> I'm picturing more of an explosion in empty space.
No, that's not what the big bang is.
> this would imply a "center" to the explosion, which I've also heard is not the case
That's correct. The big bang does not work like anything ordinary that you are used to imagining. The math is straightforward and unambiguous, but there is no good ordinary language description that corresponds to the math.
No, that's not what the big bang is.
> this would imply a "center" to the explosion, which I've also heard is not the case
That's correct. The big bang does not work like anything ordinary that you are used to imagining. The math is straightforward and unambiguous, but there is no good ordinary language description that corresponds to the math.