0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
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0:00:05 > 0:00:09- The most momentous second - in history.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14- The universe went through - more stages in that first second...
0:00:14 > 0:00:17- ..than it has - in all the time since then.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20- The history of the universe...
0:00:20 > 0:00:24- ..hinged on what happened - in a fraction of a second.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31- The moment - when the entire cosmos was created.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37- The universe - is 13.7 billion years old...
0:00:37 > 0:00:40- ..but what happened - during that first second...
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- ..is fundamentally important.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52- In this programme, we reveal what - happened in the first ever second.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14- Look up at the night sky and - the cosmos is an awesome spectacle.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25- And earth, our home, - is also full of wonder.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37- Everything we see - comes from one moment.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42- The Big Bang.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52- Some people ask what existed - before the Big Bang.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57- I explain that by asking in what way - did you exist, as a person...
0:01:58 > 0:02:01- ..before you were created - by your parents?
0:02:01 > 0:02:03- You didn't exist.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06- The universe didn't exist - before the Big Bang.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11- Talking about time and space - before the Big Bang is futile...
0:02:11 > 0:02:16- ..because the Big Bang - created time and space.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24- The Big Bang created time, - space and everything else.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26- What a trick!
0:02:26 > 0:02:30- But scientists - aren't sure how it all happened.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- We don't know enough...
0:02:32 > 0:02:34- ..to say why it happened.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36- We don't understand the physics...
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- ..of what happened - immediately after the Big Bang.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45- We don't know why it banged, - what banged or how it's banging.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- All we really know - is that after the Big Bang...
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- ..all of existence burst into life.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07- We know this, thanks to a discovery - Edwin Hubble made in the 1920s.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14- Hubble noticed that light - from distant galaxies...
0:03:14 > 0:03:18- ..was redder than those close to us.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21- It's called the Doppler effect.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26- If you've heard a train approaching - or moving away from you...
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- ..the sound changes.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32- The pitch gets higher - as it approaches...
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- ..and lower as it gets further away.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- The same thing happens with light.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45- As an object moves away from us - at very high speed...
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- ..the light from that object - turns from yellow to red.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55- We've seen this red effect for over - 100 years whilst studying galaxies.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01- To Hubble's surprise...
0:04:01 > 0:04:06- ..the red effect meant that every - galaxy was speeding away from us.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09- That means that in the past...
0:04:09 > 0:04:14- ..the galaxies must have all been - at the same place at the same time.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- Back in the moment - when everything was created.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36- This is the beginning - of the first ever second.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- In that first second, - time and space was created.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49- All the forces we have today - were also created...
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- ..and the seeds of the cosmos - were sown.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00- In its first second, the cosmos - develops at a dramatic rate.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08- The universe went through - more stages in that first second...
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- ..than it has - in all the time since then.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15- So much happens so quickly...
0:05:16 > 0:05:19- ..that scientists need - a whole new concept of time.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25- Everything that happened - in the birth of the universe...
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- ..happened in fractions of a second.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36- Instead of hours, - minutes and seconds...
0:05:37 > 0:05:43- ..scientists have created - a new unit of time - Planck time.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- This is the shortest unit of time - known to us.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59- Another way to put it is you can't - differentiate between Planck time...
0:05:59 > 0:06:01- ..and nothing.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- There is no way - to differentiate between them.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11- This is not - the first second of the universe.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- Not even a billionth - of a second but...
0:06:14 > 0:06:18- ..0.00000000000000000000000000000001 - of a second.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- A tiny fraction of a second.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- Such a short unit of time, - it almost doesn't exist.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30- By using Planck time...
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- ..we can follow the birth - of the cosmos, moment by moment.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- In the beginning, - everything is wrapped up...
0:06:44 > 0:06:46- ..in an infinitely small speck.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- But something causes this speck - to burst into life.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02- Everything in time and space - stems from this point...
