Pensee

What happened? What was it all about? Is it still the current theory? If not, then what is?

(In a language that I, an extreme novice, can understand, please.)

Thank you kindly.

Friar Bellows

<a href="http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmology_faq.html" target="_blank">You'll learn a lot here</a>

Answerer

I realize that this kind of question had been repeated for numerous number of times

[ September 28, 2002: Message edited by: Answerer ]</p>

Friar Bellows

Then there's the "History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less":

Quantum fluctuation. Inflation. Expansion. Strong nuclear interaction. Particle-antiparticle annihilation. Deuterium and helium production. Density perturbations. Recombination. Blackbody radiation. Local contraction. Cluster formation. Reionization? Violent relaxation. Virialization. Biased galaxy formation? Turbulent fragmentation. Contraction. Ionization. Compression. Opaque hydrogen. Massive star formation. Deuterium ignition. Hydrogen fusion. Hydrogen depletion. Core contraction. Envelope expansion. Helium fusion. Carbon, oxygen, and silicon fusion. Iron production. Implosion. Supernova explosion. Metals injection. Star formation. Supernova explosions. Star formation. Condensation. Planetesimal accretion. Planetary differentiation. Crust solidification. Volatile gas expulsion. Water condensation. Water dissociation. Ozone production. Ultraviolet absorption. Photosynthetic unicellular organisms. Oxidation. Mutation. Natural selection and evolution. Respiration. Cell differentiation. Sexual reproduction. Fossilization. Land exploration. Dinosaur extinction. Mammal expansion. Glaciation. Homo sapiens manifestation. Animal domestication. Food surplus production. Civilization! Innovation. Exploration. Religion. Warring nations. Empire creation and destruction. Exploration. Colonization. Taxation without representation. Revolution. Constitution. Election. Expansion. Industrialization. Rebellion. Emancipation Proclamation. Invention. Mass production. Urbanization. Immigration. World conflagration. League of Nations. Suffrage extension. Depression. World conflagration. Fission explosions. United Nations. Space exploration. Assassinations. Lunar excursions. Resignation. Computerization. World Trade Organization. Terrorism. Internet expansion. Reunification. Dissolution. World-Wide Web creation. Composition. Extrapolation?

(Copyright 1996-1997 by <a href="http://members.bellatlantic.net/%7Evze3fs8i/hist/histcom.html" target="_blank">Eric Schulman</a>)

Friar Bellows

And here are some more cool introductory sites:

<a href="http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/cos_home.html" target="_blank">Cambridge Cosmology</a>

<a href="http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_uni.html" target="_blank">Universe: Cosmology 101</a>

Friar Bellows

And occasionally, some really smart guys write papers which may be comprehended by dumb guys like myself:

<a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0207199" target="_blank">Measuring Spacetime: From Big Bang to Black Holes</a> by Max Tegmark (2002)

<a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9806201" target="_blank">The Standard Cosmological Model</a> by P. J. E. Peebles (1998)

<a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0202008" target="_blank">Making Sense of the New Cosmology</a> by Michael S. Turner (2002)

These papers are more technical than the web sites I mentioned, so read the web sites first.

eh

Keep in mind though, that the quantum fluctuation often discussed, requires a background of spacetime in the first place, so doesn't really explain the big bang at all. While it, and inflation theories can explain why there is any matter in our universe at all, it cannot explain why there is this spacetime in the first place, or what happened (if anything) prior to the expansion.

Pensee

Thank you, Friar Bellows & eh. I'll know where to get started as soon as time permits.