Could the universe have existed before the Big Bang?
And more than that: could it have already collapsed, died… and then been reborn? These questions sound like something out of science fiction. Yet they lie at the heart of a real theory called the Big Bounce. Instead of imagining the beginning of everything as an explosion out of nothing, this hypothesis proposes a cyclical universe—one that goes through successive phases of expansion and contraction.
In this model, the Big Bang would not be the absolute beginning. It would be a gravitational rebound that occurs when a previous universe reaches its maximum compression. A “restart”—like the beat of a cosmic heart.
In the following sections, you’ll understand what the Big Bounce is, why it emerged as an alternative to the Big Bang, and how this idea invites us to view the universe not as a line with an end point, but as an eternal cycle.
2. The Core Idea of the Big Bounce
In the most widely accepted cosmological model, the universe began with the Big Bang—an infinitely dense point that expanded and gave rise to everything.
But the Big Bounce offers a different narrative: the universe didn’t begin there. It came from a prior contraction—a former universe that collapsed to a point of extreme compression, then transitioned into a new phase of expansion.
This process would resemble cosmic breathing: the universe expands, slows down, collapses, and then “bounces” into a new cycle. Each bounce would be what we call the Big Bounce—a transition between an old and a new universe.
The main difference lies in the idea of singularity. In the traditional Big Bang, the universe starts from a point of infinite density. The Big Bounce, however, proposes that matter reaches a compression limit but never becomes a singularity. Instead, it “reacts” with a reverse gravitational force and begins to expand again.
This cycle could be unique—or infinite—depending on the model. But in every case, the Big Bounce radically shifts how we think about time and the origin of the cosmos: there was no beginning, only a restart.
3. How the Theory Emerged
The idea that the universe could follow cycles of expansion and contraction is not new.
In the 1930s, physicist Richard Tolman proposed a cyclical cosmological model, where the universe alternated between phases of growth and collapse. At the time, this idea competed with other hypotheses about the cosmos’s origin, but it lost ground as the Big Bang model gained dominance.
Decades later, the idea resurfaced on new foundations. One of the most prominent names associated with the modern Big Bounce is theoretical physicist Nikodem Poplawski, who used concepts of torsion gravity to suggest that matter in a black hole might not collapse into a singularity. Instead, it could reach a maximum density and then expand—giving birth to a new universe.
Other models have emerged since, some based on quantum physics, others on variations of string theory. But they all share a common premise: the universe we know might be just one phase among many.
4. Big Bang vs. Big Bounce
At first glance, Big Bang and Big Bounce may sound like different names for the same idea—but they actually represent two radically distinct visions of the universe’s origin.
Big Bang
According to the traditional model, everything began with a singularity—a point of infinite density and zero volume, from which the universe exploded into what it is today.
This view implies that time, space, and the laws of physics all emerged together, with nothing existing beforehand.
It’s a powerful and widely accepted theory, but it has a major flaw: the singularity cannot be described by known physics. It’s a “math breakdown”—a point where our models no longer apply.
Big Bounce
The Big Bounce avoids the singularity altogether. It proposes that the universe didn’t emerge from nothing, but from a prior phase of contraction. Once the universe reached a compression limit, instead of collapsing into a singularity, it rebounded into a new expansion.
This means that time didn’t begin with our universe—it already existed, possibly through previous cycles.
Even more intriguingly, the laws of physics might have survived the collapse—or even evolved between one universe and another.
5. The Big Bounce and Black Holes
One of the most fascinating versions of the Big Bounce comes from physicist Nikodem Poplawski, who combined two powerful concepts: black holes and the cyclic universe.
According to him, when a massive star collapses into a black hole, matter doesn’t vanish into a singularity, as traditional theory predicts. Instead, it reaches an extreme density. At that point, rather than collapsing entirely, it bounces. This bounce would mark the birth of a new universe—and what we perceive as the Big Bang would actually be a Big Bounce that originated inside a black hole.
Visual representation of the cycle proposed by Nikodem Poplawski, in which the collapse of a black hole can give rise to a new expanding universe — the Big Bounce.
A visual representation of Poplawski’s proposed cycle shows a collapsing black hole giving rise to a new expanding universe—the Big Bounce.
This model, known as Schwarzschild cosmology, suggests that every black hole might be a portal to its own universe. And our universe? It could be the interior of such a portal, born from another universe’s collapse.
If this theory is correct, then our cosmos isn’t unique—or first. It’s part of an infinite chain of universes, each one collapsing and bouncing into the next.
[This hypothesis is closely related to the idea explored in our main post:
The universe inside a black hole: a theory that challenges reality]
6. Limitations and Challenges
Although the Big Bounce is one of the most elegant theories about the universe’s origin, it remains highly speculative. It solves some of the Big Bang model’s problems—like the singularity—but raises others.
Lack of Direct Evidence
One of the biggest challenges is empirical verification. Since the Big Bounce involves events that happened before our observable universe, we currently have no direct signals to confirm a previous cycle.
Some cosmologists believe that certain patterns in the cosmic microwave background (such as anomalies or cold spots) might be traces of a past universe—but so far, these ideas haven’t passed the scientific consensus test.
Depends on Theories Still in Progress
The Big Bounce’s feasibility depends on advances in fields like quantum gravity—an area of physics still under construction and without a unified framework.
In other words, while the theory works on paper, we still lack a widely accepted mathematical structure to support it solidly.
7. Conclusion
Perhaps the universe didn’t begin with a sudden bang, but with a silent bounce following a prior collapse.
That’s the proposition of the Big Bounce: a view where the cosmos doesn’t emerge—it re-emerges.
The theory is still far from confirmed, but its beauty lies in the possibility of seeing the universe as something that pulses and breathes, alternating between expansion and contraction, between endings and rebirths.
A kind of cosmic heartbeat echoing through eras we may never measure.
And what if it’s true?
What if we are living not in the first universe, but in one of many—part of an eternal chain of new beginnings?
