What is a singularity?

Question

A word I have heard that started the BIG Bang along with a load of energy

Answer 1

It is a place where quantities which are used to measure the gravitational field become infinite.  The specific singularity you most likely dealt with is this gravitation singularity.

Answer 2

A singularity is a special mathematical term, describing a point in space, where a function is not defined. For example, a black hole is a singularity, because the functions we currently use for describing the rules of physics are not defined inside the event horizon.

And the Big Bang counts as singularity, because happened inside a single point in spacetime, where the current rules of physics are again not defined.  

Answer 3

A singularity is the infinitely small point possessing the entire mass of a very large dead star that has collapsed into a black hole.  A black hole consists of the singularity and the event horizon which is the sphere surrounding a black hole which marks the place where the holes gravity can keep light from escaping: an escape velocity greater than light.  

Answer 4

There are many different kinds. Here are some relevant to today that I find very interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technologic...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_goo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_point

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_rip

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitation...

Answer 5

In mathematics, a singularity is a point where some value is infinite, on a function that converges towards infinity at that point. For example, take a look at the graph of y=x^2:

http://library.thinkquest.org/2647/media...

This function will not reach y=infinity for any finite value of x, because for all finite values of x, x^2 is also finite. Therefore it does not have a singularity. However, let's look at the graph of y=1/x:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

This graph DOES have singularity, because as x goes from 1 to 0, 1/x goes from 1 towards infinity, and where x is 0, y is effectively infinitey. The vertical line x=0 is therefore a singularity on the graph.

Singularities appear elsewhere as well. The spacetime 'shape' of a true black hole (which can never exist in our universe, but is a useful approximation for some purposes in general relativity), for example, has a singularity at the center where the density and gravity are both infinite (but the mass is nevertheless still finite). Another example is the 'technological singularity' a theoretical instant in time in the future that represents where human technological ability will become infinite according to current trends (obviously it won't REALLY become infinite, but some very strange things may happen at around that same time, so the technological singularity model is still interesting).

Here's the Wikipedia article on singularities:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularity

Answer 6

The dictionary defines singularity as a point in space-time at which gravitational forces cause matter to have infinite density and infinitesimal volume; at this point space and time become infinitely distorted.  In general relativity, singularity is the mathematical representation of a black hole.  There are really three different singularities involved, curvature, conical, and naked . . . read more at the wikipedia link, it describes the connection to the big bang theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitation...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/s...