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Explain what the CMB is and how it was discovered

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Explain what the CMB is and how it was discovered

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Solution

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the residual heat from the Big Bang, which is the event that started our universe. It is a form of electromagnetic radiation that fills the entire universe and can be detected in every direction we look.

The CMB was discovered accidentally in 1965 by two American radio astronomers, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson. They were working on a new type of antenna at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, USA, and were trying to eliminate all sources of noise from it. However, they found a persistent low level noise that was evenly spread across the sky and was not affected by the time of day or year.

After ruling out possible sources such as urban radio interference, radar reflections, or heat from the antenna itself, they realized that what they were detecting might be the afterglow of the Big Bang. They published their findings, which were later confirmed by other scientists.

Penzias and Wilson were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978 for their discovery. The CMB is now a major source of information about the early universe and has been studied in detail by several satellite missions.

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