Ask AI: What was there before the big bang?

The answer to what was there before the Big Bang is purely theoretical and speculative, as we don't really have a definitive scientific answer. Currently, our understanding and the laws of physics can only detail the universe back to fractions of a second after the Big Bang, but not the moment of or anything prior to the Big Bang itself. There are various theories. Some scientists believe that there was just a singularity of infinite density and temperature. Others suggest that the concept of "before" may not make sense when speaking of the time before the Big Bang, as time itself may have been created in the Big Bang. There are also cyclic models or the theory of a multiverse, in which the Big Bang was just the creation of one of many universes. Ultimately, it's one of the biggest mysteries of our existence and a constant subject of theoretical research and exploration.

It is not possible to answer this question definitively because the laws of physics as we know them do not apply to the time before the Big Bang. Therefore, scientists cannot conclusively say what existed before the Big Bang. Many theories, such as the inflationary universe and the ekpyrotic universe, propose that a previous universe existed prior to the Big Bang. However, these are just theories and have not been proven.