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Nov 24
2009
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Physics of the early Universe is at the boundary of astronomy and
philosophy since we do not currently have a complete theory that
unifies all the fundamental forces of Nature at the moment of
Creation. In addition, there is no possibility of linking
observation or experimentation of early Universe physics to our
theories (i.e. its not possible to `build' another Universe). Our
theories are rejected or accepted based on simplicity and aesthetic
grounds, plus there power of prediction to later times, rather than
an appeal to empirical results. This is a very difference way of
doing 
science from previous centuries of research.
Our physics can explain most of the evolution of the Universe after the Planck time (approximately 10-43 seconds after the Big Bang).
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However, events before this time are undefined in our current science and, in particular, we have no solid understanding of the origin of the Universe (i.e. what started or `caused' the Big Bang). At best, we can describe our efforts to date as probing around the `edges' of our understanding in order to define what we don't understand, much like a blind person would explore the edge of a deep hole, learning its diameter without knowing its depth. |
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