Big Bang for Your Buck?? -Claire Ganley

 

           Seventh-grade science class consisted of the very basics of astrophysics. Theory of how the universe was formed. The planets that make up our solar system. How our universe continues to change. On the final exam, there was one question that stumped me. Still, nine years later, I think about that question: “How was our universe formed?” My mind wandered. Was it God? The big bang theory? Something else? How was someone so young supposed to definitively answer that question? Even today, there is a working theory that scientists believe to be true, the big bang theory, but we can never know for a fact that this was how our universe started.

            In the 1920s, Georges Lemaître, a Belgian priest, brought forth the idea that our universe was started with a single primordial atom. His suggestion of the big bang theory was supported when Edwin Hubble discovered in 1929 that a galaxy distant from ours seemed to be moving away into space. The singular primordial atom is thought to have been so dense that all four fundamental forces were forged together. Even today, scientists have yet to determine how it was possible for that atom to have a unified force since scientists lack an understanding of the subatomic level of gravity.

Even if astrophysicists figure out how the single force would work, there is still no way to say for a fact that this is how our universe started. These theories are based off observations of galaxies and other formations in space. No one was there to witness the formation of the universe, so not a singular person can prove for certain how the universe was created. An Anglican Bishop and philosopher named Dr. George Berkeley posed a question in the 1600s: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Since the universe was created and no one was around to see it, can we prove the means in which it was formed?

On December 25, 2021, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the James Webb Space Telescope, a $10 billion infrared space observatory, aiming to develop science’s understanding of the early universe. This technology only has the ability to enhance current theory, not prove the big bang theory as fact. 10 billion taxpayer dollars spent on learning more about the formation of the universe with the inability to prove any of it. Is the telescope worth its expense?

Even if discoveries are made that support the big bang theory, my seventh-grade self still wouldn’t know how to answer the question. With the inability to prove the big bang theory, why does the government continue to fund projects aiming to build upon current theory? Would taxpayer dollars be better spent on improving education systems and health services? Would we be better off spending money attempting to prolong life, rather than study the creation of life?

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