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From: allan@noao.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.astro
Subject: Re: did Bing Bang the Big Bang?
Message-ID: <346@noao.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 29-May-84 12:02:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: noao.346
Posted: Tue May 29 12:02:47 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 1-Jun-84 22:02:54 EDT
References: <968@nsc.UUCP>
Organization: Natl. Optical Astronomy Obs.  Tucson AZ USA
Lines: 13

There have been a few ideas about how the big gang might have been caused by
the vacuum being unstable. The hypothesis goes: In the beginning there was
nothing (i.e. a vacuum), and the vacuum was unstable. The vacuum 'decayed'
to a state of lower energy with the production of all the particles and energy
that we see in the universe now.
This hypothesis is obviously tied closely to current quantum field theory ideas
about what the vacuum is. It is however, just an idea. Even its proponents would
not claim too much for it (I trust).


Peter (theories to go) Allan
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Tucson, Az