1) the whole world as the totality of all things (really existing objects), infinite in time and space and infinitely diverse in forms of existence; 2) the inhabited part of the world; 3) an object of cosmology accessible to astronomical observation.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

UNIVERSE

from Greek “oikumene” - populated, inhabited earth) - “everything that exists”, “a comprehensive world whole”, “the totality of all things”; the meaning of these terms is ambiguous and determined by the conceptual context. We can distinguish at least three levels of the concept “Universe”.

1. The universe as a philosophical idea has a meaning close to the concept of “universe”, or “world”: “material world”, “created being”, etc. It plays an important role in European philosophy. Images of the Universe in philosophical ontologies were included in the philosophical foundations of scientific research of the Universe.

2. The Universe in physical cosmology, or the Universe as a whole, is an object of cosmological extrapolation. In the traditional sense, it is a comprehensive, unlimited and fundamentally unique physical system (“The Universe is published in one copy” - A. Poincaré); the material world considered from a physical and astronomical point of view (A. L. Zelmanov). Different theories and models of the Universe are considered from this point of view as not equivalent to each other of the same original. This understanding of the Universe as a whole was justified in different ways: 1) by reference to the “presumption of extrapolability”: cosmology claims to represent the comprehensive world whole in the system of knowledge with its conceptual means, and until the contrary is proven, these claims must be accepted in full; 2) logically, the Universe is defined as a comprehensive global whole, and other Universes cannot exist by definition, etc. Classical, Newtonian cosmology created an image of the Universe, infinite in space and time, and infinity was considered an attributive property of the Universe. It is generally accepted that Newton's infinite homogeneous Universe “destroyed” the ancient cosmos. However, scientific and philosophical images of the Universe continue to coexist in culture, mutually enriching each other. The Newtonian Universe destroyed the image of the ancient cosmos only in the sense that it separated man from the Universe and even contrasted them.

In non-classical, relativistic cosmology, the theory of the Universe was first constructed. Its properties turned out to be completely different from Newton's. According to the theory of the expanding Universe, developed by Friedman, the Universe as a whole can be both finite and infinite in space, and in time it is in any case finite, that is, it had a beginning. A. A. Friedman believed that the world, or the Universe as an object of cosmology, is “infinitely narrower and smaller than the world-universe of the philosopher.” On the contrary, the overwhelming majority of cosmologists, based on the principle of uniformity, identified the models of the expanding Universe with our Metagalaxy. The initial moment of the expansion of the Metagalaxy was considered as the absolute “beginning of everything”, from a creationist point of view - as the “creation of the world”. Some relativist cosmologists, considering the principle of uniformity to be an insufficiently justified simplification, considered the Universe as a comprehensive physical system on a larger scale than the Metagalaxy, and the Metagalaxy only as a limited part of the Universe.

Relativistic cosmology radically changed the image of the Universe in scientific picture peace. In ideological terms, it returned to the image of the ancient cosmos in the sense that it again connected man and the (evolving) Universe. A further step in this direction was the anthropic principle in cosmology. The modern approach to the interpretation of the Universe as a whole is based, firstly, on the distinction between the philosophical idea of ​​the world and the Universe as an object of cosmology; secondly, this concept is relativized, i.e. its scope is correlated with a certain level of knowledge, cosmological theory or model - in a purely linguistic (irrespective of their objective status) or in an objective sense. The Universe was interpreted, for example, as “the largest set of events to which our physical laws, extrapolated in one way or another, can be applied” or “could be considered physically connected with us” (G. Bondi).

The development of this approach was the concept according to which the Universe in cosmology is “everything that exists.” not in some in an absolute sense, but only from the point of view of a given cosmological theory, that is, a physical system of the largest scale and order, the existence of which follows from a certain system of physical knowledge. This is a relative and transitory boundary of the known mega-world, determined by the possibilities of extrapolation of the system of physical knowledge. The Universe as a whole does not in all cases mean the same “original.” On the contrary, different theories may have different originals as their objects, that is, physical systems of different orders and scales of structural hierarchy. But all claims to represent a comprehensive world whole in an absolute sense remain unsubstantiated. When interpreting the Universe in cosmology, a distinction must be made between potentially existing and actually existing. What is considered non-existent today may enter into the sphere tomorrow scientific research, will turn out to exist (from the point of view of physics) and will be included in our understanding of the Universe.

Thus, if the theory of the expanding Universe essentially described our Metagalaxy, then the theory of the inflationary (“inflating”) Universe, most popular in modern cosmology, introduces the concept of many “other universes” (or, in terms of empirical language, extra-metagalactic objects) with qualitatively different properties. Inflationary theory recognizes, therefore, a megascopic violation of the principle of uniformity of the Universe and introduces, in its meaning, the principle of infinite diversity of the Universe. I. S. Shklovsky proposed to call the totality of these universes the “Metaverse”. Inflationary cosmology in a specific form revives, that is, the idea of ​​the infinity of the Universe (Metaverse) as its infinite diversity. Objects like the Metagalaxy are often called “miniuniverses” in inflationary cosmology. Miniverses arise through spontaneous fluctuations of the physical vacuum. From this point of view it follows that the initial moment of expansion of our Universe, the Metagalaxy should not necessarily be considered the absolute beginning of everything. This is only the initial moment of the evolution and self-organization of one of the cosmic systems. In some versions of quantum cosmology, the concept of the Universe is closely linked to the existence of the observer (“the principle of participation”). “Giving birth to observers and participants at some limited stage of its existence, does not it, in turn, acquire. The universe through their observations that tangibility that we call reality? Isn’t this a mechanism of existence?” (A. J. Wheeler). The meaning of the concept of the Universe in this case is determined by a theory based on the distinction between the potential and actual existence of the Universe as a whole in the light of the quantum principle.

