historical in nature and that Bible exegesis warrants a six-day creation with each day being 24 hours.[18][19][20]

Some Old Earth Creationists and Theistic Evolutionists argue that the Big Bang is in fact mentioned in the Bible. [21] Some Christian apologists who believe in an old earth, such as William Craig use the Big Bang as an apologetic, arguing that it proves that the universe had a beginning. [22]

He further discusses the many theories that have been proposed to counter the Big Bang Theory due to its conclusion that there is a beginning or origin of creation. These additional theories have been broken down to still revert to a beginning. This in essence tries to proves a divine power or creator, which frustrates the many atheistic scientists that are trying to prove that God does not exist, including well known physicist Stephen Hawking. [23]

It should be noted though that if the Big Bang happened, then due to relativistic time dilation, it would not matter if the universe was created in 13.7 billion years old or 6 days as depending on ones reference frame it could have been created in both 13.7 billion years and 6 days due to time warpage. Dr. Gerald Schroeder, an Israeli astrophysicist, has put forwards models to this effect. In them he demonstrates that if the age of the universe according to evolutionists is divided by the big bang expansion factor that the resulting time is almost exactly 6 days. [24] Intriguingly he also calculates that due to the rate at which the expansion was said to have slowed according to the Big Bang theory each significant eras according to the time scale of evolutionists correspond to six individual twenty-four hour days corresponding to the days of creation. Despite these numbers appearing in an astonishingly coincidental fashion from known figures put forward by secular science, atheistic scientists do not comment on the coincidence.

Scientific Criticism

It should be noted that the Big Bang theory has received criticism because it ignores the theory of an oscillating universe. Also, no first cause from the Big Bang has ever been successfully identified. Furthermore, critics of the Big Bang point out that not everything in the universe is actually moving apart from everything else as some galaxies have collided with other galaxies in the past, although this could be explained through understanding of classical mechanics.

The big bang theory is entirely unable to explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry. If the big bang theory did happen as they say, matter and antimatter would have been created in equal quantities. When antimatter was first discovered in the 1930's, scientists immediately began looking for traces of it in the universe. No traces have been found except what we produce in particle accelerators and positrons produced by a type of radiation called positron emission. This asymmetry means that the big bang theory would have had to violate the laws of physics, since matter would have had to be produced without its antimatter partner, which violates the laws of conservation of electric charge and mass. There was some excitement in the 1970's about electroweak symmetry breaking as a method by which the matter was "preferred" over antimatter, but the infrequency of the weak force made them conclude this was impossible.

Big Bang Theory Dissent Letter

Many have dissented from the theory, including the British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle, the Nobel Prize winner Hannes Alfven, and astronomers Geoffrey Burbidge and Halton Arp. [25] It was Hoyle who sarcastically coined the term during a radio broadcast.

In 2004, an ‘Open Letter to the Scientific Community’ disputing the Big Bang theory was signed by 33 scientists and has been published on the internet and in the science journal New Scientist.[26] [27]

The dissent letter has subsequently been signed by hundreds of individuals around the world. [28] Professional cosmologists are actively creating models (some of which contradict the Big Bang scenario) and collecting data that probe the specific nature of the earliest observable aspects of the Universe.

The Horizon Problem

The horizon problem is an argument against the Big Bang theory. As Jason Lisle explains:

The problem is this: even assuming the big bang timescale, there has not been enough time for light to travel between widely separated regions of space. So, how can the different regions of the current [cosmic microwave background] CMB have such precisely uniform temperatures if they have never communicated with each other? This is a light-travel–time problem.[29]

Recognizing this difficulty, physicist Alan Guth conjured an explanation he named cosmic inflation. According to this claim, during the universe's first 10-35 of a second, a period of extremely rapid, exponential inflation occurred, expanding the universe by a factor of at least 1026. It would be the equivalent of taking a pea and expanding it to the size of our solar system in a time less than a millionth of a blink of an eye. If this occurred, it would mathematically allow for the uniformity of the CMBR - the vast distances were in thermodynamical contact before the rapid inflation.[30][31] However, no naturalistic mechanism that would cause this sudden expansion is known, and inflation remains, at present, entirely speculative. An implication of inflation is that inflation may have acted not only upon the galaxies themselves, but also upon the light that was emitted by them, which would mean that the light reaches Earth much quicker than the speed of light alone would allow, so that the universe is much younger than it appears to be.


External Links

References

  1. WMAP Cosmology 101: Age of the Universe
  2. Hubble, E. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 15, Issue 3, pp. 168-173.
  3. Riess, A. G., et al. The Astronomical Journal, Volume 116, Issue 3, pp. 1009-1038.
  4. Perlmutter, S., et al. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 517, Issue 2, pp. 565-586.
  5. Sloan Digital Sky Survey
  6. Tegmark, M., et al. Physical Review D, vol. 74, Issue 12.
  7. Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
  8. See, for example, http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0603449
  9. http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/bigbang.htm
  10. http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments/History_of_Time_and_Life/content/BigBang.htm
  11. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188142,00.html
  12. http://creation.com/starlight-and-time-a-further-breakthrough
  13. Thompson, Bert, Harrub, Brad, and May, Branyon The Big Bang Theory—A Scientific Critique Apologetics Press, May 2003 - 23[5]:32-34,36-47.
  14. Brown, Walt, 2001, Big Bang?
  15. http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/309
  16. http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2047
  17. http://www.icr.org/article/343/
  18. Days of Creation (CreationWiki).
  19. Genesis Questions and Answers (Answers in Genesis).
  20. Niessen, Richard, Theistic Evolution and the Day-Age Theory Impact 81, March 1980.
  21. http://www.reasons.org/resources/fff/2000issue03/index.shtml#big_bang_the_bible_taught_it_first
  22. Strobel, Lee. The Case for a Creator. Zondervan, 2004.
  23. Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time.
  24. http://www.holycrossmonastery.org/articles/science/universe.htm
  25. http://www.icr.org/article/343/
  26. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2004/0601skepticism.asp
  27. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18224482.900
  28. http://www.cosmologystatement.org/
  29. Lisle, Jason, Light-travel time: a problem for the big bang, Creation 25(4):48–49, September 2003.
  30. Castelvecchi, Davide, The Growth of Inflation Symmetry, 1(2), December 2004, p.12-17
  31. Hinshaw, Gary, WMAP data put cosmic inflation to the test, 3rd May, 2006 (PhysicsWorld.com).