Inflation — not just of the economy

The fact, that more galaxies, planets and stars are being created is not only astounding but also self-reflective.

Last week, the media was abuzz with a new insight into the Big Bang Theory. Events succeeding moments after the Big Bang had been proven and accounted for; it was revealed that the universe did indeed undergo ‘inflation’ — which till recently was only a theory. In astronomical terms, inflation is defined as the three-dimensional expansion of the universe after its creation.

We know so far that the Big Bang explains the creation of the universe, encompassing galaxies to the tiniest of atoms. Thus, according to whatever physics we know so far, this universe came into existence following an explosion and galaxies, stars and planets formed once the universe cooled down. But, even before this discovery, physicists spent years researching the creation of the universe, but no theory could garner substantial proof of astronomical events that occurred millions of years ago.

So how was the phenomenon of inflation proved? As explained by the Theory of Inflation, energy from the Big Bang was dissipated as microwaves, causing a ripple in space and time, triggering inflation. But this was just in ‘theory’. Astrophysicists invested years of research into locating these microwaves, which left a specific pattern after their generation.  The BICEP project, headed by Dr John Kuvac, for Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarisation, used a telescope placed at the South Pole to search for this pattern in two percent of the sky. The discovery of this pattern of microwaves, not only adds credit to the Theory of Inflation, but further corroborates the Theory of Relativity, which stated that energy dissipation as violent as expansion of this universe would generate ripples in space-time, which are called ‘gravitational waves’. Explained simply, it means that the energy dissipated in the creation of the universe was strong enough to trigger a reaction cascade. This energy would repel from its source, causing the expansion and further creation of the universe, in a chain reaction. Inflation also is the basis of the idea, that the expansion of the universe has not ceased, and that more galaxies are being created at any point in time. The fact, that more galaxies, planets and stars are being created as we go about our daily lives, and that they were borne of that one moment millions of years ago, is not only astounding but also self-reflective.

Perhaps while you’re reading this, another galaxy came into existence. How do we value our whole world as what we see with the naked eye, but forget that it is only a fragment of what the universe has to offer.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2014.