0:07:03 > 0:07:06- ..as it explodes - at tremendous speed.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13- As the hands of our cosmic clock - approach the first Planck time...
0:07:13 > 0:07:15- ..all of space expands.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- The universe - emerges everywhere at once.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29- In this very first instant of - creation, some scientists believe...
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- ..that a single force - rules everything - the super force.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40- We think that the original universe - was a state of perfection...
0:07:41 > 0:07:44- ..because the particles - were uniform...
0:07:45 > 0:07:50- ..and a single unified force existed - at the instant of the Big Bang.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- As the first Planck times pass by...
0:07:57 > 0:08:00- ..something causes - the super force to split.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05- As the universe cooled...
0:08:06 > 0:08:12- ..the super force changed to create - the three forces we now know today.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19- The strong force, the weak force - and the electromagnetic force.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25- Think in terms of steam.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- If I have steam and I cool it, - it turns to a liquid.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- If I cool it again, - it turns to a solid.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- So in the same way - as the universe began to cool...
0:08:37 > 0:08:40- ..the different forces - broke off from each other.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- When the super force splits, - a new force emerges.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- Gravity.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58- The strength of gravity is perfect - - it isn't too strong or too weak.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02- Without this perfect balance...
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- ..everything would either - gone up in a puff or shrunk.
0:09:09 > 0:09:15- The constant gravity in the universe - makes it possible for us to exist.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- Gravity begins to shape the cosmos.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24- It creates the planets and stars - and even life itself.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- Our universe in some sense, - is fine-tuned.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34- We're just right to have a universe - that expands slowly...
0:09:34 > 0:09:38- ..making it possible to create DNA - and life as we know it.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46- But gravity isn't the only force - that will govern the cosmos.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- By the ten millionth tick - of the Planck time clock...
0:09:55 > 0:10:00- ..another event will see the cosmos - grow at an enormous rate.
0:10:05 > 0:10:05- .
0:10:11 > 0:10:11- Subtitles
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:10:18 > 0:10:21- This is the first ever second - in history.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31- The whole cosmos is a dense ball, - smaller than an atom.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46- Gravity has begun - shaping the future of the cosmos.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- The cosmos hurtles - towards its next milestone.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07- An event that sets out the blueprint - for the galaxies we see today.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17- There are billions of galaxies - in the night sky.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24- Until recently, nobody could explain - why they are spread evenly...
0:11:26 > 0:11:28- ..the same number - in every direction.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35- If I look north, south, - east or west...
0:11:36 > 0:11:41- ..the galaxies are spread evenly - throughout the universe.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47- Look in any direction and you'll see - no connection between them.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50- Not even light connects them.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- So how and why - is the universe so perfect?
0:11:56 > 0:11:58- All these parts of the universe...
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- ..must have at one point - been in contact with each other.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- It's like two people - at on opposite sides of a country...
0:12:06 > 0:12:09- ..getting up at the same time - and dressing the same way...
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- ..but they don't talk to each other.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16- There must be something common - in their past that links them.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24- In the 1970s, a young cosmologist - named Alan Guth proposed one theory.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26- He called it cosmic inflation.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30- It was very exciting.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33- I realized - that this might be the key...
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- ..to a very important - secret of the universe.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- I was very nervous - because it was all new.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- I was shaky - about whether or not it was right.
0:12:45 > 0:12:51- Guth believed that the cosmos went - through a phenomenal growth spurt.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57- There is still confusion about why - the Big Bang happened...
0:12:57 > 0:13:02- ..and you consider explanations, - including religion or God.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- But the first important event - in the history of our universe...
0:13:10 > 0:13:12- ..and the Big Bang theory...
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- ..is this idea of cosmic inflation.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22- It means that everything started - from this infinitely small point.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- All at the same temperature - and all in contact with each other.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31- And then the whole universe - expands exponentially.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35- Everything - is almost at the same temperature...
