Our Universe Might Have a Different Origin Story
The Big………BOUNCE?!
Consider an atom in which the electrons are situated around the nucleus. According to classical mechanics, an electron spinning around the nucleus would lose energy and eventually fall into the nucleus and perish. However, this does not appear to be the case in reality, does it? Because we know atoms are stable, everything we observe around us is possible. As a result, it indicates that classical mechanics is inadequate and that quantum effects must be considered. Because an electron is a quantum entity, it does not follow precise paths. If we want to maintain the electron as close to the nucleus as possible, we must force it into the smallest atomic orbital.
Quantum mechanics prevents an electron from falling into the nucleus. When an electron approaches the nucleus too closely, we observe some sort of repulsion — more specifically, quantum repulsion. Without this phenomenon, there would be no atoms, no you, and no universe.
Let’s take this to the next level. Consider the universe compressing and shrinking as a result of its own weight. According to Einstein’s equations, the universe will be compressed into an incredibly small point and will vanish into nothingness. This is similar to the Big Bang predicted by Einstein’s equations. But only a moment ago, I talked about how quantum mechanics makes this impossible. So, who is correct, Einstein or quantum mechanics?
If we take quantum mechanics into account, we know that the universe cannot be indefinitely squashed. There will be quantum repulsion, causing the universe to rebound. So, instead of collapsing to a point, a contracting universe bounces back and expands as if it were emerging from an explosion just like the Big Bang. As a result, our past could be the outcome of the universe rebounding. We even gave it a name, “The Big Bounce”.
Going back to our example of putting an electron as close to the nucleus as possible, we ended up putting it in the orbit with the smallest orbital size. Because it is a quantum phenomenon, the electron does not behave like a particle but rather as a cloud of probability. There is no precise location. The universe can be thought of in the same way during the Big Bounce. At this point, the universe is no longer a singular entity but rather a collection of probabilities. Space-time is constantly shifting. As a result, the universe gets dissolved in the cloud of probabilities during the Big Bounce and can only be explained using equations. Our universe might therefore be the outcome of a contracting universe passing through the quantum phase and being dissolved into the pool of probability.
Is our universe the result of the Big Bang or the expansion of a previously contracting universe? It is a matter of pure speculation and has no concrete experimental evidence for verification.
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