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| | Big Bang - Open Encyclopedia (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18) |
 | | As the distances in the universe rapidly grew, the temperature dropped, leading to the creation of the known forces of physics, elementary particles, and eventually hydrogen and helium atoms in a process called Big bang nucleosynthesis. |
 | | Over time, the slightly denser regions of the almost, but not quite, uniformly distributed matter were pulled together by gravity into clumps, forming gas clouds, stars, galaxies, and the other astronomical structures seen today. |
 | | Because it is space itself that is expanding, and not a case of objects flying apart through space, the distance (in the sense of comoving distance) between far removed galaxies can increase faster than the speed of light without violating the laws of special relativity. |
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