In non-traditional versions of Big Bang theory (known as "inflationary" models), inflation ended at a temperature corresponding to roughly 10 seconds after the Big Bang, but this does not imply that the inflationary era lasted less than 10 seconds. To explain the observed homogeneity of the universe, the duration in these models must be longer than 10 seconds. Therefore, in inflationary cosmology, the earliest meaningful time "after the Big Bang" is the time of the end of inflation.