how long was the universe alive for?

Question: how long was the universe alive for?
- Keywords:
  big bang,
  space,
  universe
Asked by asiansupreme to Anil, Blanka, Cees, Emma, Mike on 26 Jun 2012.
- Cees Van der Land answered on 26 Jun 2012:
  
  I assume by “alive” you “existed” unless you consider the universe to be an organism? Most scientists agree that the universe is around 13750000000 (13.75 billion) years old.
  
  It all started with a big bang (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhTSfOZUNLo) and by measuring (among other things) the leftover heat from this bang we can get the cooling time since the bang, the age of the universe.
  
  Somebody also asked about the big bang theory, here’s more info:
  
  What actually is the big bang theory?? 🙂 What is your opinion on it?? 🙂
- Blanka Sengerova answered on 26 Jun 2012:
  
  Yes, according to the recent estimates the Big Bang, which is thought to be the beginning of the universe as we know it, occured around 13,75 billion years ago. But Cees has already said it more eloquently.
- Emma Trantham answered on 5 Jul 2012:
  
  Thanks Cees and Blanka – I couldn’t remember this

Question: how long was the universe alive for?