Emma Nelson

Beyond our Universe

Within a fraction of a second, our universe was created. While a great amount of research
have been conducted concerning the creation and evolution of our universe, there are always
things yet to be discovered. Looking back to the creation of the universe approximately one
hundred billion years ago astronomers predicted that the planets that make up of solar system
today were nothing but a cloud of microscopic particles spanning no more than a fraction of an
inch across. Researchers predict that the Big Bang was in fact, not a collision at all, but a
single universe born from a single point in space that was extremely dense and extraordinarily
hot. When the universe was at its youngest stages it underwent an incredibly expansion in which
it nearly doubled its size over ninety times. After the rapid inflation, the universe still continued
to grow however this time it occurred at a slower rate. With the expansion, the universe began to
become cooler and less dense. Within the first three minutes of the Big Bang, the formation of
various chemical elements occurred as protons and neutrons collided with one another. Hundreds
of thousands of years went by and as the universe continued to cool, the formation and collision
of various particles continued to occur. Approximately 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the
universe went through another phase known as recombination where matter cooled enough for
electrons to combine with nuclei to form neutral atoms. Followed by this phase came a period of
darkness lasting roughly 400 million years after the Bing Bang. In this period of the evolution of
the universe, clumps of gas collapsed enough to form the very first signs of stars and galaxies.
This process was known as re-ionization. About 9 billion years after the Big Bang, our solar
system was formed. According to the belief of many scientists, our solar system was [initially]
formed from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula. As gravity caused
the nebula to collapse, it spun faster and [eventually] flattened into a disk. During this phase,
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most of the material was pulled towards the center to form our sun (Denise Chow). Researchers
later hypothesized that the mysterious force that held all of the planets in our solar system
together was known as dark matter. This dark matter makes up roughly 23% of our universe
compared to the 4% of the universe that is composed of regular matter which includes stars,
planets, and people. However, scientists know little to nothing about this mysterious force that
binds space together. Its debated that this virtually invisible force of intangible matter consists of
a particle that has yet to be discovered.
Searching further in to the unknown mysteries of our universe, scientists have found solid
evidence of yet another invisible force known as black holes. So far researchers have found that
these black holes are millions to billions times the size of the sun located in our solar system.
Black holes are formed when large start collapse on them selves, this explosion is known as a
supernova. Though scientist cant physically study a black hole because they are invisible, they
can infer that one is there because of the effect that its gravitational pull has, known as accretion.
Accretion is used to describe the inwards process of matter being drawn to the center of this
particular phenomenon. Accretion is caused because black holes consist of a massive amount of
matter compacted into a very small area, this in turn creates a strong gravitational pull. This
gravitational pull acts like a magnet; billions of stars are consequently pulled to the core of the
dense center of a black hole. However, once the stars go into the black hole, there is no chance of
them ever returning, in fact, their pull is so strong that not even light can escape them. Past
research had shown that these black holes are typically located at the heart of virtually every
galaxy. But the most common question is, whets on the other side? This is indeed unknown, but
multiple fanciful theories state that there are other world or demission and that the black whole
itself acts as a gateway. This, though fun to imagine, is quite the opposite of what is predicted to
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actually happen far before you would even be able to make it through the mass of darkness. The
force of the gravitational pull of the black hole will cause all the atoms within your body to
unravel. However, the attraction of start to the core of the black hole is what evidently holds
these galaxies together, without black holes galaxies might have never even been created.
Within our universe, its estimated that there are 100 to 200 billion galaxies, each
consisting of hundred of trillions of stars each. Imagine that there is not only 1 universe, but
rather many. The idea that we live in a multiverse is astounding, but not impossible. Looking
back to the big bang when there was a rapid period of expansion and thus our universe was first
created, scientists have found new evidence that from this inflation came not only the universe
that we live in today but also many others as well. This is due to the idea that parts of the
universe expanded far faster than other parts, which in turn created bubbles in the space-time
continuum. It is hard to truly know what exists beyond what scientists are able to study and
comprehend, but theories provide us not only new insight, concepts, and ideas, but also with the
knowledge that will help us to better understand the world around us. The true mysteries of the
galaxies, universe, and multiverse are yet to be discovered.

Emma Nelson

Sources:
"..:: Zasavica ::..." ..:: Zasavica ::... N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://www.zasavica.com/?action=vijesti&sub=komentari&id=179>.
"Is Dark Matter Made of Tiny Black Holes?." Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://www.space.com/23583-dark-matter-tiny-black-holes.html>.
"Is Dark Matter Made of Tiny Black Holes?." Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://www.space.com/23583-dark-matter-tiny-black-holes.html>.
"Our Universe May Exist in a Multiverse, Cosmic Inflation Discovery Suggests."
Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.space.com/25100-multiversecosmic-inflation-gravitational-waves.html>.
"What is on the Other Side of a Black Hole?." Universe Today RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15
May 2014. <http://www.universetoday.com/14068/what-is-on-the-other-side-of-a-blackhole/>.