Abundance of Light Elements - Spectral Analysis of Stars & Galaxies shows that there is a large %...

THE BIG BANG THEORY

THE BIG BANG THEORY

THREE KEY DISCOVERIES

IN THE 20THCENTURY

LED TO THE

BIG BANG THEORY:

DISCOVERY #1

Abundance of Light Elements -Spectral Analysis of Stars & Galaxies shows that there is a large % of:

Hydrogen and Helium (99.9 %)

present in the universe today.

Abundance of Light Elements –Relative Abundance of Elements: Each number

on the Y scale represents a power of 10.

C lines up with the 7. That means there is 10X as much C as there is Si ( and 100X as much C as Ar!! )

There is a large % (99.9 %) of:Hydrogen and Helium

DISCOVERY #1

Abundance of Light Elements –Relative Abundance of Elements: Each number

on the Y scale represents a power of 10.

C lines up with the 7. That means there is 10X as much C as there is Si ( and 100X as much C as Ar!! )

This means the relative abundance of H is more than 10,000 X the relative abundance of Si!!!

DISCOVERY #1

DISCOVERY #1

Not surprisingly, these are the two smallest elements which we would expect to form from the protons and neutrons being thrown together during the Big Bang.

DISCOVERY #2

THE RED SHIFT

Edwin Hubble

Red Shift (Edwin Hubble - 1920s) – The light spectrum of distant

galaxies shows a distinct shift toward the red end of the spectrum.

As the galaxies become more distant, the Red Shift becomes more pronounced.

DISCOVERY #2

DOPPLER EFFECT AND RED SHIFT

Object coming towards you – blue shift (at very high speeds - 100 million mph)

Object moving away from you – red shift – Speeds have to be near the speed of light for the Doppler effect to be visible.

Astronomy and the Doppler Shift Astronomers can

measure the Doppler Shift of a moving object (galaxy):

If the galaxy is moving closer, waves will be compressed and will have a higher (“bluer”) frequency.

If galaxy is moving away, waves in the signal will be stretched, and will have a lower (“redder”) frequency.

RED SHIFT OF LIGHT FROM DISTANT GALAXIES

Very Distant Galaxy

Distant Galaxy

NearbyGalaxy

Nearby Star

Quantum Jump

Diagrams for

Hydrogen

Evidence for an expanding universe

The spectrum of Hydrogen gas is the unique fingerprint of that element.

Hydrogen lamp

H – Alpha line

Rest Wavelength – not moving at all


Orion Nebula

When we see a repeat of the pattern we saw in the lab, we know Hydrogen is present.

H – Alpha line

Nearby Wavelength

We see the same repeating pattern of lines in a galaxy, but displaced to the red .

Galaxy UGC 12915


H – Alpha line

Middle Distance Wavelength

The further away the galaxy is, the greater the shift to the red:

Galaxy UGC 12508


H – Alpha line

More Distant Wavelength

Galaxy KUG 1750

The greater the red shift, the faster the galaxy is receding away.


H – Alpha line

Even More Distant Wavelength

The red shift is caused by the expansion of space.

Galaxy KUG 1217


H – Alpha line

Great Distance Wavelength

The red shift is evidence for an expanding universe

Galaxy IRAS F09159


H – Alpha line

Greatest Distance Wavelength

Red Shift (Edwin Hubble - 1920s) –

All but a handful of nearby galaxies show a Red Shift .

Shows that virtually all galaxies are moving away from Earth.

DISCOVERY #2


Shows that virtually all galaxies are moving away from Earth.

The more distant a galaxy is, the faster it is moving, so all galaxies must be moving away from each other.

DISCOVERY #2

RED SHIFT of Light from Distant Galaxies

Very Distant Galaxy

Distant Galaxy

NearbyGalaxy

Nearby StarMoving away slowly

Moving away fast

faster

fastest


DISCOVERY #2

Conclusion:

The universe is expanding at

incredible speeds

(100 million mph- nearly at the

speed of light).

DISCOVERY #2

Conclusion:

The universe is expanding at

incredible speeds

(nearly at the speed of light).


Click here for

Movie:

DISCOVERY #3

is everywhere in space

It could only be caused by a huge thermonuclear-type detonation

Discovered byPenzias & Wilson – 1960s

COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION

DISCOVERY #3

CMBR has cooled down from the

hotter cosmic rays and gamma

rays of the Big Bang to the lower

energy microwave radiation that

we see everywhere in space today.


DISCOVERY #3

CMBR has stretched from the short,

high frequency cosmic rays and

gamma rays of the Big Bang to the

long, low frequency microwave

radiation that we see everywhere in

space today.


Computer - generated maps of the universe using data from the COBE satellite

(COsmic Background Explorer)

show that


is present everywhere in the universe.

(See next frame.)


DISCOVERY #3

DISCOVERY #3

This image shows us the very edge of outer space – 13.7 billion light years away and comes from radiation that originated 13.7 billion years in the past! We are looking at lumps of radiation that filled the universe in its very early infancy.


More recent images from the wmap satellite (2003 – 2010) show that the


contains pockets of denser radiation that could have condensed into the early galaxies.

This lumpiness was predicted by the Big Bang Theory.

(See next frame.)

DISCOVERY #3COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND

RADIATION

WMAP SATELLITE IMAGE


led to the concept that the universe began expanding rapidly from a small hot point

13.7 billion years ago and is still expanding today…

A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS...

DISCOVERIES 1, 2 AND 3:

A Stanmo ProductionThanks to NASA, JPL and the Einstein Forum for

the great pix.2012

Abundance of Light Elements - Spectral Analysis of Stars & Galaxies shows that there is a large %...

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