Cosmogony
Cosmogony is any theory of the origin of the universe.[1][2][3]
Examples
[change | change source]Physics
[change | change source]
In astronomy, cosmogony is the study of the origin of things like the universe, the Solar System, or the Earth–Moon system.[1][2] The popular cosmological model for the birth of the universe is the Big Bang theory.[4]
It is generally accepted that the universe began as a singularity, and when the singularity of the universe started to expand, the Big Bang occurred, which began the universe.
People disagree on the origins of the singularity.[5]
It may be like a black hole, which is a singularity sincegravity in a black hole becomes boundless.
Others like Stephen Hawking say "time" did not exist and was only born with the universe. Hence the universe does not have an origin story. Time did not exist before the creation of the universe.[5][6]
There is currently no theoretical model that explains the earliest moments of the universe's existence (during the Planck time). This is because we lack a testable theory of quantum gravity. Still, some researchers in string theory, M theory, and loop quantum cosmology have some ideas.[7][8]
Mythology
[change | change source]There are certain myths that also propose how the universe was created: for example creation myths in the Bible, the Dào Dé Jīng, and other genesis stories. These usually involve
- a supreme being or god
- birth via sex between male and female gods
- or birth via the cosmic egg[9]
The Eridu Genesis, written on Sumerian tablets, is one of the oldest creation myths. The universe was created from a sea (Abzu).[10][11] In Greek mythology, Zeus created the universe from chaos.[12] Aztec creation has four versions of earth being created and destroyed, before settling the fifth and current earth. In Bushongo creation, the great god Bumba vomited up the sun, then the earth and everything else.
It is not the same as cosmology
[change | change source]Cosmology studies the universe in general. You can still study the universe without thinking about its origin, which is what cosmonogy studies specifically.[4][6][13]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ridpath, Ian (2012). A Dictionary of Astronomy. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Woolfson, Michael Mark (1979). "Cosmogony Today". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 20 (2): 97–114. Bibcode:1979QJRAS..20...97W.
- ↑ Staff. "γίγνομαι - come into a new state of being". Tufts University. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wollack, Edward J. (10 December 2010). "Cosmology: The Study of the Universe". Universe 101: Big Bang Theory. NASA. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Carroll, Sean (28 April 2012). "A Universe from Nothing?". Science for the Curious. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Carroll, Sean; Carroll, Sean M. (2003). Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity. Pearson.
- ↑ "String Theory/Holography/Gravity". Center for Theoretical Physics. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ↑ Becker, Katrin; Becker, Melanie; Schwartz, John (2007). String Theory and M-Theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Long, Charles. "Creation Myth". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ↑ "Eridu Genesis Mesopotamia Epic". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 20 July 1998. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ↑ Morris, Charles (1897). "The Primeval Ocean". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 49: 12–17. JSTOR 4062253.
- ↑ Thury, Eva; Devinney, Margaret (2017). Introduction to Mythology Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths, 4th ed. Madison Avenue, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 4, 187.
- ↑ Smeenk, Christopher; Ellis, George (Winter 2017). "Philosophy of Cosmology". Retrieved 30 April 2019.
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