As far as I can tell, they both refer to the rapid expansion of the early universe. What’s the difference, then?
In: Physics
The wikipedia page on cosmic inflation makes a pretty clear distinction between the big bang singularity, an instantaneous appearance of “stuff” and the inflation of space in the short time following.
They’re both distinct stages of early universe theory. They sort of go together (it’s hard to imagine inflation without a big bang, and vice versa)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_(cosmology)
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