Evolution and the Big Bang Theory: Origins Explained

Introduction to the Big Bang Theory

The metaphysical questions that have haunted humanity since the dawn of civilization are perhaps addressed by the theory of evolution and the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang theory regarding the origin of the universe was formulated approximately 50 years ago and soon became the prevailing framework of the evolutionary establishment, though it has faced considerable opposition.

The Big Bang theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very start of our universe. Research in astronomy and physics has shown that our universe did indeed have a beginning. Before this beginning, there was nothing; after it, our universe came to be. The Big Bang theory attempts to explain what happened during and after the moment that the universe began.

According to the theory, the universe came into existence as a "singularity" approximately 13.7 billion years ago. Singularities are zones that defy our current understanding of physics. They are believed to exist at the core of black holes — areas of intense gravitational pressure so extreme that finite matter is compressed into infinite density. These zones of infinite density are known as singularities. Research suggests that the universe was once an infinitesimally small, infinitely hot, and infinitely dense entity. How it came to be what it is today, however, remains difficult to prove.

After the universe's initial appearance, it appears to have inflated — the "Big Bang" — then expanded and cooled, growing from a very small and very hot point to the size and temperature of the universe we observe today. The universe continues to expand and cool, and humans exist within it, living on a unique planet that circles a star clustered together with several hundred billion other stars in a galaxy. This is the essence of the Big Bang theory.

Research on Evolution and the Big Bang Theory

According to the Big Bang theory, approximately 10 to 20 billion years ago, all of the matter and energy of the universe was compressed into one cosmic egg — a plasma ball consisting of sub-atomic particles and radiation (Gish, 1991). Nobody understands where the cosmic egg came from, or how it got there; it simply appears to have existed. For some inexplicable reason, the cosmic egg exploded. As matter and radiation expanded, so the theory holds, the universe cooled sufficiently for elements to form. Protons and electrons combined to form hydrogen of atomic weight one, and neutrons were captured to form helium of atomic weight four. Most of the gas that formed was hydrogen. These gases are believed to have expanded radially in all directions throughout the universe until they were so highly dispersed that a very low vacuum and temperature existed. No oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, sulfur, copper, iron, nickel, uranium, or other heavier elements were yet present. The universe was composed essentially of hydrogen gas.

Then, somehow, the molecules of gas expanding outward at enormous speed began to collapse inward in localized areas due to gravitational attraction (Gish, 1991). Molecules within a space of roughly six trillion miles in diameter collapsed to form each star; approximately 100 billion stars collected to form each of the roughly 100 billion galaxies in the universe. Our own solar system formed approximately five billion years ago from a cloud of dust and gas made up of the exploded remnants of formerly existing stars.

There has been a great deal of research supporting the Big Bang theory. Most researchers agree that the universe had a beginning. Additionally, galaxies appear to be moving away from us at speeds proportional to their distance — a phenomenon known as Hubble's Law, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble, who discovered it in 1929. This observation supports the expansion of the universe and implies that it was once far more compacted.

Furthermore, if the universe was initially extremely hot, as the Big Bang theory suggests, scientists should be able to find evidence of that primordial heat. In 1965, radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered a 2.725-degree Kelvin (approximately -454.765°F / -270.425°C) Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB) that pervades the observable universe. This is widely regarded as the remnant that scientists had been seeking. Penzias and Wilson shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery.

Finally, the abundance of the light elements hydrogen and helium found throughout the observable universe is also considered strong support for the Big Bang model of origins.

Conclusion

There are many misconceptions surrounding the Big Bang theory. For example, we tend to imagine a giant explosion. Experts, however, say that there was no explosion; there was — and continues to be — an expansion. Rather than imagining a balloon popping and releasing its contents, one should imagine a balloon expanding: an infinitesimally small balloon growing to the size of our current universe.

The Big Bang theory is grounded in the mathematical equations known as the field equations, derived from the general theory of relativity developed in 1915 by Albert Einstein.

As LaRocco and Blair (2003) observed: "It is extremely difficult to separate this subject of science from daily existential pondering. Everyone at some point in time has grappled with the question of why we are here. Some have found refuge in the sheer philosophic nature of this question while others have taken a more scientific approach."

For many, it is hard to imagine the entire universe not existing. Yet science has shown that the universe is, in fact, finite — with a beginning, a middle, and a future. As LaRocco and Blair (2003) further noted: "It is easy to get caught up in the large scale of the issue in discussing years by the billions, yet this time still passes. As we travel through our own individual lives here on Earth, we also travel through the life of our universe."

The Big Bang theory holds that the universe started from a single point and has been expanding over the course of billions of years. This has been supported by numerous scientific discoveries, including the apparent movement of galaxies away from us and the cosmic microwave background radiation — believed to be the residual light from the Big Bang itself. The evidence for a Big Bang having occurred roughly 15 to 20 billion years ago is substantial, and it is widely accepted in scientific communities.

Society, however, continues to question why the Big Bang happened in the first place — a question that shifts the inquiry from astronomy to philosophy and religion. Many researchers argue that the Big Bang theory actually confirms the existence of God and aligns with the basic elements of the creation story as described in the Bible. Many other scientists disagree. Some are religious; some are not. They find little consensus on the "why" questions, making religion a persistently debated dimension of Big Bang discussions.

Regardless of one's beliefs, it is difficult to argue that the Big Bang theory is anything less than a serious and meaningful attempt to address the metaphysical questions that have haunted humanity since the dawn of civilization.