The Big Bang

[All Seeing Eye]

Why was there matter and anti-matter at the beginning of the universe?

Where did this matter anti-matter come from?

If time did not exist before the big bang then how long was the matter and anti-matter there before the explosion?

If time did not exist how could it be there? and how could it explode?

When they say "matter and anti-matter" what exactly was it? Hydrogen? other elements? How were the protons, neutrons and electrons of these elements created in the first place if the big bang had not happened yet?

Why is anything even here at all?

If everything has to be made of something then just where the hell does it stop?

Even with string theory, just what the heck are the strings made of? and what is that made of? just how small can you actually go?

What is the universe expanding into?

Before the actual big bang occurred creating the universe what was that small point of matter and anti-matter in? where was it located?

Could the universe just be an illusion?

Let's get to the bottom of this shall we and let's keep it about science.

 

[Shaw]

You know, these are things that I've started to realize are just outside of some people's ability to understand. People need time to work as they experience it, they need space to work as they experience it... and giving them the answers to these questions does not answer their questions.

When you ask about a before, you are assuming time is separate from the universe. When you ask about expanding into, you are assuming that space (volume) is separate from the universe. No answer about the Big Bang or General Relativity will work if you can't visualize time and space as active parts of the universe rather than a static canvas on which other things are playing out.

But you aren't alone... there are physicist (mostly particle physicist) who have the same visualization issues. It is not easy for some and even understanding the math doesn't always provide insight (I found out a long time ago that being good at the math is not linked to being good at visualizing what it is saying).

But you are right... our perception of things like time is an illusion our minds made up to deal with the nature of our environment. Time is different everywhere in the universe... the time that astronauts experience seems to move faster than what we experience... but they don't notice the difference.

But you are asking this in a really bad place... the stuff posted in this thread proves that this is not the place for real answers.

If you really want answers... they aren't free! They require work, no one can give them to you. Only you can work to reach a point where you can see them yourself.

It is like mountain climbing... I can tell you what I saw at the top of a mountain, but you'll never really see it until you've been there yourself.

 

[sojourner]

Ah, the Big Bang. Where physics meets philosophy.

 

[Lindley]

The thing that's confusing for me is----if time is like an expanding elastic that we're gradually moving along, then in some sense it must be slowing down the further we get into the "future".

Furthermore, the part of time we're on now was once present in the primordial universe; we just weren't "present" on this part of time when it was.

It's really quite headache-inducing.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

I'd love to discuss the subject at length, but my girlfriend is beconing to me. This abstract "big bang" is no doubt trivial compared to the next 3 hours of my life.

Some bangs are just bigger.

 

[T'Girl]

The big "nothingness" that the matter and energy is expanding into, that nothingness IS the universe. Just as much as the substance is the universe. The big bang didn't create the universe, it "released" the matter and energy that had been held by (gravity?) in a tight area, to enlarge into the universe.

 

[skep155]

Why was there matter and anti-matter at the beginning of the universe?

Where did this matter anti-matter come from?

If time did not exist before the big bang then how long was the matter and anti-matter there before the explosion?

If time did not exist how could it be there? and how could it explode?

When they say "matter and anti-matter" what exactly was it? Hydrogen? other elements? How were the protons, neutrons and electrons of these elements created in the first place if the big bang had not happened yet?

Why is anything even here at all?

If everything has to be made of something then just where the hell does it stop?

Even with string theory, just what the heck are the strings made of? and what is that made of? just how small can you actually go?

What is the universe expanding into?

Before the actual big bang occurred creating the universe what was that small point of matter and anti-matter in? where was it located?

Could the universe just be an illusion?

Let's get to the bottom of this shall we and let's keep it about science.

First of all the universe is NOT expanding into anything. People have this misconception that the stars and galaxies are expanding into open space which remains motionless. It is infact the space itself which is expanding taking the galaxies with it. Imagine sticking coins to the outside of a balloon with no air in it, the balloon represents space and the coins represent the galaxies. When you blow the balloon up the coins get further apart but they aren't moving across the surface of the balloon, its the surface of the balloon which is moving. Same applies for the universe.

Philosophically i doubt that there could ever have been nothing. The existence at some point of pure nothingness is a logical contradiction, since nothingness by its nature is lack of existence, if the state of nothing were to exist it would be a something.

 

[Jadzia]

Philosophically i doubt that there could ever have been nothing. The existence at some point of pure nothingness is a logical contradiction, since nothingness by its nature is lack of existence, if the state of nothing were to exist it would be a something.

