The Big Bang: New light on an old theory
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Physics
The Big Bang: New
light on an old theory
This lesson explores the evidence for the Big Bang theory of the origin of
the Universe.
In it, you will learn about the following:
• Using the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) to define radiation.
• The Big Bang origin of the Universe theory.
• What is the cosmic microwave background and how does this support
the Big Bang theory?
• Universe or Multiverse?
Get ready for extragalactic time travel as we squeeze and bend our way
through this space-time lesson.
This is a print version of an interactive online lesson.
To sign up for the real thing or for curriculum details
about the lesson go to www.cosmosforschools.com
Introduction: The Big Bang (P1)
Scientists say they have just made a discovery that will help explain how our Universe began. If they are right, it could be the
biggest, most exciting event in physics ever.
Looking through a telescope into the clear skies over the South Pole, scientists spotted what they say is evidence of gravitational
waves, or ripples in space-time, from the split second after the birth of the Universe – what scientists call the Big Bang.
What’s got everyone so excited by this is that Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves when he described how
space and time were related and could be bent by huge forces of gravity.
What the scientists at the South Pole think they saw was not gravitational waves – they would be invisible – but the effect of the
waves on the light left over from the Big Bang.
The gravitational waves make some patches of space a little warmer than others, which polarises light waves that pass through.
Polarisation is when light waves vibrate in one direction more than others and that has made a pattern detected in the cosmic
microwave background.
It’s like looking back 13.7 billion years into the past when the baby universe was like a “hot seething soup”. For the first 380,000
years no light could escape but finally the universe expanded enough so it could.
Paul Davies, the famous physicist who wrote the Cosmos magazine story, says that if the discovery is proven it will give us a new
way of looking at our universe. He says it might also help to explain whether there was something before the Big Bang or just
nothing. Even more excitingly, he says it could explain whether our universe is the only one or if there are many other universes out
there.
Read or listen to the full Cosmos magazine article here.
Left: The Ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus was very much a star gazer. Right: German-born theoretical physicist
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) at home in Princeton, New Jersey, 1944. Credits: Ann Ronan Pictures / Print Collector / Getty
Images and Popperfoto / Getty Images.
Question 1
Imagine: You are from an ancient civilisation. When you look up at the night sky, what is the story your tribe uses to explain the
stars and the origin of the Universe?
Question 2
Construct: Use the table below to organise your thoughts about the Big Bang theory, cosmic microwave background radiation,
gravitational waves and inflation. At this stage of the lesson, use the first two columns: 'K' What I already know, 'W' What I want to
know and leave the 'L' column - what I learned - until the end of the lesson.
This is quite a complicated topic, yet one that many of you may have a fascination with and quite a store of knowledge about; so
don't worry if you know a lot or nothing at all, this table helps identify that and therefore help personalise future tasks.
K W L
What I know What I want to know What I learned
Write what you already know about this topic in In this column what you would like to After completing the lesson, write
this column now before starting the lesson. know about this topic. down what you learned in this
column.
Gather: The Big Bang (P1)
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Credit: MinutePhysics / YouTube.
Question 1 Question 2
Light detected now as cosmic microwave background originated Remember: CMB is the acronym used by scientists for Cosmic
from the Big Bang when the Universe was only around 380 000 Microwave Background.
years old.
True
True
False
False
Light-years is a unit of measurement used to express immense distances, such as those between stars and galaxies. It is often
mistaken for a measurement of time. By definition, one light-year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. (Space is
considered to be a vacuum.)
Question 3
Calculate: Both the video and the Cosmos article explain how light from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) originated from
the first light escaping the thick, dense, early Universe. In space, light travels at 3.00 x 108 m.s-1. Use this speed to calculate the
distance travelled by light (in metres) in one year.
Question 4
You may optionally upload a photo of your working out for Question 3 below.
