MestUp7

I know the general answer is the big bang, but what created the elements that allowed for the big bang to happen?

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nornerator

Actually the elements did not exist before the big bang. I'll be the first to admit that the origins of the universe is quite mysterious, and nobody really knows for sure. However all the evidence that we have points to an explosion of time and space happening ~14billion years ago.

As the universe started to cool off, conditions became good for subatomic particles to form hydrogen and small amounts of helium.

Hydrogen clouds started condensing under their own gravity, and once it was massive enough and the force of gravity strong enough nuclear fusion began and stars were born. Inside the heart of stars hydrogen is fused to form helium. When the hydrogen fuel runs out helium is fused into larger elements. When helium runs out the larger elements are fused into ever larger and larger elements until the fusion core is mostly iron. At this point some stars will collapse to a black hole, some will die off into white dwarfs, or neutron stars, and others will go supernova. During the supernova blast, the heaviest elements in the universe are formed.

Thats a general story of formation of the elements and the beginning of the universe.

runamukk

I have recently done a lot of independent research into black holes and have concoted a theory of my own (not without its flaws) I could share with my fellow Cannabis Constituents.
As many well know the point of no return around a black hole is known as an event horizon. A black hole is actually spherical in shape and within a black hole all the laws of physics as we know them cease to exist. Everything gets sucked into a single point known as a singularity. A singularity actually has not only infinite gravitational pull but zero mass....zero. In essense everything that comes within the event horizon gets sucked into nothing. Also, black holes are not dormant but move around through space independently.
Now here's the cool part. Scientist have calculated that a black hole the size of three solar masses (1 solar mass equals the size of our sun) would have a life expectancy of 10 to the 47th power years. Much longer than any star or anything else for that matter in the known universe. It's also important to note that the larger the black hole the longer the life expectancy....exponentially. Factor all this with the fact that if two black holes were to meet they would combine in to a black hole with a diameter similar to the sum of both independent diameters and what do you have. A bunch of vacuum cleaners that can combine into one giant vacuum cleaner which GIVEN AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF TIME are certain to combine into one and suck up everything in the universe until something triggers the next big bang. Hence the cycle repeats.

Mushroom Man

Interesting. All I can say for sure is everything runs in some sort of cycle. It would be foolish to think our universe came from nothing, and once its over another won't start again.

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Little Mary Jane

I agree. And then to think... Our universe is old, old, old but if it's possibly just one occurrence in a long, long line of countless cycles.... Wow.

nornerator

You may be happy (or disappointed) to hear that this is actually a hypothesis that some physicists have had. It does seem that our universe is very good at making blackholes, perhaps eventually each galaxy will eventually become one giant black hole, and some galaxies close enough might collide to form ever larger black holes. The only problem is that not all could join together due to cosmic expansion.

SixShottaJ

^ Quite insightful ... Wish I had learned that in school.

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Buzzby

Our universe was created by the collision of two eleven-dimensional Membranes.

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nornerator

This is a definite possibility, although its just a hypothesis that comes out of M-theory, which really isn't a theory but more of a framework

mondaymonkey

Thats the M string theory? I haven't kept up to date on that theory, but has it moved anywhere farther than that? I Know it has run into a few rutes. I am sorta confused by what happens with the 11 dimension thing.

I read in some science magazine (I think it was science) that a few scientists believe the universe has an infinite universes, each with a different set of initial conditions. IE: Every possible event happens, in one set of universes.