{"id":43547,"date":"2023-04-06T11:34:06","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T11:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=117806"},"modified":"2023-04-06T12:32:31","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T12:32:31","slug":"quasi-steady-state-theory-the-big-bang-alternative-explained","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/quasi-steady-state-theory-the-big-bang-alternative-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Quasi Steady-State theory: the Big Bang alternative explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quasi-Steady State theory says the Universe has existed, unchanged, forever. <\/p>

By Marcus Chown\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 06 April 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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One of the remarkable features of cosmology is that there are few serious<\/span> challengers to the Big Bang<\/a> theory.<\/p>\n

These days, only a handful of cosmologists push an alternative, the \u2018Quasi-Steady State theory\u2019.<\/p>\n

In contrast to the Big Bang theory, which maintains that the Universe had a beginning and has changed its appearance with time, Quasi-Steady State theory says that the Universe has existed, unchanged, forever.<\/p>\n

This requires new matter to have come into existence as the Universe expanded, in order to keep the cosmic density the same.<\/p>\n

Proponents of quasi-steady state theory say this matter creation occurs in explosions of all sizes, including the Big Bang, which they see as just another explosion in our corner of the cosmos.<\/p>\n

The big problem with the Quasi-Steady State theory, though, is explaining <\/span>cosmic microwave background<\/a>, which in the standard picture is simply heat radiation left over from the Big Bang.<\/p>\n

Quasi-Steady State proponents say it is starlight re-radiated by tiny iron \u2018needles\u2019, which they claim are ejected by supernovae<\/a> and fill the whole of the Universe.<\/p>\n

But there is a theory even more controversial than this: so-called \u2018plasma cosmology\u2019.<\/p>\n

Its few adherents claim that the Universe is being controlled not only by gravity<\/a> but also by the electromagnetic force between charged particles.<\/p>\n

In this picture, even the redshift<\/a> of light, which tells us that the Universe is expanding<\/a>, may have another explanation.<\/p>\n

If so, there may not have been a Big Bang, and the whole basis of standard cosmology would be undermined.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the April 2006 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n