The Super Summary of World History Read Free Page A

billion galaxies into an area much smaller than a pinpoint. Nonetheless, that is where our theories and our mathematics leave us. Thus, the mystery lingers.

    While many interesting things go on in the first few billionths of a second after the Big Bang occurred one phenomenon is especially intriguing— inflation. As originally proposed, the Big Bang theory could not explain the universe as it exists now. Explaining the present nature of our universe required something more, for example, why does the universe have a uniform temperature, how could atoms come into existence, and the how did the basic forces controlling matter come about? Mr. Alan Guth, a physicist, came up with an explanation now termed “inflation.” Mr. Guth theorized that at 10 -36 (that means a 10 with 36 zeros after it) of a second after the Big Bang the universe accelerated its speed of expansion, and this speed was incredibly different from the normal speed of the expansion— faster than the speed of light . At 10 -34 of a second this acceleration (inflation) stopped. Thus, for something like three times less than a trillionth of a second the universe expanded at a rate more than 100 times greater than normal, then it went back to its normal rate of expansion. Without this inflationary period our universe would not exist. Alternatively, if the inflation took place for a different length of time our universe would not exist. Fundamentally, any change in the time of inflation destroys the ability of matter and atoms to come into existence. Brian Greene has a good explanation of this phenomenon for the non-scientist in The Elegant Universe , Greene, Vintage Books, 2003, page 355 et seq.
    Our universe contains mysteries so deep that we earthlings may not solve them. As we have seen, the Big Bang theory states the universe started with a massive “explosion” of sorts; then, as the universe sailed off creating space, time, matter, and whatnot it cooled off and began to form atoms. From those atoms the universe, and our small blue world, were constructed—we think. What we measure and study here on earth is the framework for exploring the known universe; however, recent discoveries call into question the assumption that the universe works the same in deep space as it does here on earth. Astronomers discovered that the galaxies we observe are not slowing down as they travel away from one another—they are speeding up! As we know from watching explosions here on earth, gravity slows down the flying debris and soon the explosion is over. If gravity acts the same way in deep space the galaxies should be slowing down, but they are not. Astronomers say this acceleration is a function of “dark energy,” an unexplained force in the universe. In another problem, astronomers found that atoms make up only four percent (4%) of the universe. The rest of the universe is some kind of “dark matter.” As dark matter and dark energy are concepts without foundations here on earth they are beyond scientific explanation at this point in time. In fact, they are little more than names. These mysteries may defy solution if we fail to reach beyond our solar system.
    Here we may note the vastness of the universe. One light year is about six trillion miles, and it takes 100,000 light years to cross the Milky Way —our galaxy. The Milky Way may contain as many as 3 trillion stars (suns). From our sun it would take about 26,000 light years to reach the center of our galaxy. Our sun, which is at the end of one of several arms spiraling out from the center of our galaxy, revolves around the center of the Milky Way about once every 220 million years . The size of the universe is tough to determine, but the observable matter is about 93 billion light years across. Even our solar system is large. Neptune, the most distant planet from the sun in our system, is 2.8 billion miles away. No matter how one slices it the universe is a big place.
    As the universe formed our solar system