What is Cosmic Mircowave Background or CMB?

http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/wmap.jpg

Image Source

Cosmic Microwave Background or CMB is the Model of The Universe just about 400,000 years after the Big Bang. According to Big Bang Theory our Universe started about 14.5 Billions years ago with a big bang (expansion) from nothingness. It came into existence as an infinitesimally small dot in no time (for me 10ˉ³³ second is no time).

In the beginning the universe was super duper hot (millions of degrees) and it was filled with subatomic particles such as neutrinos, electrons and protons only. There was no atoms formed yet. Not even hydrogen atoms (fuel to form nebulae, galaxies and stars) existed, what existed was freely moving subatomic particles. It was very much like a plasma (did you see the screen of a plasma TV?). It was all Opaque universe. Why? The light particles (photons) have a no way to escape, they have to collide with these subatomic particles so frequent that they have no space to escape. Hence there was nothing transparent yet. It was all plasma soup!

https://steemitimages.com/DQmQHTtCegRKqZHe6GsY2iAmfyNTWEX7nvUgkG5yPzi6n3Q/CMB-1.1.png

The universe was continuously expanding and we know that when plasma expanded it cools down. These cooled down sub sub atomic particles such as neutrinos, positrons and electrons start to come together to form neutrons, protons and atomic nuclei started to take form. As a result the density of the particles (which was freely moving) in the universe dropped drastically. Hence more space for light to move around.

From nuclei, first Hydrogen atoms started to form. In this process those freely moving sub-atomic particles got used big time and their density got reduced by a big number. As a result light got a whole new space to move around and it flashed big once it got this free space to move. This is called the Background Radiation and this radiation, since the formation of the initial atoms, is still propagating smoothly thoroughly in the Universe. Once detected in 1960s scientists named it Cosmic Microwave Background or CMB.

Amazingly the temperature was dropped to 2.7K at this time (with the micro micro deviations). You can see the red dots in the model which represent the hotter areas of the Universe at that time. These minute deviations in the temperatur are the reasons for structures to form in the universe. If the temperature was universal and same all around no structure could have formed as atoms could not have move around.

Finally I can say that those subatomic particles in original plasma became first atoms, the first atoms became nebulae, galaxies, stars, planets, Planet Earth and Humans

CMB first Discovered in 1960s by two scientists Penzias and Wilson

http://physicscentral.com/explore/action/images/microwave-img7.jpg

Image Source

The through study is done by the Plank Satellite and it has presented the perfect model of the universe based on Cosmic Microwave Background Radiations.

http://planck.caltech.edu/images/Planck-600x600.jpg

Image Source

What do you think about my article? Did it give you more knowledge about the origin of Universe? Did it confuse you more? Please leave your feedback in the comment section.

Topics