0:13:36 > 0:13:38- ..in a vastly bigger universe.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44- A tiny volume of space - suddenly starts to expand quickly.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49- This cosmic inflation...
0:13:50 > 0:13:55- ..spreads the constituents of our - universe evenly throughout space.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02- When that state of perfection - was lost...
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- ..a massive amount of energy - was released.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10- This caused a phenomenal inflation.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15- The volume and space of the universe - expands at incredible speeds.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20- It's like a grain of sand...
0:14:21 > 0:14:25- ..swelling to larger than the sun - in a short period of time.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- Because everything expands - so quickly...
0:14:29 > 0:14:34- ..you could think that things moved - faster than the speed of light.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39- But that's impossible if you believe - Einstein's theory - and we do!
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- What was really happening...
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- ..was that the space between them - was growing...
0:14:46 > 0:14:48- ..like a balloon's surface.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58- If you made some marks on a balloon - representing the galaxies...
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- ..and inflate that balloon, - the marks don't move.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- The surface - of the balloon expands...
0:15:05 > 0:15:09- ..and the same thing happened - with the universe.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15- Guth's idea was an audacious one.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17- But how could we ever test it?
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- How could we peer - into the birth of creation?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- The night sky holds the answer.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- When we look at the stars, - we are looking back in time.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42- The light we see from our sun...
0:15:42 > 0:15:47- ..travels for eight minutes from - the surface of the sun to reach us.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50- When we look - at a planet like Saturn...
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- ..it takes over an hour - for the light to reach us.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00- Light from our nearest star - takes four years to reach us.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05- Our galaxy is thousands - of light years in diameter.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11- We can see objects in the universe - which are enormous distances away...
0:16:12 > 0:16:14- ..when we use observatories.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22- When we look up into space, we are - looking back through time in a way.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- The Hubble Ultra Deep Field...
0:16:30 > 0:16:34- ..is filled with - the first galaxies in the cosmos.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46- This is as far back as - the Hubble Space Telescope can see.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- But can we go back - even further in time...
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- ..closer to the birth - of the universe?
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- Static on a television screen - holds a clue.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10- One percent of the static on this - screen comes from the Big Bang.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17- In the 1960s, astronomers - Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson...
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- ..were listening - to radio signals from space.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24- But they were - picking up a background hum.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28- They blamed it - on pigeon droppings...
0:17:28 > 0:17:33- ..but even after cleaning their - instruments, it was still there.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36- If anything, - the background got even greater.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38- According to legend...
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- ..when they gave a talk at Princeton - one physicist said...
0:17:44 > 0:17:47- .."Either you listened - to the effects of bird droppings...
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- ..or the creation of the universe."
0:17:52 > 0:17:57- Penzias and Wilson had discovered - the afterglow of the Big Bang.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06- Once the universe - was around 350,000 years old...
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- ..it was cold enough...
0:18:09 > 0:18:14- ..for the electrons and protons - to come together to form hydrogen.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19- Think of a gigantic fog - that suddenly lifts.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24- Before the fog lifts, you can only - see a few feet in front of you...
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- ..then suddenly - everything becomes clear.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33- That's what happened - 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39- The light from the Big Bang...
0:18:40 > 0:18:43- ..continues to travel - uninterrupted through space.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- Scientists call it - the cosmic microwave background.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- It's fair to say - that this discovery...
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- ..considering - what it actually explained...
0:19:00 > 0:19:04- ..was the real proof - that the Big Bang did happen.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10- The cosmic microwave background - is a glimpse into the time...
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- ..when the young cosmos was created.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21- To find the ultimate proof - that cosmic inflation did happen...
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- ..scientists had to take - a closer look...
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- ..and reveal even more - of the cosmos's secrets.
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0:19:35 > 0:19:35- Subtitles
0:19:35 > 0:19:37- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:19:45 > 0:19:49- The infant cosmos has existed - for a fraction of a second.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51- It's grown at a phenomenal rate.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55- But how?
