Evidence for a very early "super rapid" inflation of the universe is that the 3-K radiation from opposite sides of the sky (180 degrees about 28 billion light years apart) is of nearly ________ intensity. Time for light to travel this distance is ________ the age of the universe in years.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A because the intensity of the 3-K radiation from opposite sides of the sky is nearly equal, which suggests that those regions were in contact before the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) was emitted. According to the current understanding of the universe, this is only possible if there was a phase of inflation that occurred shortly after the Big Bang, during which the universe underwent an exponential expansion that smoothed out its early irregularities. The time for light to travel 180 degrees about 28 billion light years apart is greater than the age of the universe in years, which is estimated to be about 13.8 billion years. This is possible because during inflation, the universe expanded so rapidly that distant regions were brought into contact before the radiation could travel between them.

Evidence for a Very Early "Super Rapid" Inflation of the Universe