Darkness

How do you feel about the dark?
Do you perceive darkness to be a time of doom and gloom or a time to rest?

Some people associate darkness with evil, wickedness, corruption, sin, sinfulness, iniquity, immorality, devilry, etc.    Others associate darkness to unhappiness or even secrecy.    Or do you see it as a time of self-reflection and/or rest.

How you perceive darkness depends upon your religious beliefs, knowledge and life experiences.    We all have dark periods in our life, but as they say: “Every dark cloud has a silver lining” and/or “See the light at the end of the tunnel”.    Mankind as a rule seeks the light and enlightenment for it gives us hope and encouragement.

Through our periods of darkness we can learn from our mistakes, we can prepare ourselves to lead a better life and perhaps be a glowing example to others.    But no one in their right mind would consider suffering an eon of darkness, however our universe did just that.

How The Dark Age Began

About 47,000 years after the Big Bang, [13.798953 Billion years ago (Bya)], the early universe started to decelerate at a faster rate.    This brought on the beginning of the gravitational collapse of the early universe, about 70,000 years after the Big Bang, (13.79893 Bya).    The early universe still consisted of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium and its distribution remained constant as the electron-baryon plasma continued to thin.    The gravitational collapse was a very slow process.

It is thought that 377,000 years after the Big Bang, (13.798623 Bya), the temperature of the early universe fell to about 4,000 K (Kelvin).    This brought on the era of Recombination that lasted for about 3 million years.    About 380,000 years after the Big Bang, (13.79862 Bya), the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) created the Afterglow Light Pattern that is still detectable today.

About 400,000 years after the Big Bang, (13.7986 Bya), Density Waves began to imprint their characteristic polarization (wave) signals through out the early universe.

The decoupled photons of the Recombination era probably would have filled the universe with a brilliant pale orange glow at first and then gradually red shifted to non-visible wavelengths after about 3 million years leaving it without visible light.    The end of the “Recombination” era brought on the Dark Age.

The Dark Age

Although it is thought that the Dark Age lasted up to about 1 billion years after the Big Bang, it began to change about 400 million years after the Big Bang.    So!    Somewhere between 3.377 million years after the Big Bang (13.795623 Bya) and 1 billion years after the Big Bang (12.799 Bya), the Dark Age took place.

However, the early universe was not meant to die, it struggled and kept changing.

About 10 million years after the Big Bang (13.789 Bya) traces of heavy elements began to develop.    These are the heavy elements whose later chemical reactions would spark the beginning of life.

It is believed that between 10 to 17 million years after the Big Bang, (13.789 to 13.782 Bya), the temperature of cosmic background radiation cooled from some 4,000 K (Kelvin) down to about 60 K.    The background temperature of the early universe was between 373 K and 273 K, this would have allowed the possibility of liquid water to form.

About 100 million years after the Big Bang (13.699 Bya) the Gravitational collapse of ordinary matter particles started to fall into structures created by dark matter.    Quasars begin to take shape as the gaseous accretion forms disks around black holes.    As the gas falls toward a black hole, energy is released in the form of electromagnetic radiation.    Population III (Pop III) stars were starting to form.    They were very hot and had a short lifetime.    Their ultraviolet light started to ionize the remaining neutral hydrogen gas.

Population III Stars are a hypothetical population of extremely massive and hot stars with virtually no metals, except possibly for intermixing ejecta from other nearby Population III supernovas.    It is thought that they were composed entirely of the primordial gas such as hydrogen, helium and very small amounts of lithium and beryllium.    They have been observed in the quasar emission spectra and are also thought to be components of faint blue galaxies.    But their existence is inferred from physical cosmology, they have not yet been observed directly.

The Reionization era began about 150 million years after the Big Bang (13.649 Bya).    It is thought that the supernovae of the Population III, (Pop III), stars was the possible mechanism for the reionization.    The end of the Reionization era was also the end of the Dark Ages.    It ended about 1 billion years after the Big Bang.

Between 150 and 200 million years after the Big Bang (13.649 to 13.599 Bya) the Population II (Pop II) stars started to form.

