which of the following is an accurate description of cosmic microwave background radiation?
CMB is remnant radiation from the big bang
CMB increases across the universe
CMB is constantly generated by stars
CMB produces differing temperatures across the universe
The accurate description of cosmic microwave background radiation is that it is remnant radiation from the big bang.
Pick one more
CMB produces differing temperatures across the universe.
The accurate description of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is that it is remnant radiation from the Big Bang. It is the oldest light in the universe, dating back to about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. It is observed as a faint glow of microwaves permeating throughout the entire universe. The other options mentioned, such as CMB increasing across the universe, CMB being constantly generated by stars, or CMB producing differing temperatures across the universe, are not accurate descriptions of CMB.
The accurate description of cosmic microwave background radiation is that it is remnant radiation from the Big Bang. To arrive at this answer, we can eliminate the other options by understanding the characteristics of CMB.
The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is the afterglow of the Big Bang, the hot and dense state the universe was in about 13.8 billion years ago. As the universe expanded and cooled down, the radiation left over from the initial explosion stretched out, shifting from a hot and bright state to a cool and faint state. Today, this radiation is observed as a faint microwave signal that permeates the entire universe uniformly.
Now, let's examine the remaining options:
- CMB increases across the universe: This statement is incorrect because CMB is observed to be uniform in all directions and does not increase or decrease across the universe.
- CMB is constantly generated by stars: This statement is also incorrect because CMB is not generated by stars. It is a remnant from the early stages of the universe and is not produced by ongoing stellar processes.
- CMB produces differing temperatures across the universe: This statement is not entirely accurate. While it is true that there are small variations in the temperature of the CMB across the universe, these variations are incredibly subtle (on the order of a few parts in 100,000). Overall, the CMB is considered to have a very consistent temperature of about 2.7 Kelvin.
Therefore, the accurate description of cosmic microwave background radiation is that it is remnant radiation from the Big Bang.