Proving/Disproving Big Bang Theory

What scientists base all of their information off of is hypothesizing, coming up with theories, conducting experiments to try to solve their hypothesis, and observe. "Many experiments on the cutting edge of science fail, and most hypotheses turn out to be wrong," (Collins, 82). How scientists come up with theories are usually evolved from previous ones and the cycle continues until proven; science is continuously moving forward and evolving with time. Based from observations of our planet, people make "theories" and try to prove them. So far in the human race, many have been created; proved and disproved.

Once Newton discovered and explored universal gravity, it was then later on further explored by Einstein. Through Einsteins general theory of relativity, it shows through his equations are correct; that the universe is expanding."Beginning in 1917, Einstein and others applied general relativity to the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole.At first Einstein thought the answer to his equations were wrong due to the conclusion it made, but in 1916 a Dutch man by the name of Willem de Sitter solved the equations showing that the universe was not static as thought before. The leading cosmological theory, called the big bang theory, was formulated in 1922 by the Russian mathematician and meteorologist Alexander Friedmann. Friedmann began with Einstein's equations of general relativity and found a solution to those equations in which the universe began in a state of extremely high density and temperature (the so-called big bang) and then expanded in time, thinning out and cooling as it did so. One of the most stunning successes of the big bang theory is the prediction that the universe is approximately 10 billion years old, a result obtained from the rate at which distant galaxies are flying away from each other. This prediction accords with the age of the universe as obtained from very local methods, such as the dating of radioactive rocks on Earth," (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/). Through Einsteins theory, Friedmann gained interest and decided to explore it along with him. Along with Friedmann, A Belgian priest named Georges Lemaitre gained interest in Einsteins discovery and further explored it.

Georges Lemaitre was not only a priest, but studied in the math and sciences. "In May 1931, Lemaitre published in Nature, a paper that ventured to suggest that the Universe was born from an infinitesimal supreme state of matter condensation, the Primeval Atom as Lemaitre called it. The explosion of this Primeval Atom was what later started off the expansion of the Universe," (http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_05/01FEB07/04-SFI.htm). With Einsteins equations, it helped Georges prove that the universe is not static. "The universe has to expand or contract. From this realization, the big bang theory, as would later be called, was born," (Scientific American, The End of Cosmology). Through finding that the universe is expanding through relativity and that we can reach the universes radiation, it indicates that the universe had a beginning through one explosion; an atom. "For one thing, we look in the sky and see it! The universe is permeated with microwave radiation that has been traveling through space ever since the universe cooled to the point where it was transparent. The detailed spectrum and anisotropy (lumpiness) of the radiation have been measured with excellent precision by the Cosmic Microwave Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, and the agreement with theory is so good that scientists can even relate its features to quantities like the speed of sound waves traveling through the Big Bang fireball. We also currently observe that the universe is expanding. Not only does this suggest that in the past everything must have been closer together, but it can even be proven mathematically from Einstein's general theory of relativity that the current expanding state of the universe traces back to a time when what is now the entire observable universe was smaller than a single atom," (http://www.lightandmatter.com/evolution/).

Once the theory of the universe expanding was present, in the 1920's, it was discovered that our nearby galaxies are moving further away from us. This shows that the universe could be indeed expanding. "The first person to provide observational evidence for the expansion was American astronomer Vesto Slipher, who used the spectra of stars to measure the velocities of nearby galaxies," (Scientific American). In order for this to be found, light fro the galaxies are compressed, forming blue light that travel towards the earth which have been seen. Because the galaxies are moving away from us, it stretches the light, making the wavelength longer and the light redder. This allowed Slipher to see whether the galaxies are truly moving away from us or not.

Along with Slipher, Edwin Hubble helped determine the distance of the galaxies from Earth. This led to helping prove that the universe is expanding.

Once the universe started to expand, it left over radiation that was found in 1965 by two astronomer named Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson. "It indictates that the universe began hot and dense and has since cooled and thinned out," (Scientific American). Once this was found, it was presented to Gamow and analyzed.

The theory of the universe having a birth points to creation; the universe was created at one point or another. By God, not according to most scientists, but rather by one atom. The theory of a God creating the universe is skeptical. "Belief in God is not only a delusion, he argues, but a “pernicious” one. “I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there,” (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/books/review/Holt.t.html?scp=2&sq=no+proof+of+god&st=nyt). As we have found hard today, how do we go abouts proving that there is a higher being that created the universe? If we could prove God with evidence, would that cancel out sciences and the big bang theory? "In a masterfully terse thousand words, a man, Flew, argues that “God” is too vague a concept to be meaningful. For if God’s greatness entails being invisible, intangible and inscrutable, then he can’t be disproved — but nor can he be proved,"(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04Flew-t.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=god%27s+universe&st=nyt&oref=slogin). The concept of God, right now, is too vague for us to try to prove. According to religion, you cant prove God, you can only prove it to yourself through inner faith. Along with religion, as of right now, we cannot prove the Big Bang either. As shown, we have evidence of a universe expanding which indicates it had a birth from an atom, but the big bang cant tell us yet if it is true; they are not yet facts that prove it, but can conclude to it.

Though we have scientific reasons on the creation of the universe, the scientific research and view of the universe is not enough to answer all the question about our true origin.