IUPAC definition. polymerization: The process of converting a monomer or a mixture of monomers into a polymer. An example of alkene polymerization, in which each styrene monomer's double bond reforms as a single bond plus a bond to another styrene monomer.
There is evidence to indicate the Big Bang may have resulted from another, earlier universe collapsing in on itself, rather than from expanding from a point on infinitely hot and dense material. Instead, the universe appears to be going through constant phases of expansion (as it is at present) and contraction in a never-ending cycle. This theory of universe formation, known as the Big Bounce, was first proposed almost a century ago.
In that case, there would be no beginning whatsoever â just an ever-evolving story of which weâre catching a mere glimpse. âWe have very good evidence that there was a Big Bang, so the universe as we know it almost certainly started some 14 billion years ago. But was that the absolute beginning, or was there something before it?â asks Alexander Vilenkin, a cosmologist at Tufts University near Boston.