Hi All,
I've had similar thoughts to @AbstractDreamer - but my thoughts relate to the Big Bang and the physics at the initial moments of the Universe.
The problem is that the laws of Physics break down at or near the singularity. But: and here is the crux of it all - what if the singularity did not exist? What if the Universe formed as pure energy and no mass? This is perfectly possible. If the Universe was pure energy, then the problem of gravity simply goes away and there is no singularity, there is no spacetime. The Universe simply 'condenses' from energy to matter outside the 'event horizon' and from then on the expansion looks exactly like the Big Bang predicts. Any matter that condenses inside the 'event horizon' is simply outside the bounds of our Universe and is not observable.
Is it possible for the Universe to form as pure energy? Yes I think so. There are plenty of massless elementary particles and Quantum theory has several mechanisms where these can interact and form the Quarks & Hadrons that form our observable universe - basically 'condensing' from pure energy to matter that we presently see.
Thoughts?
Here are more thoughts:
1. If all the initial energy in the universe condensed into matter, then there will be no energy left for expansion and the Universe will very quickly end in a big crunch. So the ratio of the energy that condenses into matter is critical to the rate of expansion/contraction of the Universe and hence its ultimate age.
2. The amount of energy the Universe starts with does not matter (no pun intended). If the Universe started off with a lot more energy then more matter will condense, but at the same time there will be more energy to expand the Universe and it will look pretty much the same as it does now as long as the ratio is the same.
