1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 617: The Original Light! The oldest light in the universe! The cosmic microwave background radiation! Shocking the whole audience!
Later scientists obtained more accurate data through theory and experiments on the various periods of the Big Bang proposed by Ridgway.

For example, inflation began 10^-35 seconds after the Big Bang.

At 10^-32 seconds, protons, neutrons and other material particles were formed.

At the third minute, atomic nuclei of light elements such as hydrogen, helium and lithium began to appear.

In the 38th year, neutral atoms were formed, laying the material foundation for today's universe.

and many more.

Although Li Qiwei was unable to give a specific time range based on the existing astronomical observation data.

But his model framework still brought endless shock to everyone present!
The data he thought was rough was extremely detailed in the eyes of others.

It took a long time before the venue finally quieted down.

The way everyone looked at Professor Bruce was as if they were worshipping a god!

Ridgeway continued:
“I am glad that I chose to study astronomy in addition to physics.”

"It is precisely because of my in-depth study of astronomy over the years that I have been able to continuously improve the Big Bang theory."

"From what we just said, everyone should be able to see it."

"If the Big Bang theory is a color picture, there are still many black and white areas."

"For example, the precise time points of each period, how more basic particles formed material particles, how long it has been since the Big Bang, and so on."

“These details need to be completed.”

"I hope that in the future, I can work with you to paint a gorgeous picture of the universe."

Wow!
The scene immediately burst into thunderous applause!

The bosses were excited.

Strictly speaking, to complete the Big Bang theory, we need not only astronomers, but also physicists, chemists, and even biologists.

Because the Big Bang Theory encompasses the entire natural science system!

It requires the wisdom of all disciplines to accomplish.

And Professor Bruce is that leader!

Everyone seemed to see a shocking scene before their eyes:
"Deep in the starry sky, Professor Bruce stands in the air."

"Behind him stood a huge crowd of people, all of whom were seekers of science throughout the ages."

Professor Bruce laughed wildly and shouted: Today, I will prove my truth!

boom!
As everyone was having second thoughts, Li Qiwei continued:
"But before that, there is one thing that is crucial!"

"That's how the Big Bang theory was proven to be correct."

"If the theory itself is wrong, then all efforts are in vain."

“Although Hubble confirmed the expansion of the universe by analyzing data on the movement of galaxies away from the Earth.”

“But I think this is far from enough!”

“We need to verify it in more details.”

"The Big Bang theory about the ultimate fate of the universe must be absolutely correct!"

Wow!
Everyone was infected by Professor Bruce's courage and confidence.

That man will never stop on his journey of pursuing science!

This is a real scientist!
"Based on the cosmic evolution process I just deduced, I propose several solutions that can verify the Big Bang model."

"First."

"During the [nucleosynthesis period], the nuclei of light elements such as hydrogen, helium and lithium are mainly formed."

"According to my theoretical calculations, the abundance ratio of hydrogen to helium should be 3:1."

"So, we only need to estimate the ratio of hydrogen and helium in the universe today, and if it conforms to this ratio, we can judge whether the theoretical prediction is correct or not."

“This is the verification of the abundance of light elements.”

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!
What is dry goods?

This is the most practical stuff!

Professor Bruce even showed them how to verify the Big Bang model of the universe.

If all the predictions of a theory can be verified experimentally, then the theory will be accepted without doubt.

As for estimating the ratio of hydrogen and helium in the universe, it does sound incredible.

But those present were all big names in the field of astronomy, and they could come up with various indirect methods, but it would take a lot of time.

Li Qiwei is only responsible for providing ideas. He will definitely not participate in the specific verification, which is all hard work.

"the second."

“I call it [Verification of Large-Scale Structural Evolution].”

"The largest scale of the universe currently known to the astronomical community is the galaxy."

"But models of the expansion of space during the inflationary period show that there are structures in the universe that are larger than galaxies."

"These large-scale structures can even extend to millions or even hundreds of millions of light years."