3. The Universe in astronomy (observable, or astronomical Universe) is an area of ​​the world covered by observations, and now partly by space experiments, i.e. “everything that exists” from the point of view of the observational means and research methods available in astronomy.

The astronomical Universe is a hierarchy of cosmic systems of increasing scale and order of complexity that have been successively discovered and studied by science. This is the solar system, our star system. Galaxy (the existence of which was proven by W. Herschel in the 18th century). Metagalaxy discovered by E. Hubble in the 1920s. Currently, objects in the Universe that are distant from us at a distance of approx. 9-12 billion light years.

Throughout the history of astronomy until the 2nd half. 20th century In the astronomical Universe, the same types of celestial bodies were known: planets, stars, gas and dust matter. Modern astronomy has discovered fundamentally new, previously unknown types of celestial bodies, including superdense objects in the nuclei of galaxies (possibly representing black holes). Many states of celestial bodies in the astronomical Universe turned out to be sharply non-stationary, unstable, that is, located at bifurcation points. It is assumed that the overwhelming majority (up to 90-95%) of the matter of the astronomical Universe is concentrated in invisible, as yet unobservable forms (“hidden mass”).

Lit.: Fridman A. A. Izbr. works. M., 1965; Infinity and the Universe. M., 1970; Universe, astronomy, philosophy. M., 1988; Astronomy and the modern picture of the world. M., 1996; Bondy H. Cosmology. Cambr., 1952; Munit!. M. Space, Time and Creation. N.Y. 1965.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Modern cosmology is an astrophysical theory of the structure and dynamics of change in the Metagalaxy, which includes a certain understanding of the properties of the entire Universe. Cosmology is based on astronomical observations of the Galaxy and other stellar systems, general relativity, physics of microprocesses and high energy densities, relativistic thermodynamics and a number of other new physical theories.

Cosmology originates in the ideas of the ancients, in particular in ancient Greek mythology, which tells in detail and in a fairly systematic way about the creation of the world and its structure. The generally accepted result of ancient cosmology was the geocentric concept of Ptolemy, which existed throughout the Middle Ages.

With the advent of modern times, philosophy gave way to its primacy in creating cosmological models of science, which achieved especially great success in the 20th century, moving from various guesses in this area to fairly well-founded facts, hypotheses and theories. Answering the logical question of how we can know what is happening on the scale of the Universe, they proceeded from a very popular methodological approach, which assumes that the same laws and the same structure of material systems are repeated at different levels of the existence of nature. The differences can only be in scale. Nicolaus Copernicus is considered the founder of scientific cosmology, who placed the Sun at the center of the Universe and reduced the Earth to the position of an ordinary planet in the solar system. Of course, he was very far from a correct understanding of the structure of the world. Thus, in his opinion, beyond the orbits of the five planets known at that time there was a sphere of fixed stars. The stars on this sphere were considered equidistant from the Sun, and their nature was unclear. According to Copernicus, the universe is a world in a shell. In this model it is easy to find many remnants of the medieval worldview. But only a few decades passed, and Giordano Bruno broke the Copernican “shell” of the fixed stars.

D. Bruno considered the stars to be distant suns, warming countless planets of other planetary systems. He believed that the Universe is infinite, that there are countless worlds similar to the world of Earth. He believed that the Earth is a luminary, and that the Moon and other luminaries are similar to it, the number of which is infinite, and that all these celestial bodies form an infinity of worlds. He imagined an infinite Universe containing an infinite number of worlds.

Bruno's ideas were far ahead of his time. But he could not cite a single fact that would confirm his cosmology - the cosmology of an infinite, eternal and inhabited Universe.

Only a decade passed, and Galileo Galilei, through the telescope he invented, saw in the sky what had until now remained hidden to the naked eye. The mountains on the Moon clearly proved that the Moon is indeed a world similar to the Earth. The moons of Jupiter, circling around the greatest of planets, looked like a visual representation of the solar system. The changing phases of Venus left no doubt that this sun-lit planet actually revolved around it.

Galileo's contemporary and friend, Johannes Kepler, clarified the laws of planetary motion, and the great Isaac Newton proved that all bodies in the Universe, regardless of size, chemical composition, structure and other properties, mutually gravitate towards each other. Newton's cosmology, together with the successes of astronomy in the 18th and 19th centuries, determined the worldview that is sometimes called classical. It was the result of the initial stage of development of scientific cosmology.

This classic model is quite simple and understandable. The universe is considered infinite in space and time, in other words, eternal. The basic law governing the movement and development of celestial bodies is the law of universal gravitation. Space is in no way connected with the bodies located in it and plays a passive role as a container for these bodies. If all these bodies suddenly disappeared, space and time would remain unchanged. The number of stars, planets and star systems in the Universe is infinitely large. Each celestial body goes through a long life path. And to replace the dead, or rather, extinguished stars, new, young luminaries flare up. Although the details of the origin and death of celestial bodies remained unclear, basically this model seemed harmonious and logically consistent. In this form, this classical model dominated science until the beginning of the 20th century.

The most generally accepted model in cosmology is the model of a homogeneous isotropic non-stationary hot expanding Universe, built on the basis of the general theory of relativity and the relativistic theory of gravity, created by Albert Einstein in 1916. This model is based on two assumptions:

1) the properties of the Universe are the same at all its points (homogeneity) and directions (isotropy);

2) the best known description of the gravitational field is Einstein’s equations. From this follows the so-called curvature of space and the connection between curvature and mass density.

Cosmology based on these postulates is called relativistic. An important point of this model is its nonstationarity, which means that the Universe cannot be in a constant state.

A new stage in the development of relativistic cosmology was associated with the research of the Russian scientist A.A. Friedman (1888-1925), who mathematically proved the idea of ​​a self-developing Universe. The work of A.A Friedman radically changed the foundations of the previous scientific worldview. According to him, the cosmological initial conditions for the formation of the Universe were singular. Explaining the nature of the evolution of the Universe, expanding starting from a singular state, Friedman especially emphasized two provisions: a) the radius of curvature of the Universe constantly increases over time, starting from zero; b) the radius of curvature changes periodically: the Universe contracts into a point (into nothing, a singular state), then again from a point, brings its radius to a certain value, then again, reducing the radius of its curvature, turns into a point, etc.

An integral part of the expanding Universe model is the idea of ​​the Big Bang, which occurred somewhere around 12 - 18 billion years ago. George Lemaire was the first to put forward the concept of the “Big Bang” from the so-called “primordial atom” and the subsequent transformation of its fragments into stars and galaxies. Of course, from the perspective of modern astrophysical knowledge, this concept is of only historical interest, but the very idea of ​​the initial explosive movement of cosmic matter and its subsequent evolutionary development has become an integral part of the modern scientific picture of the world.

A fundamentally new stage in the development of modern evolutionary cosmology is associated with the name of the American physicist G.A. Gamow (1904-1968), thanks to whom the concept of a “Hot Universe” entered science. According to his proposed model of the “beginning” of the evolving Universe, Lemaître’s “primary atom” consisted of highly compressed neutrons, the density of which reached a monstrous value - one cubic centimeter of the primary substance weighed a billion tons. As a result of the explosion of this “first atom”, according to G.A. Gamow, a kind of cosmological cauldron was formed with a temperature of about three billion degrees, where natural synthesis took place chemical elements. Fragments of the “primary egg” - individual neutrons - then decayed into electrons and protons, which, in turn, combined with undecayed neutrons to form the nuclei of future atoms. All this happened in the first 30 minutes after the Big Bang.

However, Gamow and his collaborators failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the natural formation and prevalence of heavy chemical elements in the Universe, which was the reason for the skeptical attitude towards his theory on the part of specialists. As it turned out, the proposed mechanism of nuclear fusion could not provide the currently observed quantities of these elements.

According to quantum theory, what remains after removing particles of matter (for example, from a closed container using a vacuum pump) is not literally empty, as classical physics believed. Although the vacuum does not contain ordinary particles, it is saturated with “half-living”, so-called virtual bodies. To turn them into real particles of matter, it is enough to excite the vacuum, for example, by influencing it with an electromagnetic field created by charged particles introduced into it.

At present, there is still no comprehensively tested and universally accepted theory of the origin of the large-scale structure of the Universe, although scientists have made significant progress in understanding the natural ways of its formation and evolution.

The process of continuing expansion of our Universe is evidenced by almost all observational data. As space expands, matter becomes increasingly rarefied, galaxies and their clusters move further away from each other, and the temperature of the background radiation approaches absolute zero. Over time, all stars will complete their life cycle and become either white dwarfs, cooling to the state of cool black dwarfs, or neutron stars or black holes. The era of luminous matter will end, and dark masses of matter, elementary particles and cold radiation will scatter meaninglessly in a continuously discharging void.

Such a moment will come when the age of the Universe becomes about ten million times greater than expected today. It will take about 10 66 years before solar mass black holes begin to explode, throwing out streams of particles and radiation.

According to Burrow and Tipler, if the energy supply in the Universe is sufficient only to ensure its unlimited expansion, then the effect of electrical attraction in electron-positron pairs will outweigh both gravitational attraction and the general expansion of the Universe as a whole. In a certain finite time, all electrons will annihilate with all positrons. Ultimately, the last stage of existing matter will not be scattering cold dark bodies and black holes, but a boundless sea of ​​rarefied radiation, cooling to a final temperature that is the same everywhere. In the uncertain distant future, the past era of stellar activity may turn out to be only the shortest moment in the endless life of the Universe.

Introduction

The world around us is large and diverse. Everything that surrounds us, be it other people, animals, plants, the smallest particles visible only under a microscope and giant clusters of stars, microscopic atoms and huge nebulae, makes up what is commonly called the Universe.

The Universe is a strictly undefined concept in astronomy and philosophy. It is divided into two fundamentally different entities: speculative (philosophical) and material, accessible to observation at the present time or in the foreseeable future. If the author distinguishes between these entities, then, following tradition, the first is called the Universe, and the second is called the astronomical Universe, or Metagalaxy (recently this term has practically fallen out of use). The Universe is the subject of study of cosmology.

Origin of the Universe - any description or explanation of the initial processes of origin existing universe, including the formation of astronomical objects (cosmogony), the emergence of life, planet Earth and humanity. There are many points of view on the question of the origin of the Universe, starting with scientific theory, many individual hypotheses, and ending with philosophical reflections, religious beliefs, and elements of folklore.

There are a large number of concepts about the origin of the Universe.

Such as:

· Kant's cosmological model

· Model of an expanding Universe (Friedmann Universe, non-stationary Universe)

· The Big Bang Theory

· Big rebound

· String theory and M-theory

· Creationism

The purpose of this essay is to consider the concept of “Universe” and study the basic concepts (theories) of origin.

Main objectives of the abstract:

1) Consider the basic concepts and definitions of the “Universe”.

2) Consider the formation of objects in the Universe.

3) Study the basic concepts of the origin of the Universe.

Evolution of the "Universe"

The Universe is the entire material world around us, including what is outside the Earth - outer space, planets, stars. This is matter without end and edge, taking on the most diverse forms of its existence. The part of the Universe covered by astronomical observations is called the Metagalaxy, or our Universe. The dimensions of the Metagalaxy are very large: the radius of the cosmological horizon is 15-20 billion light years.

The Universe is the largest material system, i.e. a system of objects consisting of matter. Sometimes the concept of “substance” is identified with the concept of “matter”. Such an identification can lead to erroneous conclusions. Matter is the most general concept, while substance is only one of the forms of its existence. In modern understanding, three interconnected forms of matter are distinguished: matter, field and physical vacuum. Matter consists of discrete particles exhibiting wave properties. Microparticles are characterized by a dual particle-wave nature. The physical vacuum and its properties are so far known much worse than many material systems and structures. By modern definition, physical vacuum is zero fluctuating fields with which virtual particles are associated. Physical vacuum is discovered when interacting with matter at its deep levels. It is assumed that vacuum and matter are inseparable and not a single material particle can be isolated from its presence and influence. In accordance with the concept of self-organization, the physical vacuum acts as an external environment for the Universe.

The structure and evolution of the Universe are studied by cosmology. Cosmology is one of those branches of natural science that, in their essence, are always at the intersection of sciences. Cosmology uses the achievements and methods of physics, mathematics, and philosophy. The subject of cosmology is the entire megaworld surrounding us, the entire “big Universe”, and the task is to describe the most general properties, structure and evolution of the Universe. It is clear that the conclusions of cosmology have great ideological significance.

Modern astronomy has not only discovered the grandiose world of galaxies, but also discovered unique phenomena: expansion of the Metagalaxy, cosmic abundance of chemical elements, cosmic microwave background radiation, indicating that the Universe is continuously evolving.

The evolution of the structure of the Universe is associated with the emergence of clusters of galaxies, the separation and formation of stars and galaxies, and the formation of planets and their satellites. The Universe itself arose approximately 20 billion years ago from some dense and hot proto-matter. Today we can only guess what this ancestral substance of the Universe was like, how it was formed, what laws it obeyed and what processes led it to expansion. There is a point of view that from the very beginning protomatter began to expand at a gigantic speed. At the initial stage, this dense substance scattered, scattered in all directions and was a homogeneous seething mixture of unstable particles that constantly disintegrated during collisions. Cooling and interacting over millions of years, this entire mass of matter scattered in space was concentrated into large and small gas formations, which over hundreds of millions of years, coming closer and merging, turned into huge complexes. In them, in turn, denser areas arose - stars and even entire galaxies subsequently formed there.

As a result of gravitational instability, dense “protostellar formations” with masses close to the mass of the Sun can form in different zones of the formed galaxies. The compression process that has begun will accelerate under the influence of its own gravitational field. This process accompanies the free fall of cloud particles towards its center - gravitational compression occurs. In the center of the cloud a compaction forms, consisting of molecular hydrogen and helium. An increase in density and temperature in the center leads to the disintegration of molecules into atoms, ionization of atoms and the formation of a dense protostar core.

There is a hypothesis about the cyclical state of the Universe. Having once arisen from a super-dense clump of matter, the Universe may have given birth within itself to billions of star systems and planets already in the first cycle. But then, inevitably, the Universe begins to tend to the state from which the history of the cycle began, the red shift gives way to violet, the radius of the Universe gradually decreases, and in the end the matter of the Universe returns to its original super-dense state, mercilessly destroying all life along the way. And this is repeated every time, in every cycle for eternity!

By the early 1930s, it was believed that the main components of the Universe were galaxies, each of which on average consisted of 100 billion stars. The Sun, together with the planetary system, is part of our Galaxy, the bulk of whose stars we observe in the form of the Milky Way. In addition to stars and planets, the Galaxy contains a significant amount of rarefied gases and cosmic dust.

Is the Universe finite or infinite, what is its geometry - these and many other questions are related to the evolution of the Universe, in particular to the observed expansion. If, as is currently believed, the speed of “expansion” of galaxies will increase by 75 km/s for every million parsecs, then extrapolation to the past leads to an amazing result: approximately 10 - 20 billion years ago the entire Universe was concentrated in a very small area . Many scientists believe that at that time the density of the Universe was the same as that of atomic nucleus. Simply put, the Universe was then one giant “nuclear blob.” For some reason, this “drop” became unstable and exploded. This process is called the big bang.

With this estimate of the time of formation of the Universe, it was assumed that the picture of the expansion of galaxies that we now observe occurred at the same speed and in an arbitrarily distant past. And it is precisely on this assumption that the hypothesis of the primary Universe is based - a giant “nuclear drop” that has come to a state of instability.

Currently, cosmologists suggest that the Universe did not expand “from point to point,” but seemed to pulsate between finite limits of density. This means that in the past the speed of expansion of galaxies was less than now, and even earlier the system of galaxies was compressed, i.e. The galaxies approached each other with greater speed, the greater the distance separating them. Modern cosmology has a number of arguments in favor of the picture of a “pulsating Universe”. Such arguments, however, are purely mathematical; the most important of them is the need to take into account the actually existing heterogeneity of the Universe.

We cannot now finally decide which of the two hypotheses - the “nuclear drop” or the “pulsating Universe” - is correct. Much more work will be required to solve this one of the most important problems of cosmology.

The idea of ​​the evolution of the Universe seems quite natural today. It wasn't always like this. Like any great scientific idea, it has come a long way in its development, struggle and formation. Let us consider what stages the development of science about the Universe has gone through in our century.

Modern cosmology arose at the beginning of the 20th century. after the creation of the relativistic theory of gravity. The first relativistic model based on new theory gravity and claiming to describe the entire Universe, was built by A. Einstein in 1917. However, it described a static Universe and, as astrophysical observations showed, it turned out to be incorrect.

In 1922-1924. Soviet mathematician A.A. Friedman suggested general equations to describe the entire universe changing over time. Stellar systems cannot be located, on average, at constant distances from each other. They must either move away or come closer. This result is an inevitable consequence of the presence of gravitational forces, which dominate on a cosmic scale. Friedman's conclusion meant that the Universe must either expand or contract. Hence the revision general ideas about the Universe. In 1929, the American astronomer E. Hubble (1889-1953), using astrophysical observations, discovered the expansion of the Universe, confirming the correctness of Friedman's conclusions.

Since the late 40s of our century, the physics of processes at different stages of cosmological expansion has attracted increasing attention in cosmology. In the G.A. put forward at this time. Gamow's theory of the hot Universe considered nuclear reactions that occurred at the very beginning of the expansion of the Universe in very dense matter. It was assumed that the temperature of the substance was high and fell with the expansion of the Universe. The theory predicted that the material from which the first stars and galaxies were formed should consist mainly of hydrogen (75%) and helium (25%), with an insignificant admixture of other chemical elements. Another conclusion of the theory is that in today's Universe there should be weak electromagnetic radiation left over from the era of high density and high temperature of matter. Such radiation during the expansion of the Universe was called cosmic microwave background radiation.

At the same time, fundamentally new observational capabilities appeared in cosmology: radio astronomy arose, and the capabilities of optical astronomy expanded. In 1965, cosmic microwave background radiation was observed experimentally. This discovery confirmed the validity of the hot Universe theory.

The current stage in the development of cosmology is characterized by intensive research into the problem of the beginning of cosmological expansion, when the densities of matter and particle energy were enormous. The guiding ideas are new discoveries in interaction physics elementary particles at very high energies. In this case, the global evolution of the Universe is considered. Today, the evolution of the Universe is comprehensively substantiated by numerous astrophysical observations, which have a solid theoretical basis for all physics.

System model of the Universe.
The question - is the Universe a system - is definitely rhetorical in nature. At the same time, the type of systematicity that could be approximated by the Universe still remains a subject of debate. The basis of the representation (as a default palliative) is the most “toothless” definition of a system, when a system means a set of objects that are in relationships and connections. However, this approach, extremely democratic (in terms of its apparent breadth of coverage), has long ago exhausted its heuristic charge. Indeed, it is not clear how to “subsume objects” whose system components are in a certain and rigid interaction and “free” relations of objects of the Spiritosphere under the same sluggish definition of a system. This problem is solved in a specific way at the level of special sciences, each of which, one way or another trying to describe a certain aspect of the Universe, represents it as a system in one form or another, specific to this science. For example, biological systems cannot be described in the language of physics and vice versa. True, biologists do not pretend to describe the Universe as a whole, unlike physicists.
As for physics, here, from my point of view, there is definitely a repeatedly repeated act of masochism, expressed in attempts to describe the material Universe as a whole in the language of physics. I have spoken out on this issue more than once, including on the philosophical part of the SciTecLibrary forum, from which I will give several, slightly corrected, short quotes.
“The entire twentieth century was under significant pressure from physics. this period was characterized by claims to truth in a huge range of topics and directions modern science. The matter, however, was complicated by the fact that this science often exceeded the limit of generality allotted to it and, in speaking out, fell into the center of the target of naivety, to say the least. Feeling free, she used free - not philosophically supported - models of the structure of the macro- and microworld; paradox was often used as a form of presenting the model. The most famous absurdities are plankeon and the Freedmon civilization. Einstein and Friedman occupy a special place.” These great theorists, despite the philosophical lack of development of their ideas, were ahead of philosophers, giving a strong impetus to the development of ideas about the birth and development of the Universe. “In general, I would characterize this aspect of the manifestations of physics (from the point of view of its influence on science and philosophy) as a useful fascination with amateurism. But that's not the point.
It is unlikely that any serious scientist will dispute the assertion that the World is a SYSTEM. Based on this idea, the World as a whole must have properties that are not reducible to the sum of the properties of its constituent objects. The property of integrity can be manifested in existence. For us - the elements of the system under consideration - in otherness. From this position it follows that the System representing our Universe must be OPEN. FZIKA, by definition, can only operate with closed – conservative systems. The situation does not change if physically open system placed in an invented physical environment with certain physical parameters. The conditional external environment, in this case, still remains a closed environment, limited by given parameters. No matter what you call this outer shell—whether it’s a vacuum or an ether—it will certainly be endowed with well-defined physical parameters that are convenient for the theorist. This is a profanation of science. Pranks of this kind are fruitless, and now even harmful - they are misleading. In the 21st century it should already be indecent to take advantage of the productive mistakes of the beginning of the last century.”
What to do, how to get a consistent view of the Universe as a system without encroaching on its integrity? Everything is very simple - you should follow a long and well-known path, set out, for example, by Akhlibininsky [A.V. Akhlibininsky, V.A. Aseev, I.M. Shorokhov. The principle of determinism in systems research. Leningrad, 1984.p.52]. One should choose one main contradiction, considering it system-forming, then in the process of resolving it, a fundamental diagram of the object corresponding to the initial conditions appears. The resulting skeleton of the system must still be overgrown with “meat” that brings the abstraction closer to reality, after which it is already possible to judge the certain degree of reliability of the developed model. This is a general approach to developing models of real objects that can be considered a system. Physics and information theory should be used as “meat”, as forms of representing reality that lower the level of abstraction of the model - bringing it closer to the level of ordinary consciousness. This approach results in the construction of a theory that can be subjected to verification procedures and even ontologization.
Based on the stated approach, a System Model of the Universe was built, most fully presented in the book that has just been published [Nikitenko L.K. Fundamentals of the system model of the Universe. M. 2011; 250 s. 2 Fig.].
The system model of the Universe (SVM) is a new implicit theory that describes the Universe as a systemic whole, grown from the resolution of one - the only - formed antinomy: “The world is a system (in the sense of this definition), in which there is a categorical ban on the existence of objects - non-systems and which, nevertheless, ultimately consists precisely of objects - non-systems.” Resolution of the contradiction leads to a diagram of a two-level dynamic system. The first is the latent (substantial) level at which all interactions occur. The second is the manifest (potential), visualizing and potentially objectifying the world through the integration of individual interactions into forms familiar to us. Spirit, Soul and Society are considered in the general context of pan-system. The inseparable unity of Spirit and Matter has been established. The absence of primacy of one over the other is shown. The theory covers all the main aspects of the Universe, positioning itself as a theory that claims to be ontologized. At the end of the book there is an abstract of the theory. In addition, the abstract was published on the Internet and posted at: .
P.S. I must note that the problem raised in this short article cannot be considered and adequately resolved in the article format - a broader form is necessary. That is why in my first speech at the forum I am forced to refer to the book and abstract. I also note that several articles have been published based on the results of this work, which are also available on the Internet. If you want to get to know them, I will provide a link. LKN

The grandeur and diversity of the surrounding world can amaze any imagination. All objects and objects surrounding a person, other people, various types of plants and animals, particles that can only be seen with a microscope, as well as incomprehensible star clusters: they are all united by the concept of “Universe”.

Theories of the origin of the Universe have been developed by man for a long time. Despite the absence of even a basic concept of religion or science, in the inquisitive minds of ancient people questions arose about the principles of the world order and about the position of man in the space that surrounds him. It is difficult to count how many theories of the origin of the Universe exist today; some of them are studied by leading world-famous scientists, others are downright fantastic.

Cosmology and its subject

Modern cosmology - the science of the structure and development of the Universe - considers the question of its origin as one of the most interesting and still insufficiently studied mysteries. The nature of the processes that contributed to the emergence of stars, galaxies, solar systems and planets, their development, the source of the emergence of the Universe, as well as its dimensions and boundaries: all this is just a short list of issues studied by modern scientists.

The search for answers to the fundamental riddle about the formation of the world has led to the fact that today there are various theories origin, existence, development of the Universe. The excitement of specialists looking for answers, building and testing hypotheses is justified, because a reliable theory of the birth of the Universe will reveal to all humanity the probability of the existence of life in other systems and planets.

Theories of the origin of the Universe have the nature of scientific concepts, individual hypotheses, religious teachings, philosophical ideas and myths. They are all conditionally divided into two main categories:

1. Theories according to which the Universe was created by a creator. In other words, their essence is that the process of creating the Universe was a conscious and spiritual action, a manifestation of will
2. Theories of the origin of the Universe, built on the basis of scientific factors. Their postulates categorically reject both the existence of a creator and the possibility of conscious creation of the world. Such hypotheses are often based on what is called the mediocrity principle. They suggest the possibility of life not only on our planet, but also on others.

Creationism - the theory of the creation of the world by the Creator

As the name suggests, creationism (creation) is a religious theory of the origin of the universe. This worldview is based on the concept of the creation of the universe, planet and man by God or the Creator.

The idea was dominant for a long time, until the end of the 19th century, when the process of accumulating knowledge in various fields of science (biology, astronomy, physics) accelerated, and also spread widely evolutionary theory. Creationism has become a peculiar reaction of Christians who hold conservative views on the discoveries being made. The dominant idea at that time only strengthened the contradictions that existed between religious and other theories.

What is the difference between scientific and religious theories?

The main differences between theories of various categories lie primarily in the terms used by their adherents. Thus, in scientific hypotheses, instead of a creator, there is nature, and instead of creation, there is origin. Along with this, there are issues that are covered in similar ways by different theories or even completely duplicated.

