Energy at the Origin of the Universe

The inevitable conclusion is that, as we go back in time, we see a Universe with the same amount of energy which we now see around us, but crammed into a smaller and smaller space. The young Universe must therefore have been very hot, as George Lemaître realized with his Cosmic Egg theory. Consequently, the hot young Universe must have been filled with bright light. (Actually it was not light but a higher energy form of ‘radiation').

Looking back in time

When we use large telescopes, we can see light from very far away which has taken a long time to reach us. We can therefore look back in time. We can even see the remnants of the bright radiation originally produced soon after the creation of the Universe, although now it has been stretched out and has much lower energy.

But we cannot see anything earlier than this, because it is hidden behind this early radiation. This wall of bright radiation presents a limit to how far back in time we can observe. So we cannot actually see the creation of the Universe. And as well as our failure to witness it, there is a theoretical reason why we cannot understand the origin of the Universe.