I've always found this argument to be rather dubious. We don't really have a good idea of what "exist" means. Do we really have a good ideas of what "something" means either? If we predefine these words, they may no longer be applicable to what we're trying to answer. Is that just semantics?

I'll admit that I have thought about this before, trying to consider to the most fundamental point of origin. The scientists suggest that causality goes back beyond a big bang, to the interaction of branes within 10 dimensional realms or something. So then where did the branes come from? What's their story?

Ultimately, if we consider there has to be an event without an antecedent, then we must accept that something can come from nothing. My tendency is to think that something did come from nothing, and always does.

But this is philosophy. And for the record, I'm happy to allow philosophy in sci-tech.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

First of all the universe is NOT expanding into anything. People have this misconception that the stars and galaxies are expanding into open space which remains motionless. It is infact the space itself which is expanding taking the galaxies with it. Imagine sticking coins to the outside of a balloon with no air in it, the balloon represents space and the coins represent the galaxies. When you blow the balloon up the coins get further apart but they aren't moving across the surface of the balloon, its the surface of the balloon which is moving. Same applies for the universe.

Your analogy is flawed. The balloon is still expanding into something.

 

[Deckerd]

Ultimately, if we consider there has to be an event without an antecedent, then we must accept that something can come from nothing. My tendency is to think that something did come from nothing, and always does.

I agree. I don't know why I agree but I do.

 

[Arrqh]

First of all the universe is NOT expanding into anything. People have this misconception that the stars and galaxies are expanding into open space which remains motionless. It is infact the space itself which is expanding taking the galaxies with it. Imagine sticking coins to the outside of a balloon with no air in it, the balloon represents space and the coins represent the galaxies. When you blow the balloon up the coins get further apart but they aren't moving across the surface of the balloon, its the surface of the balloon which is moving. Same applies for the universe.

Your analogy is flawed. The balloon is still expanding into something.

And the surface of the balloon is only two dimensional and galaxies aren't legal tender. Of course it's flawed, it's an analogy that functions as a visual aid, not a mathematically equivalent scenario. And that doesn't invalidate the point.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

First of all the universe is NOT expanding into anything. People have this misconception that the stars and galaxies are expanding into open space which remains motionless. It is infact the space itself which is expanding taking the galaxies with it. Imagine sticking coins to the outside of a balloon with no air in it, the balloon represents space and the coins represent the galaxies. When you blow the balloon up the coins get further apart but they aren't moving across the surface of the balloon, its the surface of the balloon which is moving. Same applies for the universe.

Your analogy is flawed. The balloon is still expanding into something.

And the surface of the balloon is only two dimensional and galaxies aren't legal tender. Of course it's flawed, it's an analogy that functions as a visual aid, not a mathematically equivalent scenario. And that doesn't invalidate the point.

It has to be expanding into something or how can it possibly expand at all?

It's like atoms, everything HAS to be made of something or how could it exist? there's string theory but what the hell are the strings made of? whats the stuff the strings made of made of? how far down does it go? it must be infinite because how can something exist if it's not made of something?

Which leads me to the question, is any of this even real at all?

Same goes for time, how slow can you go before time stops still? would time even stop? can you slow down infinitely without stopping?

Start with a second, half it, half it again, half it again. Keep halving time for as long as possible, how long can you half time for before you can't half it anymore?

So was there a beginning to everything? and if there was no beginning and the universe is infinite then why is it infinite? how is it even possible for existence to exist rather than nothingness if there was no beginning.

 

[Deckerd]

Why are you asking us?

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Why are you asking us?

I want to know everyone's perspective on it, that's why i'm asking. Once we know everyone's perspective I wanna be able to discuss it with them.
Try to wrap our heads around it all. The best way for me to do this is to ask you puzzling questions and see what answers you can come up with.

We're here to discuss things right? well i'm offering a topic of discussion, a topic where we all no doubt have different ideas of how things work and which will allow us to bounce ideas off each other.

The majority of my questions in the OP have been ignored and not even been attempted to be answered. I'm sure your answer to that is "nobody knows so we can't answer it" well it's not a case of nobody knows, everyone must have an idea or at least an opinion on all these questions and i'd love to know what they are.

 

[Deckerd]

But nobody knows.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

*face palm*

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Does it matter? Does it anti-matter?

 

[skep155]

If you want most of these questions answered in any sort of detail then you will need to consult a physicist and read a couple of large books.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Forget it.

Jadzia can you close this thread please?

Thank you.

 

[Deckerd]

Asking the board clearly isn't working because our perceptions are flawed apparently.