Theories of the origin of the Universe, belonging to opposite categories, date its very appearance differently. For example, according to the most common hypothesis (the big bang theory), the Universe was formed about 13 billion years ago.

In contrast, the religious theory of the origin of the Universe gives completely different figures:

• According to Christian sources, the age of the Universe created by God at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ was 3483-6984 years.
• Hinduism suggests that our world is approximately 155 trillion years old.

Kant and his cosmological model

Until the 20th century, most scientists were of the opinion that the Universe was infinite. They characterized time and space with this quality. In addition, in their opinion, the Universe was static and homogeneous.

The idea of ​​the boundlessness of the Universe in space was put forward by Isaac Newton. This assumption was developed by someone who developed a theory about the absence of time boundaries. Taking his theoretical assumptions further, Kant extended the infinity of the Universe to the number of possible biological products. This postulate meant that in the conditions of an ancient and vast world without end and beginning, an innumerable number of possible options, as a result of which the emergence of any biological species is realistic.

Based on the possible emergence of life forms, Darwin's theory was later developed. Observations on starry sky and the results of astronomers' calculations confirmed Kant's cosmological model.

Einstein's Reflections

At the beginning of the 20th century, Albert Einstein published his own model of the Universe. According to his theory of relativity, two opposite processes occur simultaneously in the Universe: expansion and contraction. However, he agreed with the opinion of most scientists about the stationarity of the Universe, so he introduced the concept cosmic force repulsion. Its effect is designed to balance the attraction of stars and stop the process of movement of all celestial bodies to maintain the static nature of the Universe.

The model of the Universe - according to Einstein - has a certain size, but there are no boundaries. This combination is feasible only when space is curved in the same way as it happens in a sphere.

The characteristics of the space of such a model are:

• Three-dimensionality.
• Closing yourself.
• Homogeneity (absence of center and edge), in which galaxies are evenly distributed.

A. A. Friedman: The Universe is expanding

The creator of the revolutionary expanding model of the Universe, A. A. Friedman (USSR), built his theory on the basis of equations characterizing the general theory of relativity. True, the generally accepted opinion in the scientific world of that time was that our world was static, so due attention was not paid to his work.

A few years later, astronomer Edwin Hubble made a discovery that confirmed Friedman's ideas. The distance of galaxies from the nearby Milky Way was discovered. At the same time, the fact that the speed of their movement remains proportional to the distance between them and our galaxy has become irrefutable.

This discovery explains the constant “scattering” of stars and galaxies in relation to each other, which leads to the conclusion about the expansion of the universe.

Ultimately, Friedman's conclusions were recognized by Einstein, who subsequently mentioned the merits of the Soviet scientist as the founder of the hypothesis about the expansion of the Universe.

It cannot be said that there are contradictions between this theory and the general theory of relativity, but during the expansion of the Universe there must have been an initial impulse that provoked the retreat of stars. By analogy with an explosion, the idea was called the “Big Bang”.

Stephen Hawking and the Anthropic Principle

The result of Stephen Hawking's calculations and discoveries was the anthropocentric theory of the origin of the Universe. Its creator claims that the existence of a planet so well prepared for human life cannot be accidental.

Stephen Hawking's theory of the origin of the Universe also provides for the gradual evaporation of black holes, their loss of energy and the emission of Hawking radiation.

As a result of the search for evidence, more than 40 characteristics were identified and tested, the observance of which is necessary for the development of civilization. American astrophysicist Hugh Ross assessed the likelihood of such an unintentional coincidence. The result was the number 10 -53.

Our Universe contains a trillion galaxies, each with 100 billion stars. According to calculations made by scientists, the total number of planets should be 10 20. This figure is 33 orders of magnitude less than previously calculated. Consequently, no planet in all the galaxies can combine conditions that would be suitable for the spontaneous emergence of life.

The Big Bang Theory: The Origin of the Universe from a Tiny Particle

Scientists who support the big bang theory share the hypothesis that the universe is a consequence of a grand explosion. The main postulate of the theory is the statement that before this event, all the elements of the current Universe were contained in a particle that had microscopic dimensions. Being inside it, the elements were characterized by a singular state in which indicators such as temperature, density and pressure could not be measured. They are endless. Matter and energy in this state are not affected by the laws of physics.

What happened 15 billion years ago is called instability that arose inside the particle. The scattered tiny elements laid the foundation for the world we know today.

In the beginning the Universe was a nebula formed tiny particles(smaller than an atom). Then, combining, they formed atoms that served as the basis of stellar galaxies. Answering questions about what happened before the explosion, as well as what caused it, are the most important tasks of this theory of the origin of the Universe.

The table schematically depicts the stages of formation of the universe after the big bang.

As follows from the above data, the Universe continues to expand and cool.

The constant increase in the distance between galaxies is the main postulate: what makes the big bang theory different. The emergence of the Universe in this way can be confirmed by the evidence found. There are also reasons to refute it.

