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How the Big Bang Theory Works

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  • "Big Bang Theory -- An Overview." All About Science. http://www.big-bang-theory.com/
  • "Cambridge Cosmology: Hot Big Bang Model." Cambridge University. http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/bb_home.html
  • Castellanos, Joel. "The Shape of Space." NonEuclid. http://www.cs.unm.edu/~joel/NonEuclid/space.html
  • Felder, Gary. "Beyond the Big Bang: Inflation and the Very Early Universe." North Carolina State University. 2002. http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/kenny/papers/inflation.html
  • Feuerbacher, Bjorn and Scranton, Ryan. "Evidence for the Big Bang." TalkOrigins Archive. Jan. 25, 2006. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/astronomy/bigbang.html
  • "The Geometry of the Universe." Astronomy 162. University of Tennessee. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/geometry.html
  • Hawking, Stephen. "A Brief History of Time." Bantam Books. New York. 1998.
  • LaRocco, Chris and Rothstein, Blair. "The Big Bang: It sure was Big!" University of Michigan. http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/bigbang.htm
  • Marmet, Paul. "Big Bang Cosmology Meets an Astronomical Death." 21st Century, Science and Technology. Vol. 3, No. 3. 1990. http://www.newtonphysics.on.ca/BIGBANG/Bigbang.html
  • "Mysteries of Deep Space." Engle Brothers Media, Inc. PBS. http://www.pbs.org/deepspace/
  • Plait, Phil. "What happened before the Big Bang?" Bad Astronomy. July 2007. http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/07/01/what-happened-before-the-big-bang/
  • Plasma Cosmology. http://www.plasmacosmology.net/
  • Shestople, Paul. "Big Bang Cosmology Primer." University of California, Berkeley. December 24, 1997. http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/IUP/Big_Bang_Primer.html
  • Steinhardt, Paul J. "A Brief Introduction to the Ekpryotic Universe." Princeton University. http://www.physics.princeton.edu/~steinh/npr/
  • "Universe 101: Big Bang Theory." NASA. http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/bb_theory.html
  • Voisey, Jon. "The Big Bang - Common Misconceptions." The Angry Astronomer. July 29, 2006. http://angryastronomer.blogspot.com/2006/07/big-bang-common-misconceptions.html
  • "What is the structure of the universe?" The Official String Theory Web Site. http://www.superstringtheory.com/cosmo/cosmo2.html
  • Wright, Edward L. "Cosmology Tutorial." Retrieved June 2, 2008. Last modified May 27, 2008. http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm

The Big Bang Theory FAQ

Who discovered the big bang theory?
According to the American Museum of Natural History, the idea first appeared in a 1931 paper written by Georges Lemaître.
How did the big bang happen from nothing?
According to the theory, the universe was extremely dense and hot. There was so much energy in the universe during those first few moments that matter as we know it couldn't form. But the universe expanded rapidly, which means it became less dense and cooled down. As it expanded, matter began to form and radiation began to lose energy. In only a few seconds, the universe formed out of a singularity that stretched across space.
What is the big bang theory in simple terms?
The big bang is an attempt to explain how the universe developed from a very tiny, dense state into what it is today. It doesn't attempt to explain what initiated the creation of the universe, or what came before the big bang or even what lies outside the universe.
What does the big bang theory tell us?
According to the big bang theory, there's no center of the universe. Every point in the universe is the same as every other point, with no centralized location.
How did the big bang start?
At the earliest moments of the big bang, all of the matter, energy and space we could observe was compressed to an area of zero volume and infinite density. Cosmologists call this a singularity.