Drag and drop file here
Question 5
Extrapolate: The tiny fluctuations in temperature between hotter and cooler spots in the CMB were only different by 0.001%. So if
the mean temperature of the CMB was 2.725000 K, or -270.425 oC, what were the maximum and minimum observed temperatures?
Give your answer in both Kelvin and degrees Celsius.
Hint: You will need to use more significant figures than appropriate to answer this question.
Unit of measurement Mean temperature of CMB Minimum temperature of Maximum temperature of
CMB CMB
Kelvin (K) 2.72500
Degrees Celsius (oC) 270.425
Question 6
Recall: Cosmic Background Radiation has been used to date our Universe to approximately:
6 thousand years old
13.7 million years old
13.7 billion years old
cannot be concluded
Question 7
Recall: The Cosmos article describes the baby universe as a "hot, seething soup". In the first 380 000 years from the beginning of
the Universe light was unable to escape the extremely hot, very dense, smooth environment that existed. However, as the young
Universe expanded, eventually light was able to escape this environment and the Universe became transparent because of which of
the following?
The concentration of energy within regions of the Universe was dispersing.
Electrons and protons had insufficient energy to resist their electrostatic attraction and formed hydrogen atoms.
There were fewer free electrons to interact and scatter the light.
All of the above.
Light from the Big Bang originally had the frequency and colour of white sunlight, but after years of travel has stretched (or been
red shifted) to microwaves measured on the cosmic microwave background. Look at the electromagnetic spectrum below.
Question 8
Identify: Use the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) above to identify the frequency and wavelength of light as it was over 13.7 billion
years ago (when it was in the visible light section of the EMS) and of cosmic microwave background.
Hint: Remember to include appropriate units in your answers.
Light as it was 13.7 billion years ago Cosmic microwave background
Frequency
WavelengthQuestion 9 List: The tiny temperature fluctuations evident in the CMB coalesced over time through the process of gravitational attraction to form the massive structures in the Universe today. Using the information in the MinutePhysics clip and any knowledge you already have, list the types of 'massive structures' contained within our Universe in order of ascending size, so from smallest to largest.
Process: The Big Bang (P1)
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Question 1
Hypothesise: In the MinutePhysics clip in Gather (dated June 7, 2012) the estimated age of the Universe was 13.7 billion years. In the
Cosmos article (31 March 2014) and this clip (19 March 2014), the estimated age of the Universe has now 'increased' by 100 million
years to 13.8 billion years. Can you think of reasons why there has been a change?
BICEP2 operated from January 2010 until December 2012. The Keck Array of telescopes took over from BICEP2 in January 2013. The
original data was received by BICEP2 and confirmed from the KECK Array data. The telescopes are located in Antarctica where the
atmosphere is thin and dry. The first evidence of gravitational waves was discovered two years before the announcement in March
2014.
Question 2
Infer: Can you infer why Antarctica was chosen as the best site for locating these telescopes and also suggest reasons why there
was a two year delay in making such a significant scientific announcement?Question 3
Design: Create a mind map below to organise the concepts from the Cosmos article and the two MinutePhysics clips. Your mind map
should encompass the Big Bang theory of origin of the Universe, the evidence to support it (cosmic microwave background and
gravitational waves) and tools used in the interpretation (polarisation of light, the electromagnetic spectrum). You should add any
other links or concepts of which you are aware that were also referenced in the Cosmos article, (Einstein's theory of General
Relativity, Guth's theory of inflation and the acceleration of expansion of the Universe).
Big BangApply: The Big Bang (P2)
Research task: Choose your own cosmic adventure
Getting your head around the history of the Universe can leave you in a spin. Let's explore some of the fun facts of this epic story.
Fun fact #1 – At the time of the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago, the Universe (that is, everything) was infinitesimally small.
Fun fact #2 – After the period known as inflation, the most rapid expansion that the Universe has undergone, the Universe was just
10 cm wide, roughly the size of a grapefruit.
