Will There Be Another Big Bang?

What if the universe could experience another Big Bang? Join us on "I Wonder" as we tackle this intriguing possibility with Oliver's thought-provoking question about the future of our cosmos. We unravel the mysteries of the original Big Bang, focusing on how evidence like cosmic background radiation and the movement of galaxies validate this theory. As we explore cosmic phenomena, we ponder the likelihood of a second Big Bang through concepts like the Big Crunch, the Big Bounce, and the idea that other universes might host their own cosmic creations beyond our perception.

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Episode Transcript

I Wonder Podcast (00:03):
Hey there, curious minds, welcome to," I
Wonder, the show where weexplore the questions you've
been wondering about.
Today's question comes fromOliver, who asked what would
happen if there was another BigBang.
That's a big question, Oliver.
The original Big Bang happenedaround 13.8 billion years ago

(00:25):
and it created everything weknow the stars, the galaxies and
even the space around us.
But could there be another BigBang and, if so, what would it
mean for our universe?
Let's dive into the mysteriesof the Big Bang and explore the
fascinating possibilities.

(00:50):
To understand what might happenif there were another Big Bang,
we first need to understandwhat scientists believe happened
during the original Big Bang.
The Big Bang wasn't an explosionin the way we think of
fireworks or bombs.

(01:11):
Instead, it was the rapidexpansion of space itself from
an incredibly hot, dense point.
Before the Big Bang, there wasno space, no time, no stars,
just a tiny point that held allthe energy and matter of the
entire universe.

(01:32):
The point was unimaginablysmall.
Possibly even small than anatom yet it contained everything
that would eventually becomeour universe.
Then, in a fraction of a second,this tiny point expanded

(01:54):
rapidly.
Space, time, matter and energyall came into existence, filling
what had been well nothingness.
This expansion is still goingon today, as the universe

(02:15):
continues to grow and galaxiesmove farther apart from each
other.
You might be wondering how didscientists figure all of this
out?
It's not like anyone was thereto witness the Big Bang.
The idea of the Big Bang camefrom clues that astronomers and
physicists have found fromstudying the universe.

(02:35):
One of the biggest clues issomething called cosmic
background radiation.
Back in 1965, scientists ArnoPenzias and Robert Wilson
discovered faint microwaveradiation coming from all
directions in space.
This radiation is the leftoverenergy from the Big Bang, which

(03:06):
has been traveling through spacefor billions of years.
Scientists believe that thiscosmic background radiation is
like a snapshot of the earlyuniverse, showing us what the
universe was like only about380,000 years after the Big Bang
.
By studying it, scientists havelearned a lot about how the

(03:30):
universe started and evolved.
Another major clue is thatgalaxies are moving away from
each other.
Astronomer Edwin Hubblediscovered in the 1920s that
galaxies are moving fartherapart, which means that every
second, the universe is gettingbigger.
This expansion supports theidea that everything began from

(03:55):
a single point.
It's as if you took a balloon,drew some dots on it and then
blew it up.
As you blew up the balloon, thedots move farther apart.
Similarly, as space itselfexpands, galaxies move farther
away from each other.

(04:21):
The period immediately followingthe Big Bang was intense and
incredibly fast was intense andincredibly fast.
In the first few seconds, theuniverse was so hot and dense
that particles couldn't form.
But as it cooled slightly,particles like protons and
neutrons began to appear.

(04:42):
These tiny building blockseventually combined to form the
first simple elements, hydrogenand helium.
For the first few hundredthousand years, the universe was
so hot that light couldn't eventravel freely.
It was only after it cooleddown further, about 380,000

(05:03):
years later, that atoms couldform and light could travel
across space.
This is the point when theuniverse became transparent, and
it's this light from the earlyuniverse that we now see as
cosmic background radiation.
Now could there be another BigBang?

(05:24):
Some scientists believe it'spossible, but it would depend on
a few factors.
One theory suggests that ouruniverse might one day stop
expanding and start shrinkinginstead.
This process, called the bigcrunch, would cause everything
to collapse back into a hot,dense point similar to what

(05:48):
existed before the Big Bang.
Then, in theory, this pointcould expand again, creating a
new universe in a process knownas the Big Bounce.
But there's another theory tooMultiverse theory.
This theory suggests that therecould be many universes, each

(06:09):
with its own big bang, formingnew universes all the time.
If another big bang happened ina separate universe, we might
never feel it or even know aboutit.
However, if a new big bangsomehow happened within our
universe, things would be verydifferent.

(06:36):
If a second Big Bang happened inour universe, it could mean the
end of everything we know.
The energy released would beunimaginable, more powerful than
any explosion we could imagine.
This level of energy would likedestroy all matter, breaking
atoms apart and causingtemperatures to skyrocket.
Honestly, life as we know itwouldn't survive.

(06:58):
However, it's unlikely thatwe'd have a second Big Bang here
.
The first Big Bang created theconditions for our universe to
expand and spread out, sothere's no way to restart it
while our universe exists in itscurrent form.
For a new Big Bang to occur inour universe, everything would
need to collapse back into asingle dense point first,

(07:20):
essentially hitting a cosmicreset button.
Now, if there were a new BigBang, would it create a universe
like ours?
Not necessarily the conditionsof a Big Bang determine what the
universe will be like.
Tiny changes in the energy ortemperature during the Big Bang

(07:43):
could lead to a very differentuniverse.
For example, if the forcesbetween particles were even
slightly different, stars andgalaxies might not form the same
way, or they might not form atall.
Some scientists think that ifthe Big Bang happened
differently, the universe mighteven have different laws of
physics, and life as we know itmight not exist.

(08:04):
This just shows how unique anddelicate the conditions of our
universe are.
In a new universe, everythingfrom gravity to the way atoms
form could be completelydifferent.
The chances of a second Big Banghappening are still unknown.
The universe is expanding fasterand faster, so the likelihood

(08:25):
of a big crunch seems low rightnow.
However, we're still learningabout the nature of the universe
and how it behaves.
So while a second Big Bang inour universe seems unlikely,
it's not impossible, and if themultiverse theory is correct,
there may be countless Big Bangshappening in other universes
that we'll never see orexperience.

(08:53):
So, to answer Oliver's question,if there were another Big Bang
in our universe, it could meanthe end of everything we know,
leading to a new universe, butit's unlikely that it would
happen in our current universe.
If the universe eventuallycollapses in a big crunch, it
could spark a new Big Bang,possibly creating a different

(09:16):
universe altogether, and that'sknown as the Big Bounce Theory
and if the multiverse theory iscorrect, big Bangs could be
happening all the time in otheruniverses, creating endless
possibilities.
Thanks again to Oliver for suchan expansive question and
remember, if you have a questionyou're curious about, submit it

(09:38):
on our websiteiwonderpodcastcom, and we might
just feature it in our nextepisode of I Wonder.
Until next time, stay curiousand keep wondering you.