CHAPTER 1

EVIDENCE FOR THE BIG BANG

1. Redshift of Galaxies
o Red shift occurs due to the Doppler
effect, which says that the wavelength of
light changes depending on if the wave
source is moving toward or away from
the detector.

o Scientists believe that the universe is

expanding due to evidence of red
shifted light from galaxies that are far
away from Earth.

2. Microwave Background
o Very early in its history, the whole Universe was very hot. As it expanded, this heat left
behind a "glow" that fills the entire Universe. The Big Bang theory not only predicts that
this glow should exist, but that it should be visible as microwaves - part of
the Electromagnetic Spectrum.
o This is the Cosmic Microwave Background which has been accurately measured by
orbiting detectors, and is very good evidence that the Big Bang theory is correct.

3. Mixture of Elements
o As the Universe expanded and cooled down, some of the elements that we see today
were created.
o The lightest elements (hydrogen, helium, deuterium, lithium) were produced in the Big
Bang nucleosynthesis. According to the Big Bang theory, the temperatures in the early
universe were so high that fusion reactions could take place. This resulted in the
formation of light elements: hydrogen, deuterium, helium (two isotopes), lithium and
trace amounts of beryllium.
o Nuclear fusion in stars converts hydrogen into helium in all stars. In stars less massive
than the Sun, this is the only reaction that takes place. In stars more massive than the
Sun (but less massive than about 8 solar masses), further reactions that convert helium
to carbon and oxygen take place in succesive stages of stellar evolution. In the very
massive stars, the reaction chain continues to produce elements like silicon upto iron.

ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

1. Non-scientific Thought
o Ancient Egyptians believed in many gods and myths which narrate that the world
arose from an infinite sea at the first rising of the sun.
o The Kuba people of Central Africa tell the story of a creator god Mbombo (or Bumba)
who, alone in a dark and water-covered Earth, felt an intense stomach pain and then
vomited the stars, sun, and moon.
 o In India, there is the narrative that gods sacrificed Purusha, the primal man whose
head, feet, eyes, and mind became the sky, earth, sun, and moon respectively.
o The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam claim that a supreme
being created the universe, including man and other living organisms.

2. Steady State Model

o The now discredited steady state model of the universe was proposed in 1948 by Bondi
and Gould and by Hoyle. It maintains that new matter is created as the Universe
expands thereby maintaining its density.
o Its predictions led to tests and its eventual rejection with the discovery of the cosmic
microwave background.

3. Big Bang Theory

o As the currently accepted theory of the origin and evolution of the universe, the Big
Bang. Theory postulates that 13.8 billion years ago, the universe expanded from a tiny,
dense and hot mass to its present size and much cooler state.
o The theory rests on two ideas: General Relativity and the Cosmological Principle. In
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, gravity is thought of as a distortion of space-time
and no longer described by a gravitational field in contrast to the Law of Gravity of
Isaac Newton. General Relativity explains the peculiarities of the orbit of Mercury and
the bending of light by the Sun and has passed rigorous tests. The Cosmological
Principle assumes that the universe is homogeneous and isotropic when averaged
over large scales. This is consistent with our current large-scale image of the universe.
But keep in mind that it is clumpy at smaller scales.
o The Big Bang Theory has withstood the tests for expansion: 1) the redshift 2)
abundance of hydrogen, helium, and lithium, and 3) the uniformly pervasive cosmic
microwave background radiation-the remnant heat from the bang.

DIFFERENT HYPOTHESES EXPLAINING THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

1. Nebular Hypothesis
o Nebular Hypothesis, an explanation of
how the solar system was formed,
proposed by Pierre Simon de Laplace in
1796. Laplace said that the material
from which the solar system was formed
was once a slowly rotating cloud, or
nebula, of extremely hot gas.
o The gas cooled and the nebula began
to shrink. As the nebula became smaller,
it rotated more rapidly, becoming
somewhat flattened at the poles.
o A combination of centrifugal force,
produced by the nebula's rotation, and
gravitational force, from the mass of the
nebula, caused rings of gas to be left
behind as the nebula shrank. These rings
 condensed into planets and their satellites, while the remaining part of the nebula
formed the sun.

