Inflationary cosmology refines the prediction of an afterglow by taking into account quantum mechanics, the laws developed in the early decades of the twentieth century to describe physical processes playing out in the microworld. Since we’re focused on the entire universe, something big, you might think the preoccupation of quantum physics with all things small would make it irrelevant. And if it weren’t for inflationary cosmology, your intuition would be on the mark. But much as stretching a piece of spandex reveals the intricate pattern of its stitches, stretching space through a burst of
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