The Big Bang Theory: It states that all the matter of universe was present at a single place

in the form of hot and dense fire ball, having a high temperature of nearly 10 12K. After the
passage of nearly 20 billion years an enormous explosion took place. All the matter which
was concentrated at one place scattered into space with rapid speed. This scattering was
along all directions. Then this scattered matter took the shapes of galaxies and stars.
According to Hubbles, the velocity of light and the recession velocities of galaxies become
similar at a distance of 20 billion light years. So, it is sure that these heavenly bodies which
are present at a distance of more than 20 billion light years can never arrive near us. From
the above discussion an observable boundary of the universe is drawn.
If the recession will remain in continuity then large number of heavenly bodies will move away
from us. Hence as a result they will be lost one day. So, number of stars and galaxies will
reduce continuously and a day will come when we will be surprised to see our empty
universe.
How and when did the universe begin? No other scientific question is more fundamental or
provokes such spirited debate among researchers. After all, no one was around when the
universe began, so who can say what really happened? The best that scientists can do is
work out the most foolproof theory, backed up by observations of the universe. The trouble is,
so far, no one has come up with an absolutely indisputable explanation of how the cosmos
came to be.
The Big Bang
Since the early part of the 1900s, one explanation of the origin and fate of the universe, the
Big Bang theory, has dominated the discussion. Proponents of the Big Bang maintain that,
between 13 billion and 15 billion years ago, all the matter and energy in the known cosmos
was crammed into a tiny, compact point. In fact, according to this theory, matter and energy
back then were the same thing, and it was impossible to distinguish one from the other.
Adherents of the Big Bang believe that this small but incredibly dense point of primitive
matter/energy exploded. Within seconds the fireball ejected matter/energy at velocities
approaching the speed of light. At some later timemaybe seconds later, maybe years later
energy and matter began to split apart and become separate entities. All of the different
elements in the universe today developed from what spewed out of this original explosion.

Big Bang theorists claim that all of the galaxies, stars, and planets still retain the explosive
motion of the moment of creation and are moving away from each other at great speed. This
supposition came from an unusual finding about our neighboring galaxies. In 1929
astronomer Edwin Hubble, working at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California, announced
that all of the galaxies he had observed were receding from us, and from each other, at
speeds of up to several thousand miles per second.
The Steady State Theory
But the Big Bang is not the only proposed theory concerning our universe's origin. In the
1940s a competing hypothesis arose, called the Steady State theory. Some astronomers
turned to this idea simply because, at the time, there wasn't enough information to test the Big
Bang. British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle and others argued that the universe was not only
uniform in spacean idea called the cosmological principlebut also unchanging in time, a
concept called the perfect cosmological principle. This theory didn't depend on a specific
event like the Big Bang. Under the Steady State theory, stars and galaxies may change, but
on the whole the universe has always looked the way it does now, and it always will.
The Big Bang predicts that as galaxies recede from one another, space becomes
progressively emptier. The Steady State theorists admit that the universe is expanding, but
predict that new matter continually comes to life in the spaces between the receding galaxies.
Astronomers propose that this new material is made up of atoms of hydrogen, which slowly
coalesce in open space to form new stars.
Naturally, continuous creation of matter from empty space has met with criticism. How can
you get something from nothing? The idea violates a fundamental law of physics: the
conservation of matter. According to this law, matter can neither be created nor destroyed, but
only converted into other forms of matter, or into energy. But skeptical astronomers have
found it hard to directly disprove the continuous creation of matter, because the amount of
matter formed under the Steady State theory is so very tiny: about one atom every billion
years for every several cubic feet of space.
The Steady State theory fails, however, in one important way. If matter is continuously created
everywhere, then the average age of stars in any section of the universe should be the same.
But astronomers have found that not to be true.
Astronomers can figure out how old a galaxy or star is by measuring its distance from Earth.
The farther away from Earth an object is, the longer it has taken light from the object to travel

