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1-Page Summary of A Universe From Nothing

Overview

Newton’s theory of gravity was sufficient to explain the motion of objects in our universe for a long time. However, as scientists started examining large and distant objects, they found that Newtonian physics could not explain their behavior. So Einstein developed his own theories of special and general relativity to better understand the universe we live in.

Relativity is Einstein’s theory about the structure of spacetime. It established that time and space are not separate entities, but are interlinked so that how fast an object moves affects how quickly time passes. The theory also postulates that nothing can travel faster than light speed.
Relativity demonstrated that matter and energy can be converted from one to another. Matter can turn into energy, as described by the famous equation E=mc².
General relativity is Einstein’s theory of gravitation, which showed that heavy objects distort spacetime in a similar way to how a marble distorts thin rubber sheeting when it’s laid on top of it. The larger the object, the more it bends around it (the rubber or space) and pulls in surrounding objects.

When light travels near massive objects, they bend the light around them. Astronomers use this phenomenon to study stars and galaxies behind black holes.

Big Idea #1: Scientific evidence confirms that the universe is expanding, and that this expansion is accelerating.

Until recently, it was believed that the universe is static and eternal. This perception changed when George Lemaitre presented Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which predicted an expanding universe. Einstein himself objected to this idea because he thought it was too outrageous; however, subsequent observations proved him wrong.

The evidence came from the American astronomer Vesto Slipher’s observation of exceptionally bright stars in distant galaxies. He knew that light waves from a source moving away from an observer will be stretched and appear redder, because red is at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum. This same effect can also be observed when an ambulance drives away from you: sound waves its siren emits are stretched, making them sound lower in pitch.

By measuring the distance to stars and galaxies, we can tell how far away they are. We also know that light travels at a certain speed. By measuring how much the light from distant objects is shifted towards red (their spectrum has been stretched), we can determine how fast those objects are moving away from us. This proves that the universe is expanding as predicted by Lemaitre’s theory of an expanding universe.

In 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding. The discovery implies that not only is the universe expanding uniformly but also accelerating in its expansion. This means a force must be propelling it.

Scientific evidence shows that the universe is expanding. This expansion is speeding up.

Big Idea #2: Scientific evidence confirms that the universe originated in the Big Bang 14 billion years ago.

The theory that the universe began at a single point in time is supported by scientific evidence. For example, we can trace back the movement of galaxies and see that they were all together at some point. This implies that they originated from a single place. The moment when everything was condensed into one point is known as “the big bang.”