Big Bang Theory Lecture Notes

Flashcards about the Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory

The theory that states about 13.7 billion years ago all the matter in the Universe was concentrated into a single incredibly tiny point, a singularity, which began to enlarge rapidly in a hot expansion, and is still expanding today.

Singularity

A point where we cannot use math to calculate the size and density of a point as it is too small.

Gravity

The attractive force acting on anything with mass that draws more mass towards it.

Big Bang

Time, space and matter all began in this event. The Universe grew from smaller than a single atom to bigger than a galaxy.

Dark Ages

The period 380,000 – 1 million years after the Big Bang when atoms collided and gathered mass.

Doppler Effect

We can measure the relative movement of stars in relation to the Earth using this effect.

Spectroscopy

The method of using emitted light from a luminous object and passing it through a prism to split the light into its component colours on the spectrum.

Red Shift

Sources of light that move away from the observer shift towards the lower frequency red end of the spectrum, called?

Blue Shift

Sources of light that move towards the observer shift towards the higher frequency blue/violet end of the spectrum, called?

Hubble’s Diagram

Astronomers could find a straight line relationship between the distance to galaxies and how fast those galaxies were moving away from us using this diagram.

Megaparsec (Mpc)

Unit of distance used in Hubble's Diagram that equals 3.26 million light years.

Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR)

Radiation received from all parts of the Universe and is thought to be the heat left over from the original explosion.