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Physicists give big-bang theory a new spin

Siegfried, Tom

2002

Overview

Don't give up hope. Some physicists suspect that the fate of the universe isn't so certain. Perhaps the universe will turn out to be cyclic after all. Maybe the universe had no beginning -- it has always been around, just bouncing back and forth between bang and crunch. In the current big-bang theory, the universe begins once -- when space and time both burst into existence. Some small patch of the newborn space then \"inflates\" very rapidly for a tiny fraction of a second, creating a hospitable realm for stars, planets and people. That realm continues to expand, forming the visible universe that its inhabitants can observe. For one thing, the physicists point out, the recent observation that the expansion of the universe is speeding up came as a surprise. That acceleration requires some dark repulsive energy that was not in the original recipe for the inflationary expansion. But once you have the dark energy, maybe you can redo the recipe in a way to explain the universe without invoking inflation -- and get repeating cycles as a bonus.

• Publisher: Tribune Content Agency LLC
• Subject: Steinhardt, Paul / Turok, Neil