big bang theory
- Noun:
- The cosmological theory of the universe's origin: The Big Bang Theory is the prevailing cosmological model explaining the origin and evolution of the observable universe. It posits that the universe began from an extremely hot, dense state approximately 13.8 billion years ago and has been expanding and cooling ever since.
- Noun:
- The Big Bang Theory is supported by key pieces of evidence, such as the cosmic microwave background radiation.
- According to the Big Bang Theory, all matter and space were once concentrated in a single point.
"the Big Bang": Often used to refer to the initial explosive event itself, rather than the entire theoretical framework.
- Scientists study the aftermath of the Big Bang to understand the early universe.
"Big Bang cosmology": A synonymous term for the overall scientific framework describing the universe's expansion from a primordial state.
- Big Bang cosmology successfully predicts the abundance of light elements like hydrogen and helium.
Big Bang (noun): The singular event marking the beginning of the universe according to the theory.
- The universe has been expanding since the Big Bang.
Inflationary theory (noun): A refinement of the Big Bang Theory that describes a period of extremely rapid expansion in the earliest moments of the universe.
- Inflationary theory solves several problems with the classical Big Bang model.
- Expanding universe theory: A term emphasizing the core observation of cosmic expansion that the theory explains.
- Standard cosmological model: The modern, detailed framework that incorporates the Big Bang as its foundational event.
"Big Bang nucleosynthesis": The process by which the first atomic nuclei formed in the early minutes after the Big Bang.
- Big Bang nucleosynthesis produced most of the universe's helium.
"afterglow of the Big Bang": A poetic term for the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is remnant heat from the early universe.
- The afterglow of the Big Bang is detectable as a faint microwave signal across the sky.
- "Not the Big Bang": Used informally to indicate that something was not a dramatic or revolutionary beginning.
- The company's launch was successful, but it was not the Big Bang they had hoped for in the market.
- (cosmology) the theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature