Originally Posted by
Chris
Time is a confusing subject, according to relativity, time is effected by gravity and speed (relative to an observer). Yet at the point of the big bang, there was near infinite energy and mass, so what effect did this mass have on our predictions of the universe age of around 15 billion years? There are theories emerging now which suggest time is simply the movement of matter in the universe from a low entropy state (big bang) to an increasingly higher state of entropy - this is caused by a negative curvature of the universe (being shaped like a horses saddle). If this is the case, then our time perception is simply perception of increasing states of entropy.
Regarding energy not being destroyed or created, according to quantum physics, energy can be created and destroyed at any point in space. New energy being created is balanced out by the gravity the new energy is effected by. Virtual particles can produce particles from nothing which then continue to break down into other particles. The reverse can happen too. People suggest that this is what the universe actually is.
Other theories for the bigbang are contained within M theory. Our universe is a (mem)brane and the bigbang could have been caused by our brane colliding with another brane and releasing tremendous energy.
All we can be certain of is that our current understanding of time, quantum physics and the universe will alter dramatically as time goes on. So it is best not to take what each of the current theories say too seriously.
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