By Nicholas Klacsanzky
Something has always existed. According to physics, there can never be true physical nothingness—though there can be times when existence resembles nothing, such as a vacuum (the state of minimum possible energy) (Phys.org). Creating a space where there are no quantum fluctuations requires an enormous amount of energy, and there would be a remnant of that energy in that space afterwards if the fluctuations were flushed out, plus an unstable environment (1veritasium). Even on computers, deleted data is not actually tossed away, by rather written over. The fact that there can never be nothingness means the universe, and anything possibly beyond it, is eternal, as something has always been around. Whatever we consider to be before the Big Bang—God, the universe in infinitesimal form, or both—one thing is certain: it was there.
Consider that for a moment: everything we see around us is assumed to have had a cause and is contingent upon something else. However, when it comes to existence itself, it takes on the opposite. It’s mind boggling to think that something has always been and always will be. It goes contrary to what we experience in our lives. But somehow, it’s possible. It also implies that cause is a misnomer: if existence is eternal, then cause is not all that important. Existence, without a beginning or end, continues to change its form. In addition, the concept of time has to be thrown out as well if we consider the nature of the universe. Without a beginning or end to existence, time is rendered irrelevant. Sure, it is a useful tool in our daily lives, but it is not a universal fact. Time is just our perception of duration within an eternal universe.