"By studying how they form and evolve, we can verify the data on the expansion of space during the period of cosmic inflation."

"Hubble, you can pay more attention to this point. Your research area tends to be on large-scale structures."

Wow!
Everyone was shocked again!
Are there structures in the universe larger than galaxies?
How can this be?

Hubble, however, looked excited. He explained:
"Based on my experimental observations, there may indeed be larger structures in the universe."

"They are galaxy aggregates formed by a group of galaxies of the same level as the Milky Way."

"And above the galaxy clusters, deep in the universe, there are even more terrifying sources of gravity."

"The entire galaxy may be moving toward the source of gravity."

"But my research doesn't have enough data yet, it's just my guess."

hiss!
Everyone was shocked!

They shocked both Hubble's exploration of the field of large-scale structure and Professor Bruce's theoretical prediction of the existence of such structure.

Simply terrible!
Upon hearing this, Li Qiwei thought of the famous question of later generations: [The address of the earth in the universe].

The Sun and eight planets make up the Solar System, which has a diameter of about 1 light year.

Hundreds of billions of star systems similar to our solar system make up the Milky Way, which has a diameter of about 10 light years.

The Milky Way and more than 40 nearby galaxies of the same level, such as the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy, form the Local Group, with a diameter of about 1000 million light-years.

More than 100 galaxy clusters of the same level as the Local Group form the Virgo Cluster, with a diameter of about 1 million light years.

Several structures of the same level as the Virgo Cluster are combined to form the Laniakea Supercluster, with a diameter of about 5 million light-years.

The supercluster looks like a bird's feather, except that each hair is made up of hundreds or thousands of galaxies.

(I like to use this kind of setting to describe powerful beings in my novels.)

The Laniakea Supercluster contains more than 10 galaxies.

However, it is still not the largest structure in the universe.

Above it is the newly discovered largest single structure in the universe: the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall!
The "Great Wall" in astronomy refers specifically to a giant filamentary structure composed of a super large number of galaxies.

In later generations, scientists discovered many Great Walls, and the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall is the largest one among them.

Its diameter exceeds 100 billion light-years, or about one-tenth the size of the observable universe.

It's so scary!
The Laniakea Supercluster is just one corner of the Great Wall. Existing evidence shows that the giant Great Wall appeared only 38 billion years after the birth of the universe.

However, from a theoretical analysis and calculation, the "short" 38 billion years is not enough to form a structure of such a scale.

This incredible astronomical structure contains the secrets of the early birth of the universe and is the key to unlocking the mystery of the Big Bang.

So, now if an alien asks you: Where is the Earth?

You can answer: Universe → Observable Universe → Hercules-Corona Borealis Wall → Laniakea Supercluster → Virgo Cluster → Local Group → Milky Way → Solar System → Earth.

After everyone was shocked, Li Qiwei continued:

"The third."

"In the early stages of the Big Bang, the universe was in an extremely dense plasma state, with space filled with various atomic nuclei, electrons and other substances."

"In this state, photons are unable to propagate freely due to repeated collisions and scattering by charged particles."

“It’s like a photon being trapped.”

"As space continued to expand, in the particle period, as nuclei and electrons began to combine to form atoms, photons could finally propagate freely."

"The light emitted at this time truly reaches every corner of the universe."

"I call it the primordial light, or the oldest light in the universe."

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!

Everyone suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat familiar.

"Isn't this 'God said, let there be light'?"

"Oh my god! Professor Bruce is linking science and religion together."

But everyone quickly calmed down.

Compared with the Big Bang theory, the theory of God creating the world seems much cruder.

Ridgeway continued:
"The wavelengths of these photons are gradually stretched by the expansion of space."

"According to theoretical calculations, the wavelength is now roughly in the microwave range, ranging from 1 mm to 1 cm."

"Most importantly, these primordial lights fill the entire universe!"

"They are like the backdrop of the universe."

"If electromagnetic waves are converted into sound, then they are also the first cry of the birth of the universe."