0:19:58 > 0:20:03- The answer lies in the first ever - light to shine through the cosmos...
0:20:03 > 0:20:07- ..which is known as - the cosmic microwave background.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12- Scientists need the - best possible picture of this light.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28- Five years ago, - the European Space Agency...
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- ..launched the Planck satellite.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37- It orbits the sun...
0:20:37 > 0:20:42- ..scanning the temperature - of the entire visible universe.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- It scans in every direction...
0:20:47 > 0:20:52- ..mapping the smallest - of differences in the background.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56- They're one in 100,000 effects.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- If we see something coloured red, - the density if greater.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03- If it's blue, it's less dense.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- Areas where the density is higher - will expand, over time...
0:21:08 > 0:21:10- ..to create galaxies.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19- These tiny variations - in temperature...
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- ..reveal where galaxies - will eventually form.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- But scientists - still need further proof.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32- They want to see the effect - on gravity - gravitational waves.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39- One of the tests is that we might - be able to see the gravity waves...
0:21:39 > 0:21:43- ..that were produced - at the very end of inflation.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- Like ripples in a pond...
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- ..cosmic inflation - creates gravitational waves...
0:21:52 > 0:21:53- ..through the cosmos.
0:21:56 > 0:22:02- If scientists could see these waves, - they'd know that inflation was real.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12- Some 30 years after Guth presented - the concept of inflation...
0:22:12 > 0:22:17- ..a telescope at the South Pole - discovered these waves this year.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Today scientists announce they have - discovered what was going on...
0:22:23 > 0:22:27- ..in the earliest moments of our - universe, right after the Big Bang.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35- The concept of inflation - was important.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41- It helped explain how the Big Bang - created everything around us.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52- Inflation took the bare bones - of our understanding...
0:22:53 > 0:22:55- ..of what happened - during the Big Bang...
0:22:56 > 0:22:59- ..and fleshed it out with details.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06- At last, we have proof - that inflation does exist.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- The very simplest models - of inflation...
0:23:10 > 0:23:14- ..are agreeing beautifully - with the observations being made.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17- That's incredibly gratifying...
0:23:17 > 0:23:20- ..and provides strong evidence - that inflation happened.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30- Inflation explains why galaxies are - spread smoothly across the cosmos...
0:23:30 > 0:23:34- ..in the tiniest fraction - of a second.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43- And some scientists now believe - that inflation goes on...
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- ..to create other forms - of the cosmos - a multiverse.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53- This is a general idea - that other universes exist.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- Other universes will be created - from our universe.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02- From what I've read, - we are very close to discovering...
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- ..that other universes - already coexist with ours.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- It's possible that our universe - is one of many.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22- Some scientists believe...
0:24:22 > 0:24:26- ..there are several types - of universes in existence.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- Home to billions - of stars and planets.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37- Some may be home - to people like us...
0:24:38 > 0:24:42- ..living their lives - in a parallel world.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- It's a mind-blowing idea.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52- More people believe in the concept - of a multiverse today...
0:24:54 > 0:24:55- ..than did 20 years ago.
0:24:57 > 0:25:03- Research points to the possibility - that other universes exist.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14- We're on a journey - through the first second of time.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- The infant cosmos is now - a pure ball of energy...
0:25:21 > 0:25:23- ..the size of a cricket ball.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31- From this ball of energy, all the - stars and planets will be created.
0:25:34 > 0:25:35- But how?
0:25:38 > 0:25:40- Inflation says...
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- ..that for a brief period, - empty space gets energy.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- And it turns out the universe - keeps dumping energy into space...
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- ..to produce everything we see.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56- Apparently you produce an incredible - amount of stuff from nothing...
