Where Was The Big Bang?

The universe is expanding - so does that mean there's a center from which everything is stretching outwards?

Created by Henry Reich
Thanks to Nima Doroud for contributions.
MinutePhysics is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

MinutePhysics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics – all in a minute!

[hotdogskid]

Mom: "You're not the center of the universe!"

Kid:"Well...according to this video..."

[evilemperordude]

People are missing the point. Except for objects that are gravitationally bound, everything in the universe appears to be moving away from everything else meaning that space is expanding evenly everywhere. If this is the case, there can't be a center from which everything is expanding out from.

[mikzin]

That didnt answer the question, sadly.

[metrih]

I'm not special?! But my mom wouldn't lie to me right... RIGHT!!!

[Alex]

This video is obviously false, I mean, they don't have cats on the moon...

[tHaRune]

You didn't actually explain anything here other than the point that everyone who thinks they're the centre of the universe is an idiot.

What you should have said is that the universe is expanding like the skin of a balloon being blown up, so there is technically no centre.

[SgtMickle]

This episode didn't tell me anything.

[Sirmenonottwo]

But where the fuck was the big bang god damnit.

[SidheKnight]

Why does this awesome video have so much negative votes?

[TheDegario]

He did explain it. The Big Bang happened everywhere at once (see his previous video where he explains it should be called the 'Everywhere stretch').Look at it like a balloon: if you draw points on it and then blow it up. It would look like they are moving away from the center, while, if you take another point, you'd have the impression it all moves away from that certain point. Your frame of reference is everything.

[GreenLightMe]

people want to know, where is the singularity in retrospect to the earth, in other words, if we could "rewind" the universe - in which way would the earth be pulled toward the singularity? The answer is we don't know but there was a singularity so if we could rewind, we would move in a DIRECTION toward the singularity and we'd even be able to determine where the singularity is because some matter would have to be closer to the singularity than us, if we got sucked back into the singularity before the andromeda galaxy than you can reasonably say our galaxy is closer than andromeda, which means there is a PLACE where it all happened.

[lanunjawa]

Henry, I love your videos. Please make more and make them longer. Your videos are a way that is so much more interesting to learn Physics.

[paulmahoney]

The answer is: that question is meaningless.

[inthefade]

Great episode because it is a really simple concept that a lot of people just do not comprehend... Often they think they do, but they don't. It is a huge stumbling block to understanding relativity.

For anyone complaining, it isn't like it wasted much of your time. This is minutephysics after all!

[HeroEric]

title should be "are we the center of the universe?"

[bencrispe]

The center of the universe can only by everywhere if the universe is truly infinite. If it's not, we would need to somehow see the universe from the outside to determine where its center is.

[HenryKron]

How did this videos answer the title like wtf

[brianzeng]

Could you answer the question about how electrons get their energy to move around the nucleus? Thank you.

[nitrodog]

This it more "Where wasn't the Big Bang?" than "Where was the Big Bang?"

[xianlim]

We know we're the center of our observable universe. :)