Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Explained in Simple Words
By Science ABC
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The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is faint microwave radiation filling the entire universe, considered the "afterglow" or "echo" of the Big Bang. For the first 380,000 years after its birth, the universe was an incredibly hot, dense plasma where light couldn't travel freely. As it expanded and cooled, electrons and protons combined to form neutral atoms, making the universe transparent. The photons released at this moment, now stretched to microwave wavelengths by the universe's expansion, constitute the CMB. Discovered accidentally in 1965, the CMB is a cornerstone of the Big Bang theory. It exhibits remarkable uniformity across the sky, with tiny temperature fluctuations. These minute variations are crucial, as they represent the initial density differences in the early universe, which eventually grew into the galaxies and large-scale structures we observe today. Studying the CMB provides invaluable insights into the universe's age, composition (including dark matter and dark en
Tags: Big Bang Theory, cosmic microwave background, CMB, universe expansion, Hubble's Law, Arno Penzias, Robert Wilson, Edwin Hubble, Robert Dicke, early universe, NASA, first atoms, radiation spectrum, electromagnetic spectrum, Ralph Alpher, George Gamow, Robert Herman, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Princeton University, photon travel
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