24.4 - The Big Bang
The Big Bang theory
- The Big Bang theory is the accepted explanation of how the Universe began.
- All the matter and energy in the Universe was once concentrated into a single, tiny region that was extremely hot and dense.
- It then began to expand rapidly - the Big Bang - and space has been expanding ever since.
The age of the Universe
- The theory gives the Universe a finite age.
- Working back from the expansion rate gives an age of roughly 14 billion years (about 13.8 billion years).
TermDefinition
Big Bang theoryThe theory that all the matter in the Universe was once packed into a very small, extremely hot and dense region, and that the Universe has been expanding from it ever since.