0:25:57 > 0:25:59- ..without violating - the laws of physics.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- It's almost magic, - but that's the key word - almost.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05- It's allowed by the laws of physics.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- The early universe - is nothing like what we see today.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22- The universe is a tiny ball.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32- A dense soup of fundamental - particles of protons and photons.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39- From this soup, - everything was created.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47- To understand how this pure energy - transforms into matter...
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- ..we turn to the work - of Albert Einstein...
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- ..and his famous equation E=mc2.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02- E is energy and M is mass.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08- So you can convert Energy E into - Mass M and vice versa.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13- And this is something we use - when we deal with antimatter.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17- If you take an antielectron - and an electron...
0:27:17 > 0:27:22- ..and put them together, their mass - is converted into pure energy.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30- Einstein transformed - our understanding of the universe...
0:27:30 > 0:27:34- ..by revealing that matter - is just concentrated energy.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38- The same science - is behind atomic bombs.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44- They turn matter into energy.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51- The E=mc2 equation shows how - the smallest amount of matter...
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- ..can release a huge amount - of energy.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07- During the Big Bang, - energy turns into matter.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12- But it's nothing like the matter - that makes up our world today.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16- So what does - this primal matter look like?
0:28:20 > 0:28:24- The Brookhaven National Laboratory - in Long Island...
0:28:24 > 0:28:29- ..is the home of the Relativistic - Heavy Ion Collider, or RHIC.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38- Here they recreate the matter - that filled the early universe...
0:28:38 > 0:28:40- ..after the Big Bang.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44- In a sense, RHIC is a time machine.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48- We reproduce the conditions that - existed in the early universe...
0:28:49 > 0:28:51- ..one microsecond - after the Big Bang.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00- RHIC fires gold nuclei - around a circular tunnel...
0:29:01 > 0:29:04- ..thousands of times a second, - at enormous speed.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11- It then smashes them together - in the giant STAR detector.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19- Imagine smashing two cars together - in a head-on collision...
0:29:21 > 0:29:24- ..and working out - what the cars looked like...
0:29:24 > 0:29:27- ..by analysing the debris - thrown off.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33- That's what the team - at RHIC is doing.
0:29:33 > 0:29:38- It smashes protons to pieces - to find out how they were created.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44- Each collision that you see here - is different.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48- Some collisions have more tracks - coming out of them.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52- The curved lines are the particles - that come out of the collision.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57- Each collision generates - a different number of particles...
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- ..depending on - the violence of the collision.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04- What Mike and his team see...
0:30:05 > 0:30:09- ..is a spray of the most fundamental - particles of all - quarks.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14- Quarks are normally bound inside - protons and neutrons...
0:30:14 > 0:30:18- ..but give quarks enough energy - and they break free.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22- We expected quarks, once liberated - from protons and neutrons...
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- ..not to interact much - with each other...
0:30:25 > 0:30:27- ..but to stream into our detector.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31- What we found was the most perfect - fluid that was ever discovered...
0:30:32 > 0:30:34- ..or ever measured on the planet.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37- It actually flows - much more easily than water.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- This was absolutely surprising.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45- RHIC shows us - that the perfect fluid...
0:30:45 > 0:30:49- ..is created a fraction of a second - into the Big Bang.
0:30:49 > 0:30:54- But like everything in the - first second, it doesn't last long.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57- As the cosmos expands, it cools...
0:30:57 > 0:31:01- ..and the strong force - makes its presence felt.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- The important characteristic - of the strong force...
0:31:07 > 0:31:10- ..is the confinement of quarks - inside protons and neutrons...
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- ..that we see today.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17- When the temperature - of the universe drops...
0:31:18 > 0:31:22- ..the strong force clumps quarks - together in groups of three.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26- These are the building blocks - of atoms.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30- The cosmos begins to take the form - we know today.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40- But as matter is bursting - into existence across the cosmos...
0:31:40 > 0:31:43- ..there's still something missing.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- Somehow, this matter has no mass.
0:31:51 > 0:31:51- .
