The linear dimensions of the early universe increases during this period of a tiny fraction of a second by a factor of at least 10 26 to around 10 centimeters (about the size of a grapefruit).
Triggered by the separation of the strong nuclear force, the universe undergoes an extremely rapid exponential expansion, known as cosmic inflation. Inflationary Epoch, from 10 –36 seconds to 10 –32 seconds:.The force of gravity separates from the other fundamental forces (which remain unified), and the earliest elementary particles (and antiparticles) begin to be created. Grand Unification Epoch, from 10 –43 seconds to 10 –36 seconds:.At this point, the universe spans a region of only 10 -35 meters (1 Planck Length), and has a temperature of over 10 32☌ (the Planck Temperature). General relativity proposes a gravitational singularity before this time (although even that may break down due to quantum effects), and it is hypothesized that the four fundamental forces ( electromagnetism, weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force and gravity) all have the same strength, and are possibly even unified into one fundamental force, held together by a perfect symmetry which some have likened to a sharpened pencil standing on its point (i.e. This is the closest that current physics can get to the absolute beginning of time, and very little can be known about this period. Planck Epoch (or Planck Era), from zero to approximately 10 -43 seconds (1 Planck Time):.Due to the extreme conditions and the violence of its very early stages, it arguably saw more activity and change during the first second than in all the billions of years since.įrom our current understanding of how the Big Bang might have progressed, taking into account theories about inflation, Grand Unification, etc, we can put together an approximate timeline as follows: Since the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago, the universe has passed through many different phases or epochs. - The Big Crunch, the Big Freeze and the Big Rip.- Accelerating Universe and Dark Energy.- The Expanding Universe and Hubble’s Law.
- The Big Bang and the Big Crunch Introduction.Main Topics > The Big Bang and the Big Crunch > Big Bang Timeline Topic Index: A Few Random Facts Where in the universe is the Earth? How fast are we traveling through space? How fast does light travel? How far is it to space, the Moon, the Sun, the stars, etc? How many stars are there? How does the Sun shine? What different types of stars are there? What is the human body (and the Earth, the Sun, the Universe) made of? How many molecules/atoms are there in each cubic meter? What if the history of the universe were squeezed into the period of one year? What are the coldest and the hottest objects in the universe? What is the electromagnetic spectrum? What is a planet? What is a dwarf planet? Why do the planets orbit the Sun?