Problems of theory

Given that the big bang theory has not been proven in practice, it is not surprising that there are several questions that it cannot answer:

1. Singularity. This word denotes the state of the Universe, compressed to one point. The problem with the big bang theory is the impossibility of describing the processes occurring in matter and space in such a state. The general law of relativity does not apply here, so it is impossible to create a mathematical description and equations for modeling.
   The fundamental impossibility of obtaining an answer to the question about the initial state of the Universe discredits the theory from the very beginning. Its popular science expositions prefer to hush up or mention only in passing this complexity. However, for scientists working to provide a mathematical basis for the Big Bang theory, this difficulty is recognized as a major obstacle.
2. Astronomy. In this area, the big bang theory faces the fact that it cannot describe the process of the origin of galaxies. Based on current versions of the theories, it is possible to predict how a homogeneous cloud of gas appears. Moreover, its density by now should be about one atom per cubic meter. To get something more, you cannot do without adjusting the initial state of the Universe. The lack of information and practical experience in this area become serious obstacles to further modeling.

There is also a discrepancy between the calculated mass of our galaxy and the data obtained by studying the speed of its attraction to. Apparently, the weight of our galaxy is ten times greater than previously thought.

Cosmology and quantum physics

Today there are no cosmological theories that are not based on quantum mechanics. After all, it deals with the description of the behavior of atomic and The difference between quantum physics and classical (explained by Newton) is that the second observes and describes material objects, and the first assumes an exclusively mathematical description of the observation and measurement itself. For quantum physics, material values ​​are not the subject of research; here the observer himself is part of the situation under study.

Based on these features, quantum mechanics has difficulty describing the Universe, because the observer is part of the Universe. However, speaking about the emergence of the universe, it is impossible to imagine outside observers. Attempts to develop a model without the participation of an outside observer were crowned quantum theory the origin of the Universe by J. Wheeler.

Its essence is that at every moment of time the Universe is split and an infinite number of copies are formed. As a result, each of the parallel Universes can be observed, and observers can see all quantum alternatives. Moreover, the original and new worlds are real.

Inflation model

The main task that the theory of inflation is designed to solve is the search for answers to questions left unanswered by the big bang theory and expansion theory. Namely:

1. For what reason is the Universe expanding?
2. What is a big bang?

To this end, the inflationary theory of the origin of the Universe involves extrapolating the expansion to time zero, confining the entire mass of the Universe at one point and forming a cosmological singularity, which is often called the big bang.

The irrelevance of the general theory of relativity, which cannot be applied at this moment, becomes obvious. As a result, only theoretical methods, calculations and deductions can be applied to develop a more general theory (or "new physics") and solve the problem of cosmological singularity.

New alternative theories

Despite the success of the cosmic inflation model, there are scientists who oppose it, calling it untenable. Their main argument is criticism of the solutions proposed by the theory. Opponents argue that the solutions obtained leave some details missing, that is, instead of solving the problem of initial values, the theory only skillfully drapes them.

An alternative is several exotic theories, the idea of ​​which is based on the formation of initial values ​​before the big bang. New theories of the origin of the Universe can be briefly described as follows:

• String theory. Its adherents propose, in addition to the usual four dimensions of space and time, to introduce additional dimensions. They could play a role in the early stages of the Universe, and at the moment be in a compactified state. Answering the question about the reason for their compactification, scientists offer an answer that says that the property of superstrings is T-duality. Therefore, the strings are “wound” into additional dimensions and their size is limited.
• Brane theory. It is also called M-theory. In accordance with its postulates, at the beginning of the process of formation of the Universe, there is a cold, static five-dimensional space-time. Four of them (spatial) have restrictions, or walls - three-branes. Our space acts as one of the walls, and the second is hidden. The third three-brane is located in four-dimensional space and is bounded by two boundary branes. The theory considers the collision of a third brane with ours and the release large quantity energy. It is these conditions that become favorable for the appearance of a big bang.

1. Cyclic theories deny the uniqueness of the big bang, arguing that the universe moves from one state to another. The problem with such theories is the increase in entropy, according to the second law of thermodynamics. Consequently, the duration of the previous cycles was shorter, and the temperature of the substance was significantly higher than during the big explosion. The likelihood of this happening is extremely low.

No matter how many theories there are about the origin of the universe, only two have stood the test of time and overcome the problem of ever-increasing entropy. They were developed by scientists Steinhardt-Turok and Baum-Frampton.

These relatively new theories of the origin of the Universe were put forward in the 80s of the last century. They have many followers who develop models based on it, search for evidence of reliability and work to eliminate contradictions.

String theory

One of the most popular among the theories of the origin of the Universe - Before moving on to a description of its idea, it is necessary to understand the concepts of one of its closest competitors, the standard model. It assumes that matter and interactions can be described as a certain set of particles, divided into several groups:

• Quarks.
• Leptons.
• Bosons.

These particles are, in fact, the building blocks of the universe, since they are so small that they cannot be divided into components.

A distinctive feature of string theory is the assertion that such bricks are not particles, but ultramicroscopic strings that vibrate. At the same time, oscillating at different frequencies, the strings become analogues of various particles described in the standard model.

To understand the theory, you should realize that strings are not any matter, they are energy. Therefore, string theory concludes that all elements of the universe are made of energy.

A good analogy would be fire. When looking at it, one gets the impression of its materiality, but it cannot be touched.

Cosmology for schoolchildren

Theories of the origin of the Universe are briefly studied in schools during astronomy lessons. Students are described the basic theories about how our world was formed, what is happening to it now and how it will develop in the future.

The purpose of the lessons is to familiarize children with the nature of the formation of elementary particles, chemical elements and celestial bodies. Theories of the origin of the Universe for children are reduced to a presentation of the Big Bang theory. Teachers use visual material: slides, tables, posters, illustrations. Their main task is to awaken children's interest in the world that surrounds them.