From expansion to inflation

Big Bang theory has evolved over time. Twenty years ago, space was expanding. According to Hubble’s red shift measurements all galaxies were moving away from each other (except those on collision courses), so the intergalactic void was somehow subject to expansion. This also meant there was no centre, no localised starting point. An infinite, inert and timeless universe had suddenly changed its state into motion, interaction, light-time and increasing infinity. This beginning of history was dated back thirteen point seven to point eight billion years, which presumably was the time taken by our own galaxy to distance itself from its neighbours (except for approaching Andromeda and possibly others hidden behind the Milky Way).

Space expansion as a model is not without problems, however, and has been replaced by that of material inflation. The cosmos inflated from a very small pea to infinity at lightning speed, especially the first trillionth of a trillionth of a second. This different approach also supposes that the universe has a centre, from where all came and may eventually return (Big Crunch), which means the red shift is less plausibly explained.

As with all scientific theories, time and technology will tell, but the passage from expansion to inflation is an intellectual leap that also occurred in the more mundane and equally intricate world of finance. A decade ago money was expanding with credit, where one dollar could lend you twenty or thirty. Since 2008, to avoid a cosmic crunch, Central Banks have inflated money ex nihilo by the instantaneous electronic creation of countless billions of monetary units.

When astrophysicists spend time and money speculating on the origins of matter, it is of little consequence one way or the other. When banks have government approval to fiddle around with the nation’s wealth, there are consequences for everyone whatever the outcome. If they have got it wrong, which seems increasingly likely, if both expansion and inflation are mistakes, the ensuing chaos will be universal.