Origins of the Universe

In the words of Albert Einstein… “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.”

Preview of the Facts The facts we are looking at today: Einstein’s equations Redshift Temperature Heavier elements

Original Thoughts on Universe Early on thought that Earth was the center of the universe. In the 1500’s, Copernicus showed that we are not the center. Today we will be discussing the facts of what we know to be true.

Original Thoughts on Universe As telescopes became more advanced, we realized that we are not the only galaxy. We started to see how big space really is. We thought the universe is static, not growing or expanding.

Einstein and Relativity In 1915, Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity. In his research, he had to put in numbers representing the universe exploding or imploding in order to get answers that worked. The equation would not work when he put in a static universe.

Einstein and Relativity Einstein’s theory started the search for what happened at the beginning of our universe. In 1920, more astronomers started looking closely at the universe. It was astronomer Fred Hoyle that called what they were looking for the Big Bang and the name stuck.

Edwin Hubble and Redshift In 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that light from galaxies appeared to be redder than it should be. This shows that the galaxies are moving further away from us.

Temperature of the Universe Absolute Zero is the temperature at which all matter (even electrons) stop moving. Astronomers predicted that if the Big Bang did occur, a background temperature slightly above absolute zero would exist. In 1965, astronomers found the background temperature is 3.7 degrees.

Heavier Elements Stars can only produce elements as heavy as Iron. Supernovas produce heavier elements. The heaviest elements had to be created in an even bigger explosion.

The Facts We know Einstein’s equations Redshift Temperature Heavier elements We are looking for what happened in the first few seconds of the universe.