Population II Stars were presumably created from interstellar gas clouds that emerged shortly after the big bang.    They are relatively rich in hydrogen and helium but are poor in elements heavier than helium, containing 10 to 100 times less of these elements than Population I stars.    Population II stars are mainly found in Globular clusters and the halo of both spiral and elliptical galaxies.    Some are found in the bulge of galaxies.    Those found in the galactic halo are older and thus more metal poor.

As the reionization intensifies, photons of light scatter off free protons and electrons, hence the early Universe becomes opaque again.

About 200 million years after the Big Bang (13.599 Bya) HD 140283, (the “Methuselah” Star), formed.    Methuselah is a metal-poor sub-giant star about 200 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Libra, specifically towards the Ophiuchus constellation.    This Population II star is the unconfirmed oldest star observed in the Universe.    The oldest known star is SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 and it formed approximately 13.6 Bya.    It is a star in the constellation Hydrus and is 6,000 light years from Earth.

Around 300 million years after the Big Bang (13.499 Bya) the first large-scale astronomical objects, such as protogalaxies and quasars are thought to have begun forming.    During this time period Population III (Pop III) stars continued to burn and stellar nucleosynthesis operated.    At first they were fusing hydrogen to produce more helium, then over time these Pop III stars were forced to fuse helium to produce carbon, oxygen, silicon and other heavy elements up to iron on the periodic table.

These new elements seeded into neighbouring gas clouds by the supernova of Pop III stars.    This in turn led to the formation of more Population II stars (metal poor) and gas giants in the early universe through gravitational collapse.

It is also thought that Population II stars through their own nuclear fusion and supernovas created all the other elements in the periodic table, except the more unstable ones.    An interesting characteristic of Population II (Pop II) stars is that despite their lower overall metallicity, they often have a higher ratio of alpha elements (O, Si, Ne, etc.) relative to Fe as compared to Population I stars.

Protogalaxy (Primeval Galaxy) is the cloud of gas, which forms into a galaxy.    It is believed that the rate of star formation during this period of galactic evolution will determine whether a galaxy is a spiral or elliptical galaxy.    A slower star formation tends to produce a spiral galaxy.    The smaller clumps of gas in a Protogalaxy form into stars.    Population II (Pop II) [and much later Population I (Pop I)] stars would have formed in the bulge of these galaxies.

380 million years after the Big Bang (13.419 Bya) the oldest known quasar (UDFj-39546284) formed in the constellation Fornax.

A Quasar (QSO or quasi-stellar object) is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN).    It has been theorized that most large galaxies contain a super massive central black hole with mass ranging from millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun.

In quasars and other types of AGN, the black hole is surrounded by a gaseous accretion disk.    As gas falls toward the black hole, energy is released in the form of electromagnetic radiation, which can be observed across the electromagnetic spectrum.    The power radiated by quasars is enormous.    The most powerful quasars have luminosities thousands of times greater than a galaxy such as the Milky Way.

400 million years after the Big Bang (13.399 Bya) GN-z11, the oldest-known galaxy, formed.    GN-z11 is a high-redshift (z = 11.09+0.08; −0.12) galaxy found in the constellation Ursa Major.

Roughly 400 million years after the Big Bang (13.399 Bya), the universe began to come out of its Dark Age due to the process of reionization slowing and the clearing of foggy hydrogen gas.    The Population III stars generation had ended in supernovas as they had finished burning their hydrogen fuel.    The Population II stars were now dominating the early universe.    The early universe started to become transparent to ultraviolet light for the first time.    Due to mass star formation the early universe starts to heat once again.

Around 400 to 700 million years after the Big Bang (13. 399 to 13.099 Bya) Galaxy Clusters and Superclusters started to emerge.

A Galaxy Cluster (cluster of galaxies) is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity with typical masses ranging from 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ solar masses.

A Supercluster is a large group of smaller galaxy clusters or galaxy groups.    They are among the largest-known structures of the cosmos.    The Milky Way is part of the Local Group galaxy group, which contains more than 54 galaxies, which in turn is part of the Laniakea Supercluster.

