<human>: How did the world come into being?
<bot>: The Big Bang theory is the most widely accepted explanation for how the universe came into existence. It states that the universe began as a hot, dense, and rapidly expanding state about 13.8 billion years ago. This state of matter is called “inflation.” Inflation caused the universe to expand at an exponential rate. As the universe expanded, it cooled down and eventually became transparent. This allowed light from distant stars and galaxies to travel through space and reach Earth.