Big Bang Breakthrough

[AUChizad]

http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/17/5518346/first-evidence-gravitational-waves-supports-big-bang-inflation

Big Bang breakthrough: astronomers report signs of the universe's creation

By Jacob Kastrenakes on March 17, 2014 01:42

In a potentially stunning new finding, astronomers say that they have seen evidence supporting a key element in the Big Bang theory: a hypothesized period of exponential expansion of the universe known as "inflation" — or, what one researcher calls, "the bang of the big bang." Inflation is believed to have happened in the early slivers of the second during which the universe began, and researchers now say that they have seen the first direct evidence of this expansion. "These results are not only a smoking gun for inflation," Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb says in a statement, "they also tell us when inflation took place and how powerful the process was."

"A "smoking gun" for inflation"

The evidence, the researchers say, is a signal left by ancient gravitational waves that would have marked the universe as a result of the expansion. "Detecting this signal is one of the most important goals in cosmology today," John Kovac, leader of the collaboration between the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the BICEP2 telescope that made the findings, says in a statement. The signal they detected, known as B-mode polarization, was found using a small telescope in the South Pole and appeared as a curl in the cosmic radiation left over from the Big Bang.

Critically, this would also be the first imagery of gravitational waves. As Nature reports, that would make it the first evidence linking gravity to quantum mechanics, which currently explains each of the other fundamental forces. It's theorized that these forces were all combined in the earliest measurable phases of the Big Bang.

"We are convinced by all the studies we've done that this signal is real," researcher Clem Pryke, of the University of Minnesota, said during a presentation discussing the findings. "The most reasonable interpretation of this signal is that it is gravity waves ... and that those gravity waves come from the very tiny tiny fraction of a second just after the beginning." The researchers' findings still have to be confirmed by others, and Pryke says that many looking for the same gravitational signals are already in the works. "They will be confirming our results," he said, pausing to joke, "we hope."

[AUChizad]

http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-detect-echoes-big-bang-151753508.html;_ylt=A0LEV1nwHCdT8nIAsdpXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0cTA1N3VzBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDM4NF8x

Major discovery bolsters Big Bang theory of universe
AFP
By Kerry Sheridan 39 minutes ago

Washington (AFP) - Waves of gravity that rippled through space right after the Big Bang have been detected for the first time, in a landmark discovery for understanding how the universe was born, US scientists said Monday.

The waves are evidence of a rapid growth spurt 14 billion years ago, and provide a long-awaited answer to the last untested element of Albert Einstein's nearly century-old theory of general relativity.

The "first direct evidence of cosmic inflation" was announced by experts at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The discovery was made with the help of a telescope, stationed at the South Pole, that measures the oldest light in the universe.

If confirmed by other experts, some said the work could be a contender for the Nobel Prize.

The waves that move through space and time have been described as the "first tremors of the Big Bang."

Their detection confirms an integral connection between Einstein's theory of general relativity and the stranger conceptual realm of quantum mechanics.

"Detecting this signal is one of the most important goals in cosmology today. A lot of work by a lot of people has led up to this point," said John Kovac, leader of the BICEP2 collaboration at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The telescope's location at the South Pole "is the closest you can get to space and still be on the ground,” said Kovac.

"It's one of the driest and clearest locations on Earth, perfect for observing the faint microwaves from the Big Bang."

- 'Southern hole' -

The telescope targeted a specific area of sky known as the "Southern Hole" outside the galaxy where there is little dust or extra galactic material to interfere with what humans could see with the potent sky-peering tool.

By observing the cosmic microwave background, or a faint glow left over from the Big Bang, small fluctuations gave scientists new clues about the conditions in the early universe.

The gravitational waves rippled through the universe 380,000 years after the Big Bang, and these images were captured by the telescope.

"It's mind-boggling to go looking for something like this and actually find it," Clem Pryke, associate professor at the University of Minnesota, told reporters at an event in Boston to announce the findings.

Rumors of a major discovery began to circulate Friday, when the press conference was first announced.

However, scientists said they spent three years analyzing their data to rule out any errors.

"This has been like looking for a needle in a haystack, but instead we found a crowbar," said Pryke.

Harvard theorist Avi Loeb said the findings provide "new insights into some of our most basic questions: Why do we exist? How did the universe begin?

"These results are not only a smoking gun for inflation, they also tell us when inflation took place and how powerful the process was," Loeb said.

According to theoretical physicist Alan Guth, who proposed the idea of inflation in 1980, described the latest study as "definitely worthy of a Nobel Prize."

"This is a totally new, independent piece of cosmological evidence that the inflationary picture fits together," Guth, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was quoted as telling the journal Nature.

[Snaggletiger]

Sheldon Cooper approves. Bazinga

[AUChizad]

For those interested in reading more, this is a pretty interesting read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/science/space/detection-of-waves-in-space-buttresses-landmark-theory-of-big-bang.html?_r=0

[WiregrassTiger]

For those interested in reading more, this is a pretty interesting read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/science/space/detection-of-waves-in-space-buttresses-landmark-theory-of-big-bang.html?_r=0

Thanks but I need to get home and hoe my wife's cabbage.

[Kaos]

In a potentially stunning new finding, astronomers say that they have seen evidence supporting a key element in the Big Bang theory: a hypothesized period of exponential expansion of the universe known as "inflation" — or, what one researcher calls, "the bang of the big bang." Inflation is believed to have happened in the early slivers of the second during which the universe began, and researchers now say that they have seen the first direct evidence of this expansion. "These results are not only a smoking gun for inflation," Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb says in a statement, "they also tell us when inflation took place and how powerful the process was."

So they have a theory that has no evidence and now suddenly they "discover" evidence to "support" said theory.

Funny how that works. 

Unless you have evidence first and then theory, it's all suspect. 

[AUChizad]

So they have a theory that has no evidence and now suddenly they "discover" evidence to "support" said theory.

Funny how that works. 

Unless you have evidence first and then theory, it's all suspect.

^Doesn't get it.

[CCTAU]

^Doesn't get it.

Gets it fine.

One side understands taking leaps of faith. The other side vomits when it hears the word faith.

[Kaos]

There's a vast difference between saying "This is what I think happened, let me go find evidence that proves my theory" and "After studying the evidence, this is what I think may have happened."

One leads to things like idiotic global warming, cooling, change hysteria.  The other leads to sane, rational thought and understanding. 

[Townhallsavoy]

So they have a theory that has no evidence and now suddenly they "discover" evidence to "support" said theory.

Funny how that works. 

Unless you have evidence first and then theory, it's all suspect.

Mathematics help come up with the hypotheses of astrophysics.  Technology is helping locate the evidence that's needed to be there to come up with the proper conclusion for those mathematical formulas. 

[djsimp]

I'm curious as to why science, math, etc. has to be so vastly separated from God and methods He uses to create a universe.

[Townhallsavoy]

I'm curious as to why science, math, etc. has to be so vastly separated from God and methods He uses to create a universe.

They don't have to be. 

[bottomfeeder]

When I was is college, I had to write a paper on Einstein's cosmological constant. It's an interesting theory that just happens to be true.

[CCTAU]

When I was is college, I had to write a paper on Einstein's cosmological constant. It's an interesting theory that just happens to be true.

My mom was a cosmetologist. I never knew Einstein was also. I mean, you could not tell it by the way he wore his hair...

[GH2001]

They don't have to be.

Nope. But they insist in being at each other's throats. Just like political parties.