A Physics Precis on a magazine article on the Big Bang Theory
"How it All Started"
As early ago as 1964, radio astronomers discovered an odd, seemingly unexplainable hiss picked up by an antenna for a satellite system, regardless of where it was pointed. Eventually, the source of the hiss was finally traced and identified: the radiation left from the cosmic fireball that created the universe, or "cosmic microwave background radiation". In this radiation lies the clues on what conditions were present when the Universe was created, and in predicting its fate. In early May, a team of scientists led by astrophysicist Andrew Lange of the California Institute of Technology and Paolo de Bernadis of the University of Rome conducted an experiment called the "boomerang" experiment to obtain a detailed analysis of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The experiment consisted of launching an enormous sack filled with helium, and, in terms of relativity and perspective, as large as a football field into the sky 23 miles high with a two-ton telescope, circling for 10 days before returning to its original spot. The experiment made use of devices called bolometers and was able to successfully measure temperature differences in the radiation as fine as one hundred-millionth of a degree Celsius. The analysis revealed that the radiation was formed about 300,000 years into the life of the Universe, where it was contained in the cosmos due to the intense heat. When the Universe cooled, the radiation was able to spread rapidly along the Universe, and embed itself, forming the background we receive today. The analysis went on to reveal that galaxies and clusters were formed by bits of matter exerting a gravitation pull on other bits of matter, creating the formation of expanding masses of matter. The conclusion of the analysis showed that the hot spots measured are exactly the right size to warp the universe so that it will continue to expand, and its stars and galaxies continue to drift apart, until the "Big Crunch" (reverse Big Bang), which, due to the density of the Universe, wouldn't happen for another 10 to 20 billion years, at least. The Big Bang theory is one that has been debated for a while in prior years, but with evidence such as this and more recent evidence, cannot be questioned anymore. These revelations are becoming increasingly fascinating and important to the human race as we try to further our voyage into the final great frontier. With experiments such as the Boomerang experiment, we can better understand what we are dealing with, in a sense. Also, using the discoveries from experiments such as these, it is conceivable that we could begin to analyze and identify the "ingredients" composing the Universe, and thus, begin to attempt to answer the second biggest question plaguing our astro-scientific world today: "Are we alone in the Universe?"