Page 15 - The Miracle in the Atom
P. 15

The Formation Adventure Of The Atom

             to this model, as the universe expanded, matter originated sponta-
             neously and in quantities as large as required. This theory, which
             was based on extremely unworkable premises, and advanced
             by the sole concern of supporting the idea of an "infinite
             universe without beginning or end" was in direct opposi-
             tion to the Big Bang theory, which was scientifically
             proven closer to a great number of observations.
             Hoyle and others continued to resist this but all
             scientific development worked against them.


                 The Expansion of the Universe
                 and the Big Bang
                 In the 20 century, great strides
                         th
             were made in the field of astro-
             nomy. First, the Russian physi-
             cist Alexandre Friedmann
             discovered in 1922 that
             the universe did not ha-
             ve a static structure.
             Starting out from Eins-
             tein's theory of relativity,
             Friedmann calculated that
             even a tiny impulse might cause
             the universe to expand or contract.
             Georges Lemaître, one of the most fa-
             mous astronomers of Belgium, was the
             first to recognise the importance of this cal-
             culation. These calculations led him to conclude
             that the universe had a beginning and that it was
             continuously expanding right from the outset. There
             was another very important point Lemaître raised: accor-
             ding to him, there should be a radiation surplus left over


                    The universe came into existence out of nothing with a Big Bang.
                    The present perfect system of the universe came about because of
                    the scattering of all particles and forces that were formed in great
                    harmony and order from the first moment of this big explosion.


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