Big Bang, Big Crunch, and Big Bounce

Have the scientists gone bonkers? First, they came out with the Big Bang theory, which sounded like one big explosive joke to the layperson. Then they come out with the Big Crunch and Big Bounce theories, which remind one of ice-cream and a big ball, respectively. But there is method in madness, and these theories help to explain how the universe began.

One problem with the Big Bang theory was the unexplainable fact that the universe could be created from nothing. It was especially troubling for mathematicians because the equations don’t match. A team of researchers from Penn State University, US, believes that they have solved part of the puzzle. Rather than accepting that the universe started with a single big explosion 13.7 billion years ago, the universe is believed to have been rebuilt from the shattered remains of an older universe. A previous universe died out or collapsed in what is termed the Big Crunch. It seems like Darwin’s Evolution Theory did not apply only to creatures in the world but also to the origins of our universe.

An equally interesting question will be: Is our universe heading in that direction again? How near are we to the next Big Crunch, Big Bang and Big Bounce?