Scientists who changed our beliefs

Georges Lemaître’s Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is yet another scientific advance that contradicts the religiously entrenched yet scientifically unproven idea that the universe. Stemming from Einstein’s Theories of Relativity, the Big Bang Theory presented by Georges Lemaître (1894-1966) describes the conditions that led to the origin of the universe. The Big Bang Theory is currently considered the most comprehensive explanation for the origin of the universe based on scientific evidence. The main premise of the Big Bang Theory is that the universe began around 14 billion years ago as what Lemaître referred to as a “primeval atom”. From that initial state, the universe began to expand and continues to expand today. The proof of this theory stems in part from Edwin Hubble’s 1929 observation that the distance between galaxies is expanding. Thus, galaxies must have been closer together at some point, the point of origin of the universe. Although the theory does not offer an explanation for how the initial condition came about, it does explain how the universe came to be in its present form through expansion from that starting point. Importantly, the Big Bang Theory also provides several alternative predictions regarding the future of the universe. Prominent alternatives include the Big Crunch, whereby the universe will end in a manner similar to how it began; and the Big Rip, in which the universe ends as it is torn apart through expansion. Despite the Big Bang Theory’s ability to offer a comprehensive explanation for how the universe came to be, it is not without controversy. Indeed when it was first proposed, the Big Bang Theory met with resistance because the universe was previously thought (even by Einstein himself, whose Theory of General Relativity helped set the stage for the development of the Big Bang Theory) not to be in constant motion, but rather to be static. In recent years, researchers have questioned some of the very assumptions that the Theory of General Relativity and the Big Bang Theory are based on, opening up the floor for continued debate regarding the origin of the universe. One prominent example questions the validity of the assumption of the universe’s homogeneity, or smoothness. This assumption states that the universe is composed of matter that is evenly distributed throughout and its validity is necessary for accepting both Theory of General Relativity and the Big Bang Theory in their present form.