An Amazing New Discovery -- We Hope

It might seem strange that a number of fundamental ideas, or theories, about the universe have been around for many years, but still haven't been proved beyond a doubt. One of the major ones is the Big Bang theory, in other words the idea that the universe began as an explosion 13.8 billion years ago -- in particular, that it began as a tiny point that expanded very rapidly. Another fundamental prediction is that the universe is filled with gravitational waves -- waves that are emitted when matter is accelerated. It was predicted by Einstein many years ago. And in the 1980's an inflationary version of the Big Bang theory was put forward. It assumed that in the very early stages of its expansion the universe exceeded the speed of light.
     A team of researchers headed by John Kovac of the Harvard=Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has recently made a discovery that could prove that all three of these ideas are indeed valid. Their experiment was set up at the south pole, and it consists of an instrument for measuring minute distortions in the cosmic background radiation that permeates the universe. And indeed they have found a small ripple that may have been produced in the early stages of inflation shortly after the Big bang began. If it is verified it will be a momentous discovery, and indeed several teams are now trying to repeat it.