0:31:57 > 0:31:57- Subtitles
0:31:57 > 0:31:59- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:32:04 > 0:32:08- The cosmos has existed - for less than a second.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15- It's grown to about the size - of our solar system...
0:32:16 > 0:32:19- ..and matter - is bursting into existence.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- But this matter is strange.
0:32:25 > 0:32:26- It has no mass.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33- On earth, we feel mass as weight.
0:32:36 > 0:32:42- In space, astronauts float - as if they were weightless.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49- But if this astronaut had no mass, - he'd be in big trouble.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57- Without mass, we wouldn't have - the universe we know today.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02- The only particles to exist - would be particles without mass...
0:33:02 > 0:33:03- ..such as light.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08- A universe without mass - would be one ray of light.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13- The early universe had no mass.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20- But today, our universe - is full of planets and stars...
0:33:20 > 0:33:22- ..which clearly have mass.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26- So where does this mass come from?
0:33:28 > 0:33:32- Back in the 1960s, a young Scottish - scientist named Peter Higgs...
0:33:33 > 0:33:36- ..offered one solution - - the Higgs field.
0:33:38 > 0:33:39- Higgs suggested...
0:33:39 > 0:33:44- ..that a Higgs field stretched out - through the universe...
0:33:44 > 0:33:48- ..and particles gained mass - by interacting with this field.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54- The Higgs field is invisible.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57- It stretches throughout space...
0:33:57 > 0:34:01- ..and a fundamental particle - called the Higgs Boson...
0:34:02 > 0:34:06- ..interacts with other particles - as they pass through the field.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11- The more an object - interacts with the Higgs field...
0:34:11 > 0:34:13- ..the more mass it gains.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20- The Higgs field is a wonderful idea - but does it really exist?
0:34:22 > 0:34:24- There's only one place to find out.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29- The home of the biggest and - most advanced machine ever built.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34- The Large Hadron Collider - at CERN in Switzerland.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39- A Welshman helped design it. - He is Rhodri Jones.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44- I've been at CERN for 17 years.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47- I'm the head - of the measurements team...
0:34:48 > 0:34:50- ..at the Large Hadron Collider.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57- It's the most powerful machine - in the world.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01- It's almost 27km long, - 100 metres underground.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08- The Large Hadron Collider - shoots two beams of protons...
0:35:08 > 0:35:11- ..around a 17-mile tunnel...
0:35:12 > 0:35:14- ..before they collide.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17- The Large Hadron Collider...
0:35:17 > 0:35:20- ..fires protons - at almost the speed of light...
0:35:20 > 0:35:24- ..before they collide - and create a burst of energy.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29- We examine what that energy creates - and look for something new...
0:35:29 > 0:35:32- ..to help us - better describe our universe.
0:35:36 > 0:35:42- The collisions shatter the protons - into a spray of new particles...
0:35:43 > 0:35:46- ..including perhaps the Higgs Boson.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51- Thousands of scientists - have spent years searching for it.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54- It's difficult - to get protons to collide.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00- It's like shooting chopsticks - at each other across the Atlantic.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03- In March 2013, there was big news.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09- When they announced they had found - the Higgs particle...
0:36:09 > 0:36:13- ..was a huge moment in the history - of physics and of CERN.
0:36:15 > 0:36:16- I think we have it.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20- It was a very emotional moment...
0:36:21 > 0:36:25- ..and Peter Higgs himself was there - for the announcement.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32- He had this idea as a young man - at the start of his career...
0:36:32 > 0:36:35- ..and his theory was proven - after he retired.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39- It's remarkable - that he waited 50 years...
0:36:39 > 0:36:42- ..to see his idea become a reality.
0:36:44 > 0:36:50- The amphitheatre was full - and everyone was very emotional.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56- Thanks to Peter Higgs and the work - of scientists around the world...
0:36:57 > 0:37:01- ..one of the mysteries - of the first second has been solved.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06- It's been - an amazing experience for me...
