Here’s something I have been wondering.
According to Sagan in “Cosmos”, all matter and energy in the universe was packed together at one time into a single area of extreme density prior to the “big bang”
What I would like to know is, why did that extremely dense ball of stuff explode, rather than simply become a supermassive black hole?
It didn’t explode.
Expansion is a better way to visualize it. Or possibly just as a change in phase state inside a black hole.
The term “Big Bang” was, after all, coined as a derogatory term by proponents of the “Steady State” model.
This bit is a little hard to visualize but understand that the Big Bang did not blow up in a fashion we are used to (i.e. an expanding ball of stuff racing outward from a central point). There is no center to the universe. The Big Bang happened everywhere at once.
As to why it ‘exploded’ is anyone’s guess. We by definition can’t know anything prior to the formation of our universe so any prior effects causing the Big Bang to occur would just be guesses.
I will say the one explanation I heard was that the Big Bang was the separation of multidimensional space. Ten (or eleven?) dimensions were wrapped up all nice and tight together and then they split apart causing our four dimensions (3 space and 1 time) to form our universe and the other 6 dimension snapped into a tiny ball ( a ball that also happens to touch every point in our universe if you want another mind bender). This produced a titanic amount of energy that left the stuff we see inside our universe.
Of course, this assumes there are more dimensions than our four which is by no means a proven thing (it’s not even really accepted and is more an intriguing prospect and fun sci-fi at this point than anything else). It also doesn’t answer why those dimensions decided to separate which again could probably never be known.
Of course, Big Bang theory itself might be wrong so who knows?
Ok, good enough.
Thank you, gentlemen.