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Chapter 39: Problem 15

Describe the origin of the cosmic microwave background.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the afterglow of the Big Bang, discovered by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in 1965. It originated around 380,000 years after the Big Bang during a period known as recombination when the Universe had cooled down sufficiently to allow protons and electrons to form atoms, leaving photons free to travel. It fills all of space and is considered the most perfect black body in nature.

Step by step solution

01

Explain the Big Bang Theory

About 13.8 billion years ago, the universe began with a big bang, an explosion from a singularity containing a lot of compressed energy. The energy dissipated and the universe cooled, allowing the formation of subatomic particles, and later, atoms. The universe expanded and continues to expand today.
02

Discuss the period of Recombination

Approximately 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the universe cooled sufficiently for atoms to form during a period called recombination. Electrons and protons came together to form hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. This process allowed photons to travel freely, no longer scattering off free electrons, and this is the light we see as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB).
03

Describe the Discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background

Cosmic microwave background (CMB) was unintentionally discovered by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in 1965. They noticed a 'buzz' that turned out to be the CMB, the afterglow light pattern from the Big Bang. They received the Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery in 1978. The cosmic microwave background fills all of space and it is considered as the most perfect black body in nature.

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