The various theories of

the origin of Universe

There are three main theories

1. The Steady State Theory

The Steady Sate
theory:suggests that as the
universe expands new matter is
created, so that the overall
appearance of the universe never
changes.

2. The Big Bang Theory

Scientists believe that the universe
began in a hot 'big bang' about
13,600 million years ago. The
universe continues to expand. Stars
do not remain the same but change
as they age. The evidence for the Big
Bang Theory includes the existence
of a microwave background radiation,
and red-shift.

 Scientists have gathered a lot of

evidence and information about the
universe. They have used their
observations to develop a theory
called the Big Bang. The theory
states that about 13,700 million
years ago all the matter in the
universe was concentrated into a
single incredibly tiny point. This
began to enlarge rapidly in ahot

 Gravity is slowing down the rate of

expansion. It is possible that the
universe may expand for ever, or it
may stop expanding. It may even
contract and become very small
again - the 'Big Crunch'.

3. Oscillating Theory
Oscillating Theorysuggests that
this universe is one of many - some
that have existed in the past, and
others that will exist in the future.
When the universe contracts in a Big
Crunch, a new universe is created in
a new Big Bang.

Sometimes the age of the universe

is given as 13.7 billion years. This is
because In scientific terms 1 billion is
defined as a 1,000 million.

 Dust and gas

Stars form from massive clouds of
dust and gas in space.

 Gravity pulls the dust and gas

together.

 As the gas falls together, it gets hot.

A star forms when it is hot enough
for nuclear reactions to start. This
releases energy, and keeps the star
hot. The outward pressure from the
expanding hot gases is balanced by
the force of the star's gravity. Our
sun is at this stable phase in its life.
Gravity pulls smaller amounts of dust
and gas together, which form planets

The future of a star like our Sun

You should know that stars do not
stay the same forever, and their
future depends on how much mass
they have.

Red giant stars

Our sun is a type of star called ayellow
dwarf. It has been shining for nearly five
billion years, and has enough hydrogen fuel
to last another five billion years. The sun and
other stars eventually begin to run out of
hydrogen. Gravity makes the core of the star
smaller and hotter, which results in the outer
layers expanding. They eventually expand so
much that the star becomes a red giant star.

 In around 6.2 billion years from now

the Sun will have become a red giant
star

White dwarf stars

After a star becomes a red giant, what
happens next depends on how massive
the star is. If its mass is relatively small,
gravity eventually leads to the star
contracting to form a white dwarf. It
fades and changes colour as it cools. The
matter in a white dwarf is millions of
times denser than the matter on Earth.

Evidence for the Big Bang

Theory - Higher tier
There are two key pieces of evidence
for Big Bang Theory: these arered
shiftand theCosmic Microwave
Background(CMB) radiation.

 Red-shift
You may have noticed that when an
ambulance or police car goes past, its
siren is high-pitched as it comes towards
you, then becomes low-pitched as it goes
away. This effect, where there is a change
in frequency and wavelength, is calledthe
Doppler effect. It happens with any
wave source that moves relative to an
observer.

 This happens with light too. Our sun

contains helium. We know this
because there are black lines in the
spectrum of the light from the sun,
where helium has absorbed light.
These lines form the absorption
spectrum for helium.

Spectrum of the sun

Spectrum of a distant star

 This is calledred-shift, a change in frequency of

the position of the lines.
Astronomers have found that the further from us a
star is the more its light is red-shifted. This tells us
that distant galaxies are moving away from us, and
that the further a galaxy is the faster it is moving
away. Since we cannot assume that we have a
special place in the universe this is evidence for a
generally expanding universe. It suggests that
everything is moving away from everything else.
The Big Bang Theory says that this expansion
started billions of years ago with an explosion.

 Cosmic Microwave Background

radiation
Scientists discovered that there are
microwaves coming from every
direction in space. Big Bang Theory
says this is energy created at the
beginning of the universe, just after
the Big Bang, and that has been
travelling through space ever since.

 A summary of some of the

evidence of the Big Bang and its
interpretation

 Evidence
The light from other galaxies is redshifted.
Interpretation
The other galaxies are moving away
from us. This evidence can be used
to explain both the Big Bang theory
and Steady State universe.

 evidence
The further away the galaxy, the more
its light is red-shifted.
Interpretation
The most likely explanation is that the
whole universe is expanding. This
supports the theory that the start of
the universe could have been from a
single explosion.

Evidence
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
Interpretation
The relatively uniform background
radiation is the remains of energy
created just after the Big Bang.

 Red-shift is used to explain both

theSteady StateandBig
Bangtheories of the universe.
Cosmic Microwave Background
radiation is evidence for the Big Bang
theory only. This discovery has led to
the Big Bang theory becoming the
currently accepted model

 A satellite called COBE has mapped

the background microwave radiation
of the universe as we see it. Big Bang
theorists are still working on the
interpretation of this evidence.

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