420 million years after the Big Bang (13.379 Bya) the quasar MACS0647-JD, (the furthest known quasar), formed.    It is a formation of the MACS0647-JD high redshift (z = 10.7 – 11) galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis.

599 million years after the Big Bang (13.2 Bya) EGSY8p7 a high redshift (z = 8.68) galaxy formed in the constellation Boötes.

About 630 million years after the Big Bang (13.169 Bya) the oldest ever observed gamma ray burst (GRB 090423) occurred.

669 million years after the Big Bang (13.13 Bya) EGS-zs8-1 a high-redshift (z = 7.7) Lyman-break galaxy formed in the northern constellation of Boötes.

699 million years after the Big Bang (13.1 Bya) z8_GND_5296 a dwarf high-redshift (z = 7.5078) Lyman-alpha galaxy formed in the constellation Ursa Major.

889 million years after the Big Bang (12.91 Bya) SXDF-NB1006-2 a redshift (z = 7.213) galaxy formed in the Cetus constellation.

899 million years after the Big Bang (12.9 Bya) GN-108036 a redshift (z = 7.2) galaxy formed in the constellation Ursa Major.

919 million years after the Big Bang (12.88 Bya) IOK-1 a redshift (z = 6.96) galaxy formed in the constellation Coma Berenices.

The early universe gradually transitioned into our known observable universe as seen today.    The Dark Age came to an end at about 1 billion years after the Big Bang (12.799 Bya) as the Reionization era ended due to the early universe becoming ionized.

What Do You Think?

Was there a plan?    Or was it a fluke?

The Dark Age lasted about 999,623 years, somewhere between 3.377 million years (13.795623 Bya) and 1 billion years (12.799 Bya) after the Big Bang.    This was a miraculous period of darkness that laid the foundations for life!

The reionization was the silver lining of the dark gaseous clouds and the formation of stars and quasars provided light at the end of the dark tunnel of the early universe.

Our early universe has gone through its embryonic stage and is entering its fetus stage after struggling to survive.    A wondrous development is soon to take place.

Did Our Universe Come From Nothing To Something?

Is your concept of our “Universe” limited or open to reason?
Is your universe limited to a particular sphere of activity or experience?

Honestly!    If your universe is limited to you, then you need to get out more.
Engage yourself with the world around you.    Go on a holiday, take a trip, go on outings or even join a social group and engage with people.    You need to broaden your horizons and outlook on life.

Now!    If you can get away from the city lights on a clear night, look up and gaze upon the stars.    What you see in the night sky is just a drop in the bucket compared to what is really out there.    Our universe is massive and in more ways than one.

Our universe is believed to be at least 10 billion light years in diameter and contains a vast number of galaxies; it has been expanding since its creation from the Big Bang about 13.799 billion years ago.

Our observable universe seems to be governed by laws of both physics and nature.    The laws of nature are believed to be fixed.    Chaos seems to come from strife and explosive situations.    Then order comes about through nature and stabilizes the chaos.    There is no doubt that our universe is of a grand design, but was it thought out and not just left to chance.

However, there is still discussion of how our universe came about and the application of both positive and negative energy in the acceleration of our universe and how they both balance each other out.    Mankind has observed the sky for at least 6,000 years and has tried reason out what was observed and what role they, (the lights), played in their existence.

By Chance Or Was It Willed?

Did a photon cause it to happen?    There would have been a flash of light.
Was it through the will of the Creator or just by chance?

It has been reasoned that to make a universe you need matter, energy and space.    The effects of both positive and negative energy and how it affects our psychic has been thought about for years.    If it affects us then it would play out in the universe, for we are one with the universe and cause and effect affects us all.

Mankind’s understanding of the observable universe flourished with Einstein’s E=MC² and the development of String Theory.    There are four forces of nature and they are electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces.    String theory allows astronomers, astrophysicists, cosmologists and physicists to unite gravity with the three other forces.    String theory also allowed them to change their view of the universe.

String theory opened the mind of scientists and allowed them to postulate many other theories such as the Perturbation theory, Inflation theory and the M-theory or brane.

