Answer to Question #57321 in Astronomy | Astrophysics for Leigh Jones

Question

If the singularity at the time of the Big Bang were of infinite density,
a) would time stand still?
b)would the absolute duration of a second then be much greater than it is now?

Thank you

Answer 1

Speaking about singularity and first moments after the Big Bang we mean space scales of order of the Planck length (10-35 meters) and lower. According to contemporary state of art such a scale is governed by the effects of quantum gravity which still are not complete whereas the general relativity theory is not valid at the distances compared to the Plank scale. Therefore, properties of the space-time in the singularity can not be described at the moment.
Moreover, mathematical term «singularity» means object with undefined properties. Thus, speaking about physical singularity we can not define its characteristics. That is why the questions about duration of a second and time itself in the singularity do not have any sense.
New theories have been extended to make a bridge between quantum physics and general relativity such as Supergravity theory , Superstring theory, etc. But none of them were not proved.