Science & Nature · 2
Which two Bell Labs scientists accidentally discovered the Cosmic Microwave Background in 1964 while trying to eliminate persistent radio static?
Answer
Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were testing a horn antenna for satellite communication when they detected an unexplained background noise, which turned out to be the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation left over from the Big Bang. They received the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery.
💡 Did you know?
The Cosmic Microwave Background—proof of the Big Bang—was accidentally detected in 1964 by radio static that couldn't be eliminated from an antenna.
Other options people guess
- Edwin Hubble and Georges Lemaître
- Fred Hoyle and Thomas Gold
- Alan Guth and Andrei Linde
Topics
- space
- cosmology
- big-bang
- 20th-century
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