The inflation theory led to the Eternal inflation model and the M-theory has now led into the ekpyrotic universe scenario.    The ekpyrotic model is divided into various epochs (periods of time), based upon what influences dominate, such as: the big bang, the radiation-dominated epoch, the matter-dominated epoch, the dark energy–dominated epoch, the contraction epoch and the the big crunch.

From The Void And Darkness

Cosmologists are unsure what happened before the moment of the Big Bang.    But since the universe must be at least as old as the oldest things in it, the age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang.    The current measurement of the age of the universe is 13.799±0.021 billion years within the Lambda-CDM concordance model.

Never the less, (according to the Big Bang theory), the universe was born as a very hot, very dense, single point in space.    Space was a particle desert consisting of a gravitational singularity about the billionth the size of a nuclear particle.    It was small beyond belief.    At the time of the explosion the Planck epoch or Planck era began.    This is the earliest stage of the Big Bang, before the time passed and was equal to the Planck time (tP), or approximately 10⁻⁴³ seconds.

It has been theorized that about 10^-43 seconds after the Big Bang, the Grand Unification Epoch began when the infinitesimal sized early universe cooled down to 10³² K (Kelvins).    Gravity separated and began to operate on the universe.    The remaining fundamental forces stabilized into the electronuclear force, also known as the Grand Unified Force or Grand Unified Theory (GUT).    This supposedly was mediated by (the hypothetical) X and Y bosons, which allowed early matter at this stage to fluctuate between baryon and lepton states.

The explosion of the Big Bang created Quantum Fluctuations.    Quantum fluctuation is the temporary change in the amount of energy in a point in space, which allows the creation of particle-antiparticle pairs of virtual particles.

As the amount of these virtual particles grew exponentially, (at an incredible rate), our universe doubled in size at least 90 times.    This burst of expansion is known as Cosmic Inflation and this started the Inflationary Epoch.

Cosmic inflation is a theory of exponential expansion of space in the early universe.    This inflation generated both Gravitational and Density Waves, which still oscillate throughout the universe.    This inflationary epoch lasted from 10⁻³⁶ seconds after the conjectured Big Bang singularity to sometime between 10⁻³³ and 10⁻³² seconds after the singularity.

It is during the time of the Cosmic Inflation that chaos arose due to the laws of thermodynamics.    It has been proposed that WIMPS, (weakly interacting massive particles), or even dark matter or dark energy may have appeared and had been the catalyst for the expansion of the singularity.

Cosmic Inflation

About 10^-36 seconds the Electroweak Epoch begins.    The early universe begins to cools down to 10²⁸ K (Kelvin).    Hence the Strong Nuclear Force becomes distinct from the Electroweak Force.    As the Strong Force separates from the Electroweak interaction there was high enough electromagnetism for the weak interaction to remain merged into a single electroweak force.

Maybe this separation fuelled the inflation (cosmology) of the universe.
It is also thought that a wide array of exotic elementary particles resulted from the decay of X and Y bosons, which include W and Z bosons and Higgs bosons.

10^-35 seconds after the Big Bang the infant universe cools further as it begins expanding outward.    Its temperature drops down from 10²⁸ to 10²⁷ K.    By now it is thought that the infant universe was almost completely smooth, with quantum variations beginning to cause slight variations in density.

10^-33 seconds after the Big Bang, Space of the infant universe was subjected to inflation and it expanded by a factor of the order of 10²⁶ over a time period of 10⁻³³ to 10⁻³² seconds.    The early universe was supercooled from about 10²⁷ K down to 10²² K.

The Quark epoch began as the familiar elementary particles now formed as a soup of hot ionised gas called quark-gluon plasma.    Perhaps the hypothetical components of cold dark matter, (such as axions), would have also formed at this time.

10⁻³² seconds after the Big Bang the Cosmic inflation came to an end.
During the inflationary epoch the early universe was filled with a dense, hot quark–gluon plasma.    As the universe expanded and cooled, interactions became less energetic.    However, particle interaction during this phase was energetic enough to create large numbers of exotic particles, including W and Z bosons and Higgs bosons.

