Strings And Things: All Tangled Up In The Quest For The Ultimate Theory
...beginning of the universe. There are two foundational pillars upon which modern physics rest. The problem, however, is they are polar opposites. Einstein's theory of general relativity provides the theoretical framework for understanding the universe on the largest of scales. Quantum mechanics, however, provides a theoretical framework for understanding on the smallest of scales. After years of research, physicists have proven points of interest from both sidesbut because of their incompatibility, they both cannot be right. This leads to other discussions pertaining to the "Big Bang theory," "Superstring theory," and the "Cyclic Universe theory," all of which are growing increasingly popular as the scientific world continues to progress into the twenty-first century. It could take life-times to prove or disprove each current model, but one thing is certain: the quest for the ultimate theory will continue for long after the deaths of today's scientists, and will thrive in the hearts and minds of tomorrow's common people.
In 1951, Pope Pius XII approved the Big Bang theory, which was an outrageous step towards the future for the Catholic Church. For hundreds of years, scientists like Galileo were put under house arrest for suggesting the Earth orbits the sun, and the pope was accepting a controversial theory to explain the beginning of the world! The points he found appealing, though, were the ones that worried cosmologists: in the Big Bang theory, the universe had a beginning and time and space leaped out of utter nothingness--confirming the first few sentences of Genesis. While a little precautious, astrophysicists followed the pope's lead as evidence for the Big Bang grew too powerful to ignore (Lemonick 36).
The basis of the Big Bang theory is this: 13.7 billion years ago, 100 billion galaxies and 100 billion stars, stretching out beyond 10 million...
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