"So, if we can find traces of the existence of these primordial lights, it will further prove the correctness of the Big Bang model."

"In order to be more scientific, I gave the Primordial Light an academic name."

"Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation!"

hiss!
Everyone looked shocked!

The verification of cosmic microwave background radiation is even more eye-catching than the previous two verifications.

If the evidence is graded in importance, the full score is 10 points.

Then the hydrogen abundance verification is 6 points, and the large-scale structural evolution verification is 4 points.

And the cosmic microwave background radiation is 9 points!
Haier said in disbelief:

"Electromagnetic waves that fill the entire universe?"

“It’s really hard to imagine.”

"I have studied astronomy for decades and have discovered many unknown electromagnetic waves, but I have never seen this kind of microwave."

"If it really exists, it is definitely a great victory for the Big Bang theory!"

What is a great theory?
That is to predict a phenomenon that is bound to exist when no one knows about it or has ever seen it, and it is actually discovered.

There is no doubt that the cosmic microwave background radiation is of this kind.

Moreover, it looks easy to detect.

After all, this kind of electromagnetic wave fills the entire universe and can be detected even on Earth.

In real history, the cosmic microwave background radiation was accidentally discovered by American physicists Penzias and Wilson in 1965.

At first they both thought it was the background noise of the machine or the sky.

However, no matter what noise cancellation methods they used, they could not eliminate the existence of this electromagnetic wave.

The so-called noise can be understood as the "snow noise" that appeared on TV when we were young.

That's because the TV antenna receives unknown electromagnetic waves, and since there is no coding, the TV cannot recognize it.

The two realized the special nature of this electromagnetic wave, so they published a paper and made it public.

Eventually, with the development of the Big Bang theory, the cosmic microwave background radiation explained the radiation problem in the early universe very well.

It is recognized by the academic community as "a milestone in verifying the Big Bang model of the universe."

Penzias and Wilson also won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for this.

In this life, Li Qiwei theoretically predicted the existence of cosmic microwave background radiation in advance, which will greatly accelerate the process of its discovery.

I just don’t know who will be the lucky one.

After everyone exclaimed, Li Qiwei finally concluded:
"These are the three solutions I have come up with to verify the Big Bang."

"If all three scenarios are eventually proven, then combined with the fact that the universe is expanding, we have enough reason to believe in the Big Bang theory."

Everyone nodded.

If this is not proven, it would be too harsh.

In fact, in later generations, the scientific community has reached a consensus on the Big Bang theory.

However, there are still disputes on some details.

“After explaining the puzzle pieces of the Big Bang theory and how to verify it, what remains are the remaining questions about the Big Bang’s existence.”

"Right now, there are three main issues."

"First, what exactly is the state of a singularity? Can it be described using physical laws that humans can understand?"

"Second, what is the mechanism of inflation? Although the inflation model can explain the uniform temperature of the universe, its power source is unknown."

"The Big Bang theory itself doesn't explain it."

“Third, does the multiverse derived from the inflation model exist?”

"The above is my summary report on the Big Bang theory. I hope it can give you some inspiration."

"Let's perfect the theory together and pursue the origin of the universe!"

Snapped!
Everyone stands up!

Thunderous applause suddenly broke out in the conference hall!
All the details of the Big Bang theory, three major verification methods, and the remaining unsolved mysteries.

Professor Bruce systematically expounded the Big Bang theory from three perspectives.

At this moment, even ordinary astronomers have a deep understanding of the Big Bang.

Everyone admires Professor Bruce from the bottom of their hearts.

That man's contribution to astronomy surpassed that of anyone present.

If it weren't for Professor Bruce, we would still be wandering around in the Milky Way, thinking that the Milky Way is the entire universe.

The Big Bang theory was perfected from nothing to something, just as astronomy transitioned from the galaxy to the universe.

After today, mankind will officially enter the era of the universe!
The stars are bright and the soul is infinite!

(End of this chapter)