Give a brief description of the Big Bang and describe its link to cosmic microwave background radiation.

The Big Bang is the leading theory on the creation of the universe. It states that all mass and energy were concentrated at a single point before a large explosion occurred, signalling the start of time. In the universe, matter dominated over antimatter. When these two came into contact they annihilated and produced gamma waves until there was no antimatter left.The Big Bang caused a rapid expansion of the universe which in turn cooled it. The gamma waves produced by the matter-antimatter annihilation were therefore cooled to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum (at around 3K). This is what is known as the cosmic microwave background radiation and it saturates the universe. As it is detected in every direction it implies the universe is isotropic and homogeneous which falls in line with the Big Bang theory.

RM
Answered by Rani M. Physics tutor

2956 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

What Newton’s third law of motion?


For 100ml of a liquid with a mass density of 1(kg m^-3), and a specific heat capacity of 2(kJ kg^-1 K^-1), how much energy is required to increase the temperature of the liquid by 4 degrees celsius. Assume no heat loss and that the liquid does not boil.


A piece of card is released from rest at a height of 0.5m above a light gate. It falls freely and a computer measures the velocity as it passes through the light gate to be 3.10m/s. What is the acceleration due to gravity measured by this experiment?


How can we derive the 'suvat' equations of motion v=u+at and s=(u+v)t/2


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning