Modern physics helps us understand cosmic inflation with some important ideas:
Quick Growth: Inflation says that right after the Big Bang, the universe grew really fast—way quicker than the speed of light! This rapid growth happened in just a tiny fraction of a second, from to seconds after the Big Bang.
Uniformity: Inflation helps explain why the universe looks the same in all directions. It stretched little areas that were once close together out over huge distances. This is why we see a consistent temperature of about 2.7 Kelvin in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB).
Tiny Changes: Inflation also suggests that small changes, called quantum fluctuations, happened during this rapid growth. These small changes helped shape the universe we see today, including how galaxies and other structures are spread out.
Energy Source: Finally, inflation points to something called the inflaton field as the source of the universe’s energy. This field has special effects that push things apart. Data from the Planck satellite backs this up by showing that the universe is flat, with a value of about .
Modern physics helps us understand cosmic inflation with some important ideas:
Quick Growth: Inflation says that right after the Big Bang, the universe grew really fast—way quicker than the speed of light! This rapid growth happened in just a tiny fraction of a second, from to seconds after the Big Bang.
Uniformity: Inflation helps explain why the universe looks the same in all directions. It stretched little areas that were once close together out over huge distances. This is why we see a consistent temperature of about 2.7 Kelvin in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB).
Tiny Changes: Inflation also suggests that small changes, called quantum fluctuations, happened during this rapid growth. These small changes helped shape the universe we see today, including how galaxies and other structures are spread out.
Energy Source: Finally, inflation points to something called the inflaton field as the source of the universe’s energy. This field has special effects that push things apart. Data from the Planck satellite backs this up by showing that the universe is flat, with a value of about .