Fun fact #3 – For its first 380,000 years, the Universe was so thick and dense that no light could escape it.
Fun fact #4 – While the rate of expansion of the Universe has slowed over time, even today it is expanding faster than the speed of
light. Light from one side of the Universe will never reach the opposite side.
Question 1
In the introduction section of this lesson you prepared the first two columns of a KWL chart (what you Know, Want to know and
what you Learned). Drawing upon your interests expressed in the W column, consider one of the following topics and conduct your
own research.
Topic 1: Historical theories
Research the historical theories of the origin of the Universe. Who was the scientist who proposed the theory, when, what were the
fundamental ideas and what evidence supported those ideas? Present your findings in a timeline from earliest theories to latest.Topic 2: Universe or Multiverse? A variant of inflation theory is the question 'do we live in a Universe or a Multiverse?' Use reliable internet sources to research the theory of a Multiverse. Space is studied by Year 7 students. Use your research about a possible Multiverse to write an explanation of the theory that could be presented to the younger Year 7 students at your school for consideration in their studies of space. Topic 3: Einstein's Theory of General Relativity Gravitational waves (ripples in the space-time continuum), were proposed by Albert Einstein in his Theory of General Relativity in 1916. Explore this theory with respect to the recent evidence of gravitational waves found by the BICEP2 team. Present your research in the style of a supplementary article for Cosmos magazine to use as a follow up article to the one you have read for this lesson. Your piece should be approximately 400 words in length. Topic 4: The politics, ethics and economics of Antarctic research. Research in Antarctica is carried out by more than 4,000 scientists in summer and 1,000 scientists in winter, from 28 different nations. Due to the inaccessibility of the continent and extremely harsh environment, supporting these scientific endeavours is very expensive. (Australia spends around $100 million each year on its Antarctic program.) Should world governments continue to support expensive scientific research into the origins of the Universe when there are issues such as climate change, world poverty, youth unemployment that need tackling now? After conducting some brief research, and perhaps using an appropriate graphic organiser such as a PMI (plus, minus, interesting) chart to organise your thoughts, present your position on this question as a "Letter to the Editor" to your local newspaper or as an article suitable for the "Feedback" section of Cosmos. Now that you have completed the lesson sequence, go back to the Introduction section and fill in the 'L' - what I learned section of the KWL chart.
Career: The Big Bang (P2)
Katie Mack is a theoretical astrophysicist from the University of Melbourne who studies how the Universe works.
Katie has always been curious about how things work. When
she was young, she saw the famous theoretical physicist
Stephen Hawking give a presentation about the Universe and
the nature of space and time. His words made her look at the
world in a whole new way, and she decided that she wanted to
be a scientist to find out more.
After completing her undergrad degree in Physics, Katie
majored in Astrophysical Sciences at grad school. Now, she
studies the evolution of the cosmos and the formation of the
first galaxies in order to find out where our Universe came from.
Katie looks at cool things like dark matter, black holes and
cosmic strings, too!
But being a theoretical physicist doesn’t mean being a ‘lone
genius’ like Albert Einstein. Katie says that, though a lot of
people think they aren’t ‘cut out’ for science, even the greatest
scientists have to work hard to understand the complex
concepts and tools needed for the job. Talking to other
physicists is a huge part of Katie’s work, as she says that
physicists need to have other people to bounce ideas off of.
They often ask for help from experts in other areas and,
together, they come up with new ways of looking at a problem.
Basically, Katie says we're all a lot smarter when we work
together! Credit: Jaime Murcia
When she isn’t busy surveying the stars, Katie loves to hang out
with her friends, play basketball, go to the movies, and go out
dancing.
Question 1
Infer: Why does Katie suggest that talking with other scientists is an important part of her job? How is this same principle applicable
to your school work?Cosmos Lessons team Lesson author: Kathryn Grainger Education editor: Bill Condie Art director: Robyn Adderly Profile author: Megan Toomey Education director: Daniel Pikler
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