Introduction to Geochemistry
Introduction to Geochemistry
Introduction to Geochemistry
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Cosmic microwave radiation<br />
! Discovered by accident in 1965 by Penzias and Wilson<br />
• Won Nobel prize in 1978 for discovery<br />
• Universe is permeated by microwave radiation at a blackbody<br />
temperature of ~2.7 K<br />
• Remnant from when universe became transparent…<br />
wavelengths are stretched out by cosmic expansion since then<br />
• Max Planck equation for blackbody radiation<br />
! max = 0.29/T<br />
! Radiation varies slightly in temperature throughout the<br />
universe<br />
• Due <strong>to</strong> quantum fluctuations in the vacuum energy, occurring in<br />
the first fraction of a second<br />
• Inflation fixed these fluctuations in place on a cosmic scale
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