across space and reach Earth. That means that the most distant objects we can see are also
the oldest.
For example, take quasars, the small points of light that give off enormous amounts of radio
energy. Because the light from quasars is shifted so far to the red end of the spectrum,
astronomers use Hubble's law to calculate that these powerhouses lie at a great distance
from Earth, and hence are very old. But quasars exist only at these great distancesnone
are found nearer. If the Steady State theory were true, there ought to be both young and old
quasars. Since astronomers haven't found quasars that formed recently, they conclude the
universe must have changed over time. The discovery of quasars has put the Steady State
theory on unsteady ground.
The Plasma Universe and Little Bangs
Not happy with either the Big Bang or the Steady State theory? A minority of astronomers are
formulating other views of the creation of the universe. One model comes from the mind of
Nobel laureate Hannes Alfvn, a Swedish plasma physicist. Called the Plasma Universe, his
model starts by noting that 99 percent of the observable universe (including the stars) is made
of plasma. Plasma, an ionized gas that conducts electricity, is sometimes called the fourth
state of matter. This theory states that the Big Bang never happened, and that the universe is
crisscrossed by gigantic electric currents and huge magnetic fields.
Under this view the universe has existed forever, chiefly under the influence of an
electromagnetic force. Such a universe has no distinct beginning and no predictable end. In
the Plasma Universe, galaxies come together slowly over a much greater time span than in
the Big Bang theory, perhaps taking as long as 100 billion years.
Little of the evidence for the Plasma Universe comes from direct observations of the sky.
Instead, it comes from laboratory experiments. Computer simulations of plasmas subjected to
high-energy fields reveal patterns that look like simulated galaxies. Using actual
electromagnetic fields in the laboratory, researchers have also been able to replicate the
plasma patterns seen in galaxies. While still a minority view, the Plasma Universe is gaining
favor with younger, more laboratory-minded astronomers who value hard empirical evidence
over mathematical proofs.
Meanwhile, another group of astronomers is developing a steady-state theory that actually
conforms to astronomical observations. Like its predecessor, this steady-state theory
proposes a universe with no beginning and no end. Rather, matter is continuously created via
a succession of "Little Bangs," perhaps associated with mysterious quasars. In this new

theory, galaxies would form at a rate determined by the pace at which the universe expands.
These theorists can even account for the cosmic background radiation: they maintain that the
microwaves are actually coming from a cloud of tiny iron particlesand are not the residual
effects of some primordial explosion.
Panspermia
Credit: Mark Rasmussen | Dreamstime.com
Perhaps life did not begin on Earth at all, but was brought here from elsewhere in space, a
notion known as panspermia. For instance, rocks regularly get blasted off Mars by cosmic
impacts, and a number of Martian meteorites have been found on Earth that some
researchers have controversially suggested brought microbes over here, potentially making
us all Martians originally. Other scientists have even suggested that life might have hitchhiked
on comets from other star systems. However, even if this concept were true, the question of
how life began on Earth would then only change to how life began elsewhere in space.
Simple Beginnings
Instead of developing from complex molecules such as RNA, life might have begun with
smaller molecules interacting with each other in cycles of reactions. These might have been
contained in simple capsules akin to cell membranes, and over time more complex molecules
that performed these reactions better than the smaller ones could have evolved, scenarios
dubbed "metabolism-first" models, as opposed to the "gene-first" model of the "RNA world"
hypothesis
RNA World
Credit: Yunxiang987 | Dreamstime.com
Nowadays DNA needs proteins in order to form, and proteins require DNA to form, so how
could these have formed without each other? The answer may be RNA, which can store
information like DNA, serve as an enzyme like proteins, and help create both DNA and
proteins. Later DNA and proteins succeeded this "RNA world," because they are more
efficient.
RNA still exists and performs several functions in organisms, including acting as an on-off
switch for some genes. The question still remains how RNA got here in the first place. And
while some scientists think the molecule could have spontaneously arisen on Earth, others
say that was very unlikely to have happened. Other nucleic acids other than RNA have been
suggested as well, such as the more esoteric PNA or TNA.

A study in 2015 suggests the missing link in this RNA puzzle may have been found.
Inflation theory
What is the Inflation Theory?
The Inflation Theory proposes a period of extremely rapid (exponential) expansion of the
universe during its first few moments. It was developed around 1980 to explain several
puzzles with the standard Big Bang theory, in which the universe expands relatively gradually
throughout its history.
LIMITATIONS OF THE BIG BANG THEORY
While the Big Bang theory successfully explains the "blackbody spectrum" of the cosmic
microwave background radiation and the origin of the light elements, it has three significant
problems:
The Flatness Problem:
WMAP has determined the geometry of the universe to be nearly flat. However, under Big
Bang cosmology, curvature grows with time. A universe as flat as we see it today would
require an extreme fine-tuning of conditions in the past, which would be an unbelievable
coincidence.
The Horizon Problem:
Distant regions of space in opposite directions of the sky are so far apart that, assuming
standard Big Bang expansion, they could never have been in causal contact with each other.
This is because the light travel time between them exceeds the age of the universe. Yet the
uniformity of the cosmic microwave background temperature tells us that these regions must
have been in contact with each other in the past.
The Monopole Problem:
Big Bang cosmology predicts that a very large number of heavy, stable "magnetic monopoles"
should have been produced in the early universe. However, magnetic monopoles have never
been observed, so if they exist at all, they are much more rare than the Big Bang theory
predicts.
THE INFLATION THEORY
The Inflation Theory, developed by Alan Guth, Andrei Linde, Paul Steinhardt, and Andy
Albrecht, offers solutions to these problems and several other open questions in cosmology. It
proposes a period of extremely rapid (exponential) expansion of the universe prior to the

