It has taken quite some time for human beings to get a fairly idea, coupled with a tabulated database, about the Universe. The erstwhile concept was called ‘Steady State Theory’, according to which the Universe has been in existence from Time immemorial… it was, as if, not generated at any particular point in Time, and, thus, would not be destroyed. For human beings, it is difficult to indoctrinate the Steady State Theory, as they are habituated to see births, as well as deaths! So, it became difficult for experts to accept the idea that the existence of this vast Universe is eternal. Still, the theory had been considered as the most conventional one, for long…

It is said that Albert Einstein, too, used to believe in that doctrine. He, possibly, also made the biggest mistake of his life as a result of his unwavering faith in the Steady State Theory! When he discovered the General Theory of Relativity in 1916, Einstein found that the Universe was unstable – it was either shrinking, or expanding! He, then, imported something else to refine his own theory. When it was discovered that the Universe was not static, Einstein called the import the greatest blunder of his life! The German-born Theoretical Physicist would not have made that mistake, had he not placed so much faith in the Steady State Theory!

The Steady State Theory was abandoned in the 1960’s. Instead, the Scientists acknowledged the ‘Big Bang Theory’. Interestingly, the name of the Big Bang Theory was given by the late British Physicist Sir Fred Hoyle, one of the proponents of the Steady State Theory. As per the Big Bang Theory, the Universe is not immortal and static, but changeable… and that the Universe was born because of a cosmic explosion or Big Bang at around 13.8 billion years ago, which is, thus, considered the age of the Universe! Hoyle called the explosion a Big Bang in a BBC radio speech, mocking the new theory. However, the new theory became famous in that name!

The question arises here: why did the Big Bang Theory get to replace the Steady State Theory? It is because the Scientists discovered the impact of the Big Bang, which had triggered the birth of the Universe, in the 1960’s. Here, impact means the Temperature. The Big Bang model describes how the Universe expanded from an initial state of extremely high density and high temperature. After its initial expansion, the Universe cooled down sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic particles, and later atoms. Giant clouds of these primordial elements, mostly hydrogen, with some helium and lithium, later coalesced through gravity, forming early stars and galaxies, the descendants of which are visible today. Besides these primordial building materials, astronomers observe the gravitational effects of an unknown dark matter surrounding galaxies. Slight heat, which still exists around the world, is called ‘Cosmic Microwave Background’ (CMB). The discovery of CMB put the final nail in the coffin of Steady State Theory!

The discovery of CMB gave a new dimension to Astrophysics! The impact of the Big Bang helps the Scientists find a lot of things. In the Universe, the CMB is not the same everywhere… Hence, measuring the CMB with a sensor, in different directions of the sky, reveals a slight difference. The CMB helps the Researchers not only in getting an idea about the structural change of the Universe, but also about its evolution. One of the major factors of the evolution is the rate of expansion of the Universe after its birth. It is commonly known as ‘Hubble Constant’, named after American Astronomer Edwin Hubble. The galaxies in the Universe are getting farther away from each other, and the growing distance is making the Universe bigger and bigger! The rate at which the Universe is getting bigger can be measured by differentiating between CMBs. From 2013 to 2016, the Astronomers explored the differences between CMBs from the Atacama Desert in Chile. The outcome of their investigation has been published recently, and it has triggered a fresh problem. As per the investigation, the rate of expansion of the Universe was many times more than it should be. Therefore, it is a big problem!

Perhaps, it has become necessary to revise the theory of Astrophysics on the basis of information, now…

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das