Theories of the Origin of the Universe Essay Example

My junior year of high school people thought I was so odd because my favorite class was physics. Sure I was good at solving problems and I enjoyed the challenging course but it wasn’t my favorite class because of the math, science, or experiments. It was my favorite because our very last unit was on astronomy. The very first thing we learned was that the universe is infinite. We live in the universe and it’s made up of solar systems, planets, black holes, space, stars, and literally everything that exists. We learned that the universe was born 14 billion years ago. Also, we learn that the solar system was born about 5 billion years ago. We learned there is a possible end to the universe. How can we know so much about the universe but also almost nothing? To me, the universe is so interesting. It’s a known fact that the universe is infinite but also that the observable universe is finite. I’m thinking; if humans can’t explore the “infinite” universe, how can we possibly know that the universe is actually infinite? How could we know that there is more beyond what we see? If we are part of the universe, what is our purpose? 

There are multiple theories about the origin of the universe. The most common one would be the big bang theory. National Geographic says “This theory was born of the observation that other galaxies are moving away from our own at great speed in all directions, as if they had all been propelled by an ancient explosive force.” This means that everything in the universe (literally everything that has ever existed) started as a speck that soon exploded. You could kind of compare it to pangea and the big spread of the continents. There are multiple different theories on the origin of the universe but the big bang theory is the most supportable one.  

There are also theories about the fate of the universe. Scientists proposed the idea of a big crunch. Quoting Eric Betz off astronomy.com, “In the 1960s and 1970s, when astronomers added up all the matter in the known universe, they calculated there was enough mass that the cosmos should ultimately collapse to an infinitely dense state, or perhaps even a gargantuan black hole.” The big crunch is just the opposite of the big bang theory. Scientists found that the universe is expanding faster. Unlike the original theory that the universe’s expansion would slow down. The theory backed that everything in the universe will eventually merge together due to the amount of matter not being able to stand against the gravitational pull against it. Scientists discovered more dark-energy in the universe and concluded that the big crunch was less likely.  

Another theory of the end of the universe is the big freeze. Eric Betz wrote, “Dark energy, it turns out, seems to be the real-world force behind Einstein’s cosmological constant, which plays a major role in preventing a Big Crunch-style collapse. Thanks to the expansion caused by dark energy, within a couple of trillion years, all but the closest galaxies will be too far away to see. Then, perhaps 100 trillion years later, star formation will cease, as dense stellar remnants like white dwarfs and black holes lock up any remaining material.” This means that the evidence is now pointing towards the mass expansion of the universe causing stars to stop forming and black holes will eat up any remaining materials in the universe. Of course this won’t happen for trillions and billions of years though. Oh and i’m sure the sun will explode before this even happens. And no, if the sun explodes, the universe will not end but human life on earth sure will. 

When I think about the universe, I don’t have a firm opinion on it. If scienctists have one theory in 2020, it may change in 2021. Just like how scientists had more information and evidence to back up the big crunch but after more exploring and digging, they found evidence that debunks it. The big freeze is now what the evidence supports and shows. I don’t think I can form such a solid thought on it because we don’t even understand the universe. In physics we learned that 95% of the universe is dark matter/energy. But scientists havent fully figured out what dark matter is. This leaves 95% of the universe a mystery. I like to learn about the universe because theres always new findings. I like the fact that in retrospect, humans don’t really have that much of a meaning in the grand scheme of things. Issues in society and conflicts between humans really do not matter in comparison to the universe. Sometimes when my mind wanders I even like to think about the possibility of aliens. I don’t believe aliens are real but I also do? I think the child inside of me likes to believe they exist but the other half refuses to believe.