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Physical Environment > Inflation |
This site tells the story of the history of the universe. Click Earlier and Later to follow the story. Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand. |
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The false vacuum expanded at constant energy density. This is quite different to our experience today, where energy density falls as space expands. The reason is that the energy came from the Higgs fields, which were zero. Stretching nothing still gives you nothing.
Since the volume of the Macrocosmos was increasing, but the energy density stayed the same, the total energy in the Macrocosmos must have increased. Where did this energy come from? Since there was nothing outside the Macrocosmos (by definition) the energy must have come from the pressure of the particles. Therefore the pressure must have been negative. This created a repulsive gravitational field. This in turn led to a dramatic increase in the size of the Macrocosmos. The very rapid growth of a region due to the gravitational repulsion created by the false vacuum is called inflation. |
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Physical Environment > Inflation |
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Basic Information |
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