0:37:06 > 0:37:10- ..to have worked on this project - as a physicist for 20 years.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14- We finally found what this machine - was designed to find.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19- The Higgs theory - is extremely important.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24- It explains something which - happened in the early universe...
0:37:24 > 0:37:28- ..and created the forces we see - and understand today.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33- Some people have called the - Higgs Boson the God Particle...
0:37:33 > 0:37:37- ..because this was - the missing piece of the puzzle...
0:37:37 > 0:37:41- ..in the theory - explaining how our universe works.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45- Without the Higgs field - and the Higgs Boson...
0:37:46 > 0:37:51- ..the stars, planets and people - wouldn't exist.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56- But some scientists suggest - that the Higgs field...
0:37:56 > 0:38:00- ..was responsible - for splitting the super force...
0:38:00 > 0:38:03- ..into four different forces.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07- Without the Higgs Boson, - we can't exist.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11- We think a series of Higgs Bosons...
0:38:11 > 0:38:15- ..were responsible for breaking the - symmetries of the super force...
0:38:15 > 0:38:18- ..so that the four forces - could emerge.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24- That's why, when we found the - Higgs Boson, champagne was opened...
0:38:25 > 0:38:29- ..in all the physics laboratories - and we had a grand party.
0:38:29 > 0:38:34- As well as the strong force - and gravity, two new forces appear.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38- The weak force - and the electromagnetic force.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44- Without the weak nuclear force, - the stars would not shine.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48- You wouldn't be able to live - in the modern world...
0:38:49 > 0:38:52- ..without the electromagnetic force.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56- A charge will create - an electric field.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02- A series of charges in a wire - generates a magnetic field.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07- When you speed them up, - you get electromagnetic waves...
0:39:07 > 0:39:11- ..which gives us radio, television - and everything!
0:39:12 > 0:39:16- Together, the four forces - shape our universe.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25- These four forces govern - every process we see in nature...
0:39:27 > 0:39:29- ..and in our everyday lives.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36- From boiling water to objects - falling to the ground...
0:39:37 > 0:39:42- ..they are behind every interaction - between objects in the world.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46- The laws of physics - boil down to these four forces.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53- Scientists seek proof...
0:39:53 > 0:39:59- ..that the four forces did exist - as one force at the beginning.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03- As well as the work in CERN...
0:40:03 > 0:40:08- ..perhaps the BICEP2 telescope - in the South Pole...
0:40:08 > 0:40:10- ..has just found this proof.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14- The BICEP experiment...
0:40:14 > 0:40:17- ..gave us a measurement - of the energy scale of inflation.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19- The energy scale's really high.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21- So high, it's tempting...
0:40:22 > 0:40:26- ..to associate inflation with the - unification of all forces of nature.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31- It's at the energy scale we think - are the basic forces of physics.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35- Gravity, the strong force and - the weak force all come together...
0:40:35 > 0:40:37- ..into one grand force.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44- It's a golden age for physics.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50- The work being done - at CERN in Switzerland...
0:40:51 > 0:40:53- ..and by BICEP2 - at the South Pole...
0:40:54 > 0:40:58- ..has brought scientists - a step closer to understanding...
0:40:58 > 0:41:03- ..what happened during - the first second after the Big Bang.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17- We're nearing the end - of the universe's first second.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- But first, - there's a war to be fought.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37- The enemy is antimatter.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43- Dr Aled Isaac - from Swansea University...
0:41:43 > 0:41:47- ..is a physicist - who studies antimatter at CERN.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54- Antimatter, as its name suggests, - is the opposite of matter.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- It's like matter's twin. - They look identical.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02- But if you bring matter - and antimatter together...
0:42:02 > 0:42:06- ..they destroy each other - and release pure energy.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11- The experiment - I'm working on at CERN...
0:42:11 > 0:42:17- ..is looking for a minute difference - between hydrogen and antihydrogen...
