I can’t get my head around how we measured the radiation from the Big Bang in order to discover how old the universe really is. How does that specific radiation differ from many other types of radiation? Newest findings suggest that the age of the universe has been mistaken not because of an error in calculations, but because of some kind of error in the understanding of the nature of cosmos itself. While I will probably not think up anything remotely usefull to anybody, I’d like to understand this part – please help a humble redditor.
In: Physics
Imagine the big bang less like a bomb, spitting out debris into empty space, more like a balloon being blown up.
Now mark two points on a balloon as you blow it up, as the balloon expands the marks stay where they are (as in they’re on the same atoms that make up the balloons skin) but they appear further apart.
Now imagine you’re an ant trying to travel between those two marks as the balloon expands. This is what light is.
Now imagine a whole colony of ants swarming around the balloon as you blow it up, even though your balloon is getting bigger there are still ants moving around everywhere.
The balloon represents space, the ants represent the photons.
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