The cosmic microwave background is found to be extremely uniform throughout space, with only very small fluctuations in intensity. The event that produced this remarkable smoothness in the early universe was
A) the occurrence of the Big Bang everywhere in space at the same time.
B) the start of the production of matter in the universe, which smoothed out the irregularities in space.
C) an exemplar of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which prevented the concentration of radiant energy in localized volumes of space.
D) a sudden but brief period of rapid expansion (cosmic inflation) of the universe during the general expansion of the early universe.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The cosmic microwave background's remarkable smoothness, with only minor fluctuations, is attributed to a period of rapid expansion in the early universe known as cosmic inflation. This event stretched and smoothed out any irregularities that existed in the early universe, leading to the uniformity observed in the cosmic microwave background today.

The Cosmic Microwave Background Is Found to Be Extremely Uniform