more gradual Big Bang expansion, during which time the energy density of the universe was
dominated by a cosmological constant-type of vacuum energy that later decayed to produce
the matter and radiation that fill the universe today.
Inflation was both rapid, and strong. It increased the linear size of the universe by more than
60 "e-folds", or a factor of ~10^26 in only a small fraction of a second! Inflation is now
considered an extension of the Big Bang theory since it explains the above puzzles so well,
while retaining the basic paradigm of a homogeneous expanding universe. Moreover, Inflation
Theory links important ideas in modern physics, such as symmetry breaking and phase
transitions, to cosmology.
HOW DOES INFLATION SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS?
The Flatness Problem:
Imagine living on the surface of a soccer ball (a 2-dimensional world). It might be obvious to
you that this surface was curved and that you were living in a closed universe. However, if
that ball expanded to the size of the Earth, it would appear flat to you, even though it is still a
sphere on larger scales. Now imagine increasing the size of that ball to astronomical scales.
To you, it would appear to be flat as far as you could see, even though it might have been
very curved to start with. Inflation stretches any initial curvature of the 3-dimensional universe
to near flatness.
The Horizon Problem:
Since Inflation supposes a burst of exponential expansion in the early universe, it follows that
distant regions were actually much closer together prior to Inflation than they would have
been with only standard Big Bang expansion. Thus, such regions could have been in causal
contact prior to Inflation and could have attained a uniform temperature.
The Monopole Problem:
Inflation allows for magnetic monopoles to exist as long as they were produced prior to the
period of inflation. During inflation, the density of monopoles drops exponentially, so their
abundance drops to undetectable levels.
As a bonus, Inflation also explains the origin of structure in the universe. Prior to inflation, the
portion of the universe we can observe today was microscopic, and quantum fluctuation in the
density of matter on these microscopic scales expanded to astronomical scales during
Inflation. Over the next several hundred million years, the higher density regions condensed
into stars, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies.

OSCILLATING UNIVERSE THEORY

Article Updated: 24 Dec , 2015
by John Carl Villanueva
The Oscillating Universe Theory is a cosmological model that combines both the Big Bang
and the Big Crunch as part of a cyclical event. That is, if this theory holds true, then the
Universe in which we live in exists between a Big Bang and a Big Crunch.
In other words, our universe can be the first of a possible series of universes or it can be the
nth universe in the series.
As we know, in the Big Bang Theory, the Universe is believed to be expanding from a very
hot, very dense, and very small entity. In fact, if we extrapolate back to the moment of the Big
Bang, we are able to reach a point of singularity characterized by infinitely high energy and
density, as well as zero volume.
This description would only mean one thing all the laws of physics will be thrown out of the
window. This is understandably unacceptable to physicists. To make matters worse, some
cosmologists even believe that the Universe will eventually reach a maximum point of
expansion and that once this happens, it will then collapse into itself.
This will essentially lead to the same conditions as when we extrapolate back to the moment
of the Big Bang. To remedy this dilemma, some scientists are proposing that perhaps the
Universe will not reach the point of singularity after all.
Instead, because of repulsive forces brought about by quantum effects of gravity, the
Universe will bounce back to an expanding one. An expansion (Big Bang) following a collapse
(Big Crunch) such as this is aptly called a Big Bounce. The bounce marks the end of the
previous universe and the beginning of the next.
The probability of a Big Bounce, or even a Big Crunch for that matter, is however becoming
negligible. The most recent measurements of the CMBR or cosmic microwave background
radiation shows that the Universe will continue on expanding and will most likely end in what
is known as a Big Freeze or Heat Death.
CMBR readings are currently being gathered by a very accurate measuring device known as
the WMAP or Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. It is the same device that has
measured with sharp precision the age of our universe. It is therefore highly unlikely that

future findings will deviate largely from what has been discovered regarding the Universes
expansion now.
There is however one mysterious entity whose deeper understanding of may change the
possibilities. This entity, known as dark energy, is believed to be responsible for pushing the
galaxies farther apart and subsequently the universes accelerated expansion. Unless its
actual properties are very dissimilar from what it is showing now, we may have to shelve the
Oscillating Universe Theory.
BELIEFS OF WORLD RELIGIONS ABOUT ORIGINS

