According to Mark Whittle, an astrophysics professor at the University of Virginia, the Big Bang explosion that occurred 13.7 billion years ago produced an enormous sound, releasing billions of stars and galaxies. Whittle has created a sound clip representing the birth of the universe, which clearly does not sound like an explosion at all.
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Mark Whittle |
Whittle describes the sound as “a fading scream that turns into a deep, harsh growl, ending with a deafening hiss.” To determine the sound of creation, he applied the latest advancements in astronomy, sophisticated computer programs, and some basic musical concepts.
Specializing in galaxy formation, Whittle presented his “cosmic sound” to the American Astronomical Society in Denver. He explained: This sound existed throughout the first 380,000 years of the universe. At that time, a vibrant, hot fog spread, creating a thin cosmic atmosphere capable of transmitting sound waves. Whittle stated: “The universe was expanding, so it was much smaller back then, and all the matter we see today on planets and galaxies was uniformly spread out to create this thin layer of gas. In this atmosphere, sound waves could have been generated, developed, and moved.”
“Decoding the ‘Cosmic Gene’
In 1963, researchers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson from Bell Labs discovered a faint microwave radiation spread across the sky. This cosmic microwave background radiation is a remnant of the Big Bang.
Since microwaves are invisible to the human eye, scientists needed special telescopes to analyze them. In 2001, NASA introduced one of the most advanced microwave imaging devices, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). By 2003, the satellite and its scientific team successfully constructed the most detailed microwave map of space to date. This map provided the most detailed fluctuations in the brightness of this background radiation, which Whittle metaphorically referred to as “the bacteria on a bowling ball.” These fluctuations reveal the peaks and troughs of sound waves moving through the hot gas of the young universe. Whittle noted: “We could actually see the sound waves. There were small waves on top of the larger wave, all together creating a mottled image.”
The WMAP team used computer programs to determine the ratio of the wave sizes that make up the sound spectrum, similar to how a prism converts wavelengths into colors. Based on this, Whittle was able to convert the relative numbers and strengths of the waves of different sizes into sound corresponding to different pitches. This sound spectrum spans about ten octaves, with the first five octaves corresponding to sound waves—the original sounds of the universe, existing for about 380,000 years.
Whittle stated: The young age of the universe is comparable to a human lifespan of 12 hours after becoming sentient, and he likens these sound waves to… the DNA of the universe. Whittle believes that his sound clip may help explore how matter spread during the early formation of the universe. In some respects, studying ancient sound waves could be likened to a project aimed at decoding the cosmic gene. DNA determines human development, while sound waves dictate the development of planets and galaxies in the early universe.
From Screams to Whispers
According to Ted Bunn, an associate professor of physics at the University of Richmond, Virginia, the significance of Whittle’s work is confirming that the disturbances in the early universe were indeed sound waves. While astronomers are aware of this, few outside the field know about it. Bunn remarked: “The physical structure of the universe in the first 500,000 years is often considered extremely abstract and difficult to understand. Therefore, Whittle’s work has provided an intriguing research method.”
Ironically, the initial Big Bang explosion was completely… silent. Later on, sound began to form and develop. Whittle’s work shows that the “concert” of the universe grew louder until it reached 110 decibels, equivalent to a rock concert. The sound waves were so large (about 20,000 light-years long) and low (approximately five octaves below the hearing range) that Whittle had to adjust them to fit human hearing. Sounding like the noise of a jet engine fading into the background of a… television, Whittle’s sound compresses millions of years of cosmic sound into a 5-second rhythm.
Whittle concluded: “The universe has given us a unique ‘theater,’ albeit imperfect, to ‘perform’ the opening sounds of creation. By listening to the sounds of the universe, you can imagine its structure. For instance, if you know the fundamental pitch, you can measure the density of the universe.”
