Friday, November 07, 2014

The Universe Came From Nothing?!


I don't think we have to go over the big bang theory here do we?  You know the Universe began from an infinitely small point and expanded in all directions all at once.  We ok so far?  So the question is what came before the infinitely small point of space/time?

Well that has been the 10,000 dollar question as of late.  From the Slash-Dot article:
  • Cosmologists at the Wuhan Institute have published a proof that the Big Bang could indeed have occurred spontaneously because of quantum fluctuations. "The new proof is based on a special set of solutions to a mathematical entity known as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation.
The words that make my heart go pitter patter are 'quantum fluctuations' which the Wikipedia explains as  'the temporary change in the amount of energy in a point in space'

We know that energy can not be destroyed, simply changed and matter is just another form of energy.  So I would suspect that a temporary change in the amount of energy at any given point would result in a quantum particle.  If this particle is stable or not is moot, as long and the process once started does not stall.  Because at any given point an unstable quantum particle could evolve into a much more stable unit which given enough time and fluctuations could lead to a macro particle with a much higher energy potential plus the added attraction of being significantly more stable. 

The neat thing is, I  one heard this ripple, quantum energy flux first applied to the very end of the universe, when all matter has bled down to an even quantum state.  At some point a quantum fluctuation would bring about a temporary energy point and damn if that don't sound like the whole universe starting up again.

Here is the Wikipedia on quantum fluctuations

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