The Big Bang Question

While the concept of your explanation is for-the-most-part accurate, I believe you don't fully comprehend this phenomenon. So... please allow me to explain.

First of all, we cannont measure galaxies expanding from a central point, because that would imply a center and therefore an edge. Neither of these exist in the universe, so that statement is wrong. Instead, what we measure are are the spectral emission lines which show galaxies red-shifting. In the visible spectrum, red wavelengths are larger than blue wavelengths. So if emission lines are shifted to the red side (we must know the unshifted values first), then we can conclude that the celestial body is moving away. The same concept applies for blue-shifting, in that blue-shifted bodies are moving toward us. The reason that we say the universe is expanding is because everywhere we look we see red-shifted emission lines. Hence, everything is moving away from us. Since there cannot be a center of the universe, it is sufficive to say that everything is moving away from everything else, or that universal expansion is occurring.

Secondly, the Big Bang was not an explosion, per se, because that implies outward movement (and possibly sound) which cannot occur. Universal expansion is not about bodies moving away, instead it is about the rapid creation of space between the bodies. This is why we can say that the universe expands faster than the speed of light, because space (or nothingness) by its very nature has no speedlimit.

The Big Bang was nothing more than the transition out of the initial singularity and the begining of universal expansion. This event occured roughly 13.7 billion years ago. And don't take my word for it... calculate it yourself. I would start with the Hubble constant and Z values.

What existed before the Big Bang... well I kind of already answered that. To be completely accurate... a singularity comparable to that of a black hole. Try this experiment: go to your TV, turn it on, and disconnect the cable source. You should see static, right? That's what existed before the Big Bang. Remember, time and space are compilementary, so without space there cannot be time. There was... nothing.

There is no longer a debate over whether or not the Big Bang was a real occurrence. The only people who oppose this idea are the ones who don't know enough about it to render an educated opinion. Really, what it boils down to is how well you know cosmology and physics. I don't expect you to fully understand or even believe what I stated above. What I hope you get out of this is a renewed determination to learn.

I am not questioning the big bang, so much as wondering if you can answer a question I never got around to looking into. I read some time ago that the speed at which the universe is "expanding" actually slows down then speeds up. Do you know if that is false, or if not, why? I can't find the article and it has been killing me.

I'm no physicist, and I don't understand alot of the mathematics and physics behind this, but my understanding is that there a number of problems with the Big Bang theory. That is why I believe there is some merit to Biblical science (DON'T stop reading) because, while it doesn't make much sense compared to everything science has found out about the universe, it does at least question contemporary scienctific values. (BTW, God himself would have to come down from Heaven and tell me the Earth is 6,000 years old. And if you're thinking that he already did in the form of the Bible, then I'm not taking you seriously because the Bible is anything but clear).

Scientists like to make up things and then pretend that they are fact. That's all the big bang stuff is.

"I am not questioning the big bang, so much as wondering if you can answer a question I never got around to looking into. I read some time ago that the speed at which the universe is "expanding" actually slows down then speeds up. Do you know if that is false, or if not, why? I can't find the article and it has been killing me."

I believe what you describing are the theories of the ultimate fate of the universe. There are only three possiblities for the death of the universe:

1. Closed: the universe expands rapidly, slows, stops, and then starts to come back together (i.e.: the space shrinks).
2. Open: the universe continues to expand forever, with the rate at which it expands increases.
3. Critical: the universe continues to expands forever, at a constant rate of change.

The particular theory that I believe you are referring to is the Closed Theory. To the best of my knowledge there is no supporting evidence for this theory. Actually, the only theory that seems to have any evidence is the Critical Theory. I hope this answers your question.