Buddhism: This religion teaches a range of beliefs about origins:

That creation occurs repeatedly throughout time. At the beginning of each kalpa (cycle) land
forms, in darkness, on the surface of the water. Spiritual beings who populated the universe in
the previous kalpa are reborn; one of them takes the form of a man and starts the human
race. Unhappiness and misery reigns. This is the interval that we are experiencing today.
Eventually, the universe dissolves; all living creatures return to the soul life, and the cycle
repeats.
Lama Shenpen Hookham of Buddhism Connect writes: "The Buddhist view is that everything
emanates from the Primordial expanse of Openness Clarity Sensitivity and is illusionlikenever really coming into existence, but the illusion is created by infinite intricate connections
that are not anywhere and not in time. Time and space are part of the illusion that is
emanating from that Primordial expanse - so it is all very mysterious. From the Buddhist
perspective there is no problem with life on earth having evolved somehow - but evolution is
not in itself a full story or full account of life on earth. It leaves quite basic questions left
unanswered. In a way one might want to argue that Buddhism is closer to creationism
because our world is created by awareness - the awareness of the beings that inhabit it.
Evolution only gives a kind of history of how that illusion unfolds. 6
Hinduism: There are a variety of Hindu creation stories.
One started with the sacrifice of the primal man, named Purusa. His body was the entire
universe. The lower quarter of his body became the earth; the rest became the heavens. The
various castes of humans came from parts of Purusa's body: his arms became the warriors;
his legs the commoners, and his feet the serfs.

The Puranas, ancient Vedic books, states that universes form from the breath of the God
Vishnu's breath. They last for the duration of one exhalation and inhalation. "With each
breath, countless universes emanate from Vishnu in seedlike forms that expand. Then Vishnu
multiplies Himself in as many forms as there are universes and enters into each universe." 1
Islam: At least in the West, some Muslims allow for belief in theistic evolution. Iqbal Hossain,
president of the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake said: "If you believe in God and in the
Qur'an, you have to believe that everything that was in the universe was created by God. "If
there was an evolutionary process, that process was created and put in place by God."
However, others totally attack evolution. 2
Jainism: There is no creator. "The doctrine that the world was created is ill-advised and
should be rejected." They feel that no single being exists who could create the world. Besides,
they argue, how could an immaterial god create a material earth? "Uncreated and
indestructible, it [the universe] endures under the compulsion of its own nature, divided into
three sections - hell, earth and heaven." 3
Judaism: Jews mirror Christians in their belief about evolution and creationism. Orthodox
Jews generally reject evolution. Rabbi Benny Zippel of Bais Menachem Orthodox
congregation in Salt Lake City said that they do "not believe in or accept the theory of
evolution. When God created the world in six days of creation, it was a mature world and
mature creatures." 9 Conservative and reform Judaism generally reject creationism. Saul
Korewa, a teacher at the Utah School of Jewish Studies commented: "You would certainly
find many rabbinic authorities who teach that the biblical story of creation is a blueprint for
what evolution describes in that it moves from less advanced organisms. I don't think that
mainstream Judaism has a big problem reconciling science and religion." 4
Sikhism: The Real Sikhism web site states: Sikhs believe that God created the whole
universe. Earth while being in the universe is a creation of God and all the life on earth is a
creation of God. It does not matter to a Sikh whether earth was created in seven days or it
evolved in 4 billion years. If the earth was created then God created the earth and if the earth
was evolved then God created the evolution of the earth. In addition, Guru Granth Sahib (The
Holy Scripture of Sikhs) states remarkable information about the universe, galaxies, stars,
planets and the moons. None of the information written in the scripture contradicts with the
scientific facts. Furthermore, nothing in Guru Granth Sahib can be disproved with the help of
science. However, scientific facts support the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib. 5