2. Encounter Hypotheses:

o One of the earliest theories for the

formation of the planets was called the
encounter hypothesis. In this scenario, a
rogue star passes close to the Sun about 5
billion years ago. Material, in the form of
hot gas, is tidally stripped from the Sun and
the rogue star. This material fragments into
smaller lumps which form the planets.
o This hypothesis has the advantage of
explaining why the planets all revolve in the
same direction (from the encounter
geometry) and also provides an
explanation for why the inner worlds are
denser than the outer worlds.
o However, there are two major problems for
a theory of this type. One is that hot gas
expands, not contracts. So lumps of hot gas
would not form planets. The second is that
encounters between stars are extremely
rare, so rare as to be improbable in the
lifetime of the Universe (15 billion years).

3. Protoplanet Hypothesis:
o The current working model for the
formation of the Solar System is called the
protoplanet hypothesis. It incorporates
many of the components of the nebular
hypothesis, but adds some new aspects
from modern knowledge of fluids and
states of matter.
o As the planet's began to form they grew in
mass by accreting planetesimals. Since
force of gravity is proportional to mass, the
largest planetesimals are accreted first.
The early proto-planets are able to sweep
the early Solar System clean of large
bodies.
o Lighter compounds are vaporized in the inner Solar System. So where did all the
outgassing material come from? The answer is comets that fall from the outer Solar
System after the planets form.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EARTH THAT ARE NECESSARY TO SUPPORT LIFE
1. Temperature
○ Life is limited to a temperature range of -15°C to 115°C.
○ Because of its distance from the sun, Earth has a temperature range of 0°C to100°C,
which allows life to exist.
○ The length of day and night also contribute to temperatures that can sustain life.
2. Presence of Liquid Water
○ Earth’s temperature range allows water to exist in liquid form.
○ 0°C is the freezing point of water and 100°C is the boiling point of water.
○ Water is regularly available.
○ Landforms allow water to run from high to low elevations and replenish as the seasons
change.
3. Composition of Atmosphere
○ The Earth’s atmosphere thickness traps heat & protects it from the Sun’s harmful UV
radiation.
○ It also protects it from small to medium sized meteorites.
○ It contains gases including nitrogen, oxygen, argon, & carbon dioxide. (NOArCo2)
4. Energy Source
○ With a steady input of either light or chemical energy from the sun, cells can perform
the chemical reactions necessary for life (photosynthesis).
○ These give us food sources including plants and animals.
5. Nutrients
○ All solid planets and moons have the same general chemical makeup so nutrients are
present.
○ Planets with a water cycle or volcanic activity can transport and replenish the
chemicals required by living organisms (vitamins).
○ All solid planets and moons have the same general chemical makeup so nutrients are
present.
○ Planets with a water cycle or volcanic activity can transport and replenish the
chemicals required by living organisms (vitamins).

FOUR SUBSYSTEMS OF THE EARTH

1. Atmosphere.
o The atmosphere is the thin gaseous layer that envelopes the lithosphere.
o The present atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen (N), 21% oxygen (O2), 0.9%
argon, and trace amount of other gases.
o One of the most important processes by which the heat on the Earth's surface is
redistributed is through atmospheric circulation.
o There is also a constant exchange of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and
the hydrosphere through the hydrologic cycle.

2. Lithosphere.
o The lithosphere includes the rocks of the crust and mantle, the metallic liquid outer
core, and the solid metallic inner core.
o Briefly discuss the Plate Tectonics as an important process shaping the surface of the
Earth.
 o The primary driving mechanism is the Earth's internal heat, such as that in mantle
convection.

3. Biosphere.
o The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists.
o The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environment
of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high mountaintops.
Scientists describe the Earth in terms of spheres. The solid surface layer of the Earth is
the lithosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of air that stretches above the lithosphere.
The Earth’s water—on the surface, in the ground, and in the air—makes up
the hydrosphere.
Since life exists on the ground, in the air, and in the water, the biosphere overlaps all
these spheres.
o Although the biosphere measures about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from top to bottom,
almost all life exists between about 500 meters (1,640 feet) below the ocean’s surface
to about 6 kilometers (3.75 miles) above sea level.

4. Hydrosphere.
o About 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid water (hydrosphere) and much of it is in
the form of ocean water (Figure 3).
o Only 3% of Earth's water is fresh: two-thirds are in the form of ice, and the remaining
one-third is present in streams, lakes, and groundwater.
o The oceans are important sinks for CO2 through direct exchange with the atmosphere
and
o indirectly through the weathering of rocks.
o Heat is absorbed and redistributed on the surface of the Earth through ocean
circulation.