Cosmic Inflation

In 1964, scientists discovered a faint radio hiss coming from the heavens and realized that the hiss wasn’t just noise. It was a message from eons ago; specifically the remnants of the primordial fireball, cooled to about 3 degrees above absolute zero. Subsequent research revealed that the radio hiss was the same in every direction. The temperature of the early universe was uniform to at better than a part in a hundred thousand.

And this was weird. According to the prevailing theory, the two sides of the universe have never been in contact. So how could two places that had never been in contact be so similar? One possible explanation was proposed in 1979. Called inflation, the theory required that early in the history of the universe, the universe expanded faster than the speed of light. Confused? Watch this video as Fermilab’s Dr. Don Lincoln makes sense of this mind-bending idea.

[robbiejames]

another concise, simple and informative video. great job!

[Sol]

the comments here are weird. He clearly states that Inflation is not definitive but many Physicists use it to help explain their models. Therefore, the theory is here to stay. So whats the point of calling this theory 'wrong' when no one has ever claimed that its right. Its simply (the) a leading explanation. Nothing more

[md.meharimam]

Thank you fermi lab.. For this informative video. ❤

[-by-_Publishing_LLC]

(2:25) Your "clone scenario" was an excellent way to convey your information.

[jozseforgovan]

Love to watch you-very educational, and visual. Congratulations to you for this talent performance.

[alchemysticwitch]

+Fermilab

I like how you always wear a t-shirt with an image relevant to the subject on it :D

[karlysoriano]

I was having a bad time trying to understand the theory basing myself on scientific papers, this video is my salvation, thank you so much.

[frenzeegabule]

Thank you so much, i have a report right now and i definitely clutch it

[LongLiveEnduro]

Thanks for that. I would be curious about what you think about Sir Penrose CCC. Pos and Cons to Inflation

[davidyeh]

Love Fermilab's corny jokes. (no, not sarcastic)

[MiguelRodriguez-zdtq]

Maybe the universe is way older than currently accepted (13.7 billion years). Or maybe an outside force shook everything uniform. Or maybe there's something going on we have no clue about.

[AlexHop]

Thanks, this really helped explain something that I just couldn't figure out -- how energy increased when space expanded.

[AJoeshful]

Excelente aula, muito esclarecedora. Keep the good work, and greetings from Brazil

[grobbs]

This guy is so cheesy and juvenile, yet for some reason I cannot stop watching your videos!! Keep them up! Thank you

[zimmski]

Amazing video. You guys are getting better with each video :-)

[Uttrediay]

Okay, this shows that Youtube videos sometimes can make things clearer than text. I finally grasp some things about Inflation. Some other things – well maybe some other time.

[motherssmile]

It's only hard to understand how the universe can be uniform in all directions if you assume that the original condition was not uniform. Why do people think this was the case? Maybe everything was uniform to begin with, since all that existed in the beginning - to my knowledge - was energy, and later quarks and so on. If this was the case, then the analogy of dropping two different colours of liquid in the water is wrong, since the beginning condition was uniform. Why do people assume that the condition of the universe in the beginning was not uniform?

[DrFuzzyFace]

Great analysis, Don. As I understand it, finding gravitational waves would be the smoking gun Inflation advocates are waiting for. But as you know, there are other models (besides Inflation) that will explain (1) homogeneity and isotropy, (2) Flatness, where Omega = 1, and (3) the small nonuniformities (10 ppm) owing to quantum fluctuations. The model advanced by Steinhardt and Turok explains what we've observed equally well, but without the fine-tuning Inflation requires. Their model of the cyclic universe (M-theory cosmology or ekpyrotic universe) is an attractive alternative to Inflation.

[brodman]

Good series. (I assume this is a series, it's my first time watching).
Really wish I had a better background in science to understand everything smoothly. But it SOUNDED intelligible, haha.

THanks

[Moleanimationchannel]

Not whether we should believe it or not but whether we should accept it.