If the Big Bang was as described, how come the Univese is homogenous. Why are the galazies and other matter not formed in the shape of a hollow sphere, much like the remnant of a supernova, (minus the stellar remnant at the centre)? The only explanation I can imagine is that the Big Bang was not an explosion of matter, but a sudden manifestation of space, and the big bang was in fact the sudden birth of space, with an integral property of expansion.

The Universe isn't homogeneous. There's lots of lumps,eddies and voids. There's an element of randomness/chaos to the various forces that lead to the accumulation of matter various structures like stars, planets and galaxies. Imagine the way an object balanced on a razor edge could fall in either direction. After the delay following the "Big Bang" necessary for matter to condense into hydrogen this chaotic redistribution formed clouds that accumulated to the point of forming the astronomical objects we're familiar with.

Hi. What you have described is in fact what scientists believe. A sudden creation and expansion of space that we cannot work out the cause of - We call the integral expansion of space "Dark energy"

Re the expansion/dark energy. If this were the case, our measuring of same would behave similarly, and we would not be aware of it. Re lumps eddies etc. they obviously exist, though scientists had extreme difficulty fitting this in with the BB theory, and had, I think, to resort to string theory. Also, even if there was a delay in the introduction of matter, one would still expect to find a central void.

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Originally Posted by gerryhoulihan

Re the expansion/dark energy. if this were the case, our measuring of same would behave similarly, and we would not be aware of it. Re lumps eddies etc. they obviously exist, though scientists had extreme difficulty fitting this in with the BB theory, and had, I think, to resort to string theory. Also, even if there was a delay in the introduction of matter, one would still expect to find a central void.

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No, space does not expand from the center, but instead from every point in space. You would not expect a central void with such expansion.

Astronomy is not my area of expertise, though I wish I had pursued this subject as a career. Unfortunately, my limited knowledge comes from popular literature and TV programs; I have difficulty accepting some of the experts ideas. For instance. The expansion of space, if you consider that atoms consist mostly of empty space, and are held together by internal forces, and distance is a factor in calculations in this area; if space in the universe is expanding in step with space inside atoms (sub atomic particles--i won't even go there) then we would not notice the expansion of space. To make sense of the observation that the universe is expanding would you not, perhaps, have to consider it in some other way, like, that space is uniform, but the number of units of space are in some way increasing? That would work for me. (I know I am wrong and that these iconic people must be correct, as my intellect is no doubt very limited compared to theirs)

I think its possible that when the big bang took place that matter/enegry at the outer edge of the unfolding expansion were subject to asymmetrical forces restricting outward expansion. Its radiation inwards lead to a separation with inner matter Also, this matter had a restraining influence on inner matter. This unfolding scenario would result in a dense outer shell of matter at some distance from the known universe, containing ourselves and the visible galaxies. The rate of expansion of the outer shell would slow down (as per the expectations of earlier astronomers). Our inner part of the universe is expanding, and, to the amazement of astronomers, it transpires that the expansion is actually accelerating! This acceleration is caused by the gravitational attraction on the known universe by the outer shell of matter, that would naturally through time, slow down, stop and then begin to collapse.
If you consider the conventional view of the universe with regard to the accelerating expansion. This leaves a lot to be explained and I am not aware of any such attempt so far. This view is only slight less flawed than my above explanation. It would seem to me that in the absence of some unexplained driving force causing this acceleration, that acceleration of massive matter could not take place in an ad hoc manner. The simplest explanation that occurs to me is that the universe is under the gravitational influence of matter further out. One could consider a universe coming about through the initiation that was the Big Bang, and we are now experiencing the more gradual "Big Pull".

Thinking of these matters is taking up too much of my time. One would expect comfort from a better understanding of what it taking place, but the reverse is so. I am thoroughly confused now and would like to abandon all of this and get back into the real world. I am off for a shower, a cup of coffee and will resume the fight against the credit crunch. Sorry for all that silliness