ICY SCIENCE: SCIENCE SPACE ASTRONOMY Spring 2014 | Page 79

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The early Universe is often talked about in terms
of the first three minutes. Now this may not sound
like a long time, but it is basically the time when
Scientists believe everything happened.
First up came the Plank, or Superstring Epoch, which
describes the first 10-43seconds. Dominated by
radiation, the Universe was too hot for anything to
form. The quantum effect of gravity was also much
stronger throughout this stage leading Scientists to
believe it was intertwined with the other fundamental forces (electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak
nuclear) creating a single unified force dominatHistory of the Universe - gravitational waves are

ing the Universe. Next came the Grand Unification

hypothesized to arise from cosmic inflation, a faster-

Epoch. This period of time relies upon the accuracy of

than-light expansion just after the Big Bang (17 March

the Grand Unification Theory (GUT) which suggests

2014).source wikipedia

that if particles collide at energies above 1014GeV,

IMAGE BELOW: SCISTAND.COM

the strong nuclear force will be combined with the
weak nuclear and electromagnetic forces – and at

ICY SCIENCE | QTR 2 SPRING 2014