Electroweak Phase Transition

When the early universe was about 10⁻¹² seconds old, W and Z bosons ceased to be created.    The remaining W and Z bosons decayed quickly, and the weak interaction became a short-range force during the quark epoch.

10^-12 seconds after the Big Bang the Electroweak phase transition began and the Weak nuclear force became a short-range force as it separated from Electromagnetic force.    This enabled matter particles to acquire mass and interact with the Higgs Field.    The universe cools to 10¹⁵ K (Kelvin) and the temperature is still too high for quarks to coalesce into hadrons, so the quark-gluon plasma (Quark Epoch) persists.    The four fundamental interactions now operate as distinct forces, i.e: electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces of nature.

10^-11 seconds after the Big Bang, Baryogenesis may have taken place with matter gaining the upper hand over anti-matter as baryon to antibaryon constituencies are established.

Protons Formed

10^-6 seconds, (1 microsecond or 1us), after the Big Bang the Hadron epoch begins.    As the early universe cools down to about 10¹⁰ K (Kelvin), a quark-hadron transition takes place.    Quarks bind to form more complex particles, such as Hadrons.    This quark confinement includes the formation of protons and neutrons (nucleons), the building blocks of atomic nuclei.

Nuclear Fusion Begins

0.01 seconds, (10 milliseconds or 10ms), after the Big Bang, Primordial Nucleosynthesis begins.    Nuclear fusion begins as lithium and heavy hydrogen (deuterium) and helium nuclei form from protons and neutrons.

1 second after the Big Bang the Lepton Epoch begins.    The universe cools to 10⁹ K (Kelvin) and the hadrons and antihadrons were deemed to annihilate each other leaving behind leptons and antileptons and the possible disappearance of antiquarks.    Gravity by now tries to govern the expansion of the universe and neutrinos decouple from matter creating a cosmic neutrino background.

10 seconds after the Big Bang the Photon epoch began.    Most of the leptons and antileptons have annihilated each other.    By now the electrons and positrons are annihilating each other.    The positrons then seemed to have disappeared and a small number of unmatched electrons are left over.

The early universe is dominated by photons of radiation.    Ordinary matter particles are coupled to light and radiation, while dark matter particles start building non-linear structures as dark matter halos.    The early universe becomes a super-hot glowing fog, because the charged electrons and protons hinder the emission of light.

By 3 minutes after the Big Bang this period of Nuclear Fusion ends.
Light chemical elements were created within the first three minutes of the early universe’s formation.    As the universe expanded, temperatures cooled and protons and neutrons collided to make deuterium, which is an isotope of hydrogen.    Much of this deuterium combined to make helium.    The early universe is still under pressure and oscillates making sound waves as it pushes matter outwards.

Gravitational Collapse

By 20 minutes after the Big Bang the normal matter of the early universe consisted of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium and the free electrons begin scattering light.    The early universe is still cooling and the pressure is lowered.

By 70,000 years after the Big Bang, [13.798,930,000 Billion years ago (Bya)] matter dominates the early universe, but its density and temperate started to come into play.    What is known as the Jeans mass, started to take effect!    Gravity started to pull the matter back towards the centre of the early universe.

Over time the Jeans length had an affect.    The Jeans length is the critical radius of a cloud, [typically a cloud of interstellar dust (matter)], where thermal energy, (that caused the cloud to expand), is counteracted by gravity, which causes the cloud to collapse.    As the early universe cooled, its pressure lowered and triggered the onset of the gravitational collapse.

Cosmic Microwave Background

About 380,000 years after the Big Bang, (13.798,620,000 Bya), as the early universe cooled even more, the newly formed atoms of mainly hydrogen and helium with traces of lithium quickly reach their lowest energy state, (ground state), by releasing photons, (photon decoupling).    Matter cooled enough for electrons to combine with nuclei to form neutral atoms.    This phase of events is known as “Recombination” and the absorption of the free electrons caused the universe to become transparent.    The era of Recombination lasted for about 3,000 years.

The released photons of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) created the Afterglow Light Pattern that is still detectable today in the form of CMB radiation.    It is also the oldest observation that we have of our universe.

