(February 4, 2012 at 3:47 am)brotherlylove Wrote: Actually, it also means the beginning of time:
In the realm of the universe, nothing really means nothing. Not only matter and energy would disappear, but also space and time. However, physicists theorize that from this state of nothingness, the universe began in a gigantic explosion about 16.5 billion years ago.
HBJ General Science 1983 Page 362
the universe burst into something from absolutely nothing - zero, nada. And as it got bigger, it became filled with even more stuff that came from absolutely nowhere. How is that possible? Ask Alan Guth. His theory of inflation helps explain everything.
discover April 2002
Stephan Hawking has said the same. So, you're left with those choices I mentioned before, unless you have a different theory?
Better educate yourself.
According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in its present continuously expanding state. According to the most recent measurements and observations, this original state existed approximately 13.7 billion years ago,[2][3] which is considered the age of the Universe and the time the Big Bang occurred.[4][5] After its initial expansion from a singularity, the Universe cooled sufficiently to allow energy to be converted into various subatomic particles.
There wasn't "nothing" before. There was the singularity from which the universe originated. It is not creation ex-nihilo.
Further:
Little is known about the earliest moments of the Universe's history. The Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems require the existence of a singularity at the beginning of cosmic time. However, these theorems assume that general relativity is correct, but general relativity must break down before the Universe reaches the Planck temperature, and a correct treatment of quantum gravity may avoid the singularity.[72]
The beginning specifically refers to passage of time as it is currently understood.
