Now, if we combine these two observations—that the Higgs field will stay on the plateau, in the high-energy, negative-pressure state, only for the briefest of instants, and that while it is on the plateau, the repulsive outward push it generates is enormous—what do we have? Well, as Guth realized, we have a phenomenal, short-lived, outward burst. In other words, we have exactly what the big bang theory was missing: a bang, and a big one at that.