However, the era of Recombination was followed by a period of darkness before stars and other bright objects were formed.    The Dark Ages lasted about 1 billion years.

What Do You Think?

This narrative compilation was formed from the works of others.
But I thought this was the best way to explain the birth of our universe.    But note, we have only gone from conception to the embryo stage in the development of our universe.

Was there a master plan for life?    Was it all thought out by the will of the Creator?    Or was it all by chance?    Did our universe come from nothing to something?    Anyway!    I thought it was a rather miraculous development.    What do you think?

Did Our Reality Start With The “Big Bang”?

Or was it the will of creative thought?

What was the catalyst behind, or even that of the “Big Bang”?
Did something implode and then explode due to quantum fluctuation?

Something had to exist in order to create an explosion and that something was energized.    For quantum fluctuation to occur, energy and quantum particles had to exist.    So!    How did the quantum fluctuation start?

To understand quantum physics you have to get your head around “String Theorem”.    String Theorem is based on thinking, postulating and mathematical application.    For String Theorem to come into effect one has to consider the possibility of there being at least ten different dimensions and be open to the further possibility of there being even, eleven to twenty six dimensions.

This is mind blowing to many people who perceive themselves as to being associated to three dimensions.    But if you believe that your reality is of three dimensions you are sadly mistaken.    Our reality, (the common perception of our material realm), is of four dimensions.    Our universe is moving due to momentum and so are we.    All is related to time and time appears to be limited by the bounds of its cause.    Hence all things have a beginning and an eventual end.

According to String Theory all begins with strings of energy.    But nobody knows how this energy came about.     However, those who are into Quantum Physics know that the perception of the quantum realm can change due to the thinking of the observer.    So!    Is the creation of the strings of energy due to the will of creative thought?

These strings of energy create fundamental forces.    The type and amount of force depends on whether the strings of energy are either open or closed loops.    Open strings of energy vibrate, twist and turn to form various patterns, however if their two ends meet and fuse together then a closed loop is formed and a particular quantum particle is created.

Now!    Without going into too much depth.    Quantum particles can form into sub atomic structure and create atoms.    Atoms allow chemical change.    Atoms and quantum particles form into molecules.    Molecules allow structure to take place and material is formed.    Molecules can wrap themselves around other molecules containing certain atoms and quantum particles and cell structure takes place.

Depending upon circumstances, two living cell types can be created such as prokaryotic (bacteria) and eukaryotic [(animal, plant, fungi and protoctista (unicellular organisms)].    Guess what?    All of us human beings are made up of different types of eukaryotic cells and yes… we are animals and sadly, in more ways than one.

Hence!    We are also stardust.    For our universe consists of quantum particles and stars are created and destroyed through them.    From dust we came, to dust we go: to one realm of existence or another.

But!    Back To The “Big Bang”…

Did the first and second dimensions of existence meld together?
Did this combination make up the void of the third dimension or did all three dimensions somehow over lap each other.    The overlapping of dimensions could and/or would cause quantum fluctuation.    The reaction of which, either created or entered aspects of the other three dimensions into, the fourth dimension.    This of course would cause one hell of a big bang.

It is thought that each dimension holds a different concept of reality.
Do the various dimensions vibrate and move within the boundaries of other dimensions?    Do the different dimensions just kiss each other or do they infiltrate and cause chaos?    Are there gateways between dimensions?    If you could move between dimensions would you experience a different version of your own reality or would you experience a different realm of existence.    Now that is something for you to think about.    I hope you get a big bang out of it.

Never the less!    Here we are, 13.73 billion years later, and no one has a real clue as to how our universe came about.    But we know it did, because here we are, still postulating our origins and trying to work out who and what we really are.

What Is The Will Of Creative Thought

Well!    You are a creative thinking, manifesting entity of free will.
Think upon it and work it out for yourself.    You do have the ability to do so.
Just put your ego aside and open your mind, then test your preconceived ideas.    The thoughts that you will have will either enhance your beliefs or destroy them.

It does not matter if you change your belief, as long as your new belief is righteous you will be on the right track and hopefully you will get a big bang out of your life.