The Big Bang Model
The goal of this section is to provide a description of the evolutionary timeline of the universe based on the premise of the Big Bang model, for within the framework of this model, cosmologists have speculated that the universe must also have a finite lifespan.
Based on the arguments of quantum physics, a bubble universe with no net energy may have come into existence some 13.7 billion years ago, but by the arguments of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, this universe may ultimately decay into a final entropy state, based on a flat universe assumption, some 10100 years into the future. The 'present` era, sometimes called the `stelliferous era`, is estimated to last for some 100 trillion years, and while this is an almost unimaginably long period of time, it is but a small faction of the total `lifespan` of the universe.
Phase | Time (Seconds) | Time (Years) | |
Past | Quantum Beginnings | 10-43 | - |
Primordial Universe | 1 | - | |
Present | Star Formation | 10+15 | 10+8 |
Structure Formation | 0+15 | 10+8 | |
Future | End of Stars | 10+21 | 10+14 |
Black Holes | 10+47 | 10+40 | |
The End of Days | 10+107 | 10+100 |
In 1950, Sir Fred Hoyle coined the term `The Big Bang` in what was assumed to be a derisorily comment that something, as profoundly complex as the universe, could emerge from such a chaotic concept. While we might also question the aptness of the naming of the ‘Big Bang’ in terms of its description of the actual expansion process, as sound bites go, we might still see some relevance in terms of modern-day slang for the beginnings of ‘life, the universe and everything`.