The Big Bang

Friedmann s expanding-universe solutions of Einstein s equations were assumed to confirm this interpretation. 

There came a time when each model expanded too rapidly for scientists to keep track of all points of view and for the practitioners to reach a consensus interpretation. In the case of quantum theory the arguments were settled, to the satisfaction of none, on the authority of a few, and ordained as the Copenhagen interpretation. There is no written record to the details of this interpretation, which to this day, remains open to the formulation that best suits individual tastes. One of the authors who claimed responsibility for the interpretation (Heisenberg, 1955) states the purpose of the paper to 

Many readers probably had a problem with this. 

The situation with standard cosmology is no different. Without real consensus many points of view are defended to reflect the dictates of the 

Copenhagen equivalent, known as the Big Bang. In a typical siu vey (Chown, 1993) three experts were interviewed to explain the basic concepts. In response to the question of how space can expand, one expert replies  

---

Chemists are satisfied how atoms of the different elements could form from the initial enormous energy of the big bang explosion, without, however, the need to concern themselves with the reason for its origin. Atoms subsequently can combine into molecules, which in turn build increasingly complex systems and materials, including those of the living systems. This is the area of interest for chemists. 

Both emission and absorption processes rely on the background radiation, which is present throughout the universe and which has a wavelength distribution characteristic of a black body and a temperature of about 2.7 K. This radiation is a consequence of the big bang with which the universe supposedly started its life. 

The relative abundances of the various isotopes of the light elements Li, Be and B therefore depend to some extent on which detailed model of the big bang is adopted, and experimentally determined abundances may in time permit conclusions to be drawn as to the relative importance of these processes as compared to x-process spallation reactions. 

The Big Bang Theory is the prevailing theory of the origin of the universe, and it is based on astronomical observations. According to this theory, about 15 billion years ago all the matter and energy in the visible universe was concentrated in a small, hot, dense region, which flew apart in a gigantic explosion. 

P-xv artist s impression of galaxies being formed in the aftermath of the Big Bang. The spiral clouds of gas have already started condensing into the shapes of future galaxies. (Photo Researchers Inc.)... 

Nucleosynthesis is the formation of elements. Hydrogen and helium were produced in the Big Bang all other elements are descended from these two, as a result of nuclear reactions taking place either in stars or in space. Some elements—among them technetium and promethium—are found in only trace amounts on Earth. Although these elements were made in stars, their short lifetimes did not allow them to survive long enough to contribute to the formation of our planet. However, nuclides that are too unstable to be found on Earth can be made by artificial techniques, and scientists have added about 2200 different nuclides to the 300 or so that occur naturally. 

In order to understand the Earth s character as a planet, it also is helpful to have an understanding of how the elements in our solar system were formed. Chapter 2 starts with the Big Bang theory and continues with how very small grains eventually came together and accreted to form the beginnings of what would eventually become the Earth and other planets, about 4.5 X 10 years ago (4.5 Gyr). The initial processes of the Earth s evolution involved heat... 

The H and He produced in the Big Bang served as "feed stock" from which all heavier elements were later created. Less than 1% of the H produced in the Big Bang has been consumed by subsequent element production and thus heavy elements are rare. Essentially all of the heavier elements now in the Earth were produced after the Big Bang inside stars. Following the Big Bang, the universe expanded to the point where instabilities formed galaxies, mass concentrations from which up to stars could develop. 

Bob Williams As a scientist I would say, that as far as reductionism is concerned, we could think how far physics has got. Now physicists would say that given the Big Bang at a tenth of minus fiftieth of a second, they can come all the way forward to the present time as far as most dead things are concerned, and they ve achieved that conclusion over a very long period of time. I don t know how far this reductionist game will go as far as living things are concerned. What I worry about is, if I am not allowed to say that all the scientific activity is in some way reductionist, what does holistic research mean. What is it exactly If somebody could answer what is holistic research, I would be very interested. 

The synthesis of the light elements hydrogen, helium and lithium (including their isotopes), which occurred just after the big bang ... 

---