WHAT WAS THE BIG BANG?

Approximately 15-20 billion years ago a vast concentration of energy, space, and time exploded. Here is a timeline of the events that transpired during the creation of the universe:

1. A mere 1.0E-38 to 1.0E-35 seconds after this gigantic explosion, the four forces of nature (Strong Nuclear, Weak Nuclear, Electromagnetism, and Gravity) managed to separate into distinct entities.
2. From 1.0E-37 to 1.0E-33 seconds after the big bang, the universe embarked on a period of exponential expansion known as the inflation period.
3. Approximately one second after the big bang, that energy began to cool enough for elementary particles (protons, neutron, and electrons) to condense.
4. One minute after the big bang, things had begun to cool enough for the first atoms to form. Neutrons, electrons, and protons were finally moving slowly enough that they could begin orbiting one another.
5. During the next three minutes, about one-quarter of the available matter was synthesized into helium atoms. The remaining protons floated, free and separated, into the depths of space.
6. Approximately 300,000 years after the big bang, the remaining isolated protons attracted electrons and began to form hydrogen atoms.
7. About four billion years would pass before matter had slowed down enough to collapse and form the first stars. Galaxy formation rapidly followed.
8. Finally, about ten billion years after the big bang, our solar system condenses out of a vast collection of debris floating in space.