0:42:17 > 0:42:22- ..to try to explain why the universe - is made of matter not antimatter.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26- Matter and antimatter - simply cannot coexist.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29- They annihilate each other - on contact.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33- At the moment of the Big Bang...
0:42:34 > 0:42:38- ..an equal amount of matter and - antimatter should have been created.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41- We've looked deep into the cosmos...
0:42:42 > 0:42:46- ..but there's no evidence of matter - and antimatter clashing.
0:42:46 > 0:42:52- There is no antimatter out there so - the question is where did it all go?
0:42:54 > 0:42:57- There is a universe - and there is matter...
0:42:57 > 0:43:00- ..so there had to be - a tiny difference.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04- We're talking about - one billionth of a difference...
0:43:04 > 0:43:09- ..between the amount of matter - and antimatter in the cosmos.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13- A tiny difference - but enough to create matter.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20- For every billion particles - of matter and antimatter...
0:43:20 > 0:43:22- ..created by energy...
0:43:22 > 0:43:25- ..there was - one extra particle of matter.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29- That very small asymmetry - of one part in a billion...
0:43:30 > 0:43:35- ..is enough to account for all the - galaxies and stars in the universe.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40- But what if antimatter - had won the war?
0:43:41 > 0:43:45- There's no real difference - between matter and antimatter.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50- It would be as correct to say - we live in a world of antimatter...
0:43:51 > 0:43:52- ..as opposed to matter.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56- If antimatter had won - instead of matter...
0:43:56 > 0:44:00- ..the universe - would probably look the same today.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03- We'd be made of antimatter - and call it matter.
0:44:04 > 0:44:09- Anti-lovers could sit in anti-cars - looking at anti-moons...
0:44:10 > 0:44:14- ..making anti-love and it would all - seem exactly the same.
0:44:16 > 0:44:22- So why was there more matter than - antimatter when the cosmos was born?
0:44:24 > 0:44:28- Tara Shears at the Large Hadron - Collider, CERN, wants to find out.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31- What we're interested in...
0:44:32 > 0:44:36- ..is how different the amounts - of matter and antimatter are...
0:44:36 > 0:44:39- ..and if they match - our understanding...
0:44:39 > 0:44:43- ..of how different matter - and antimatter should be.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46- That's what we don't understand.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50- The Large Hadron Collider results...
0:44:50 > 0:44:55- ..show that the difference - between antimatter and matter...
0:44:55 > 0:44:57- ..is smaller than expected.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00- Scientists - still don't understand why.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07- I really hope we're going to - make a measurement here...
0:45:07 > 0:45:09- ..which is going to - show us the light.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12- Show us what else there is - in the universe...
0:45:13 > 0:45:15- ..that's going to make it all - make sense.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25- We still don't completely understand - the first second of the cosmos...
0:45:25 > 0:45:29- ..and scientists - are still searching for answers.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34- At the end of my career, we - understand about 4% of the universe.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37- Even that is imperfect.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41- We have made - some remarkable discoveries...
0:45:42 > 0:45:46- ..but there is still - a vast amount we don't understand.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53- The first second is over.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58- The universe already contains - everything we see today.
0:46:02 > 0:46:07- Aspects of the current model we have - of the universe are unexplained.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11- We must learn more about dark matter - and other things...
0:46:11 > 0:46:14- ..which don't fit the model we have.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19- In the next few minutes...
0:46:20 > 0:46:25- ..the cosmos cools enough - for protons and neutrons to form.
0:46:26 > 0:46:31- Another 400,000 years must pass - before the first atom appears.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38- After another nine billion years, - these atoms come together...
0:46:38 > 0:46:40- ..to form our planet.
0:46:41 > 0:46:42- Earth is born.
0:46:47 > 0:46:52- This process began in - the first second of the Big Bang.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30- S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones
0:47:30 > 0:47:30- .