This Is How Your Old Television Set Can Prove The Big Bang

For many years, one of the most significant predictions of the Big Bang theory faced skepticism. Surprisingly, the answer was accessible on Channel 3.

Understanding the origins of our Universe has long been a pursuit of philosophers, theologians, and poets. However, the 20th century marked a pivotal shift as advances in theoretical, experimental, and observational physics brought these inquiries into the scientific arena.

The convergence of cosmic expansion, the early proportions of light elements, the large-scale structure of the Universe, and the cosmic microwave background collectively supported the Big Bang theory as the origin of our Universe. Although the cosmic microwave background was not detected until the mid-1960s, an astute observer could have identified it on a standard television set.

To grasp how this phenomenon works, we must first understand what the cosmic microwave background is. Observations of our Universe reveal approximately 2 trillion galaxies. Nearby galaxies bear similarities to our own, populated by stars akin to those in the Milky Way.

This similarity suggests that the same physical laws govern these galaxies. Their stars are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and their atomic behavior aligns with the quantum principles observed in our galaxy. However, a notable difference exists in the light we perceive. Unlike the atomic spectral lines from our galaxy, light from distant stars exhibits shifted atomic transitions.

These shifts vary by galaxy but follow a consistent pattern: the greater the distance of a galaxy, the more pronounced the redshift of its spectral lines. This observation led to various explanations, including light scattering by intervening matter or galaxies receding from a massive explosion. However, the prevailing theory posits that the very fabric of space is expanding, causing light from distant galaxies to shift more as it travels through this expanding Universe.

The conclusion that emerged from these studies indicated that space itself is stretching over time. As we observe light from increasingly distant objects, the wavelengths become longer and the light shifts towards the red spectrum. This implies that, looking back in time, we would witness radiation with shorter wavelengths, higher temperatures, and greater energy.

Theoretical advances enabled scientists like George Gamow in the 1940s to extrapolate this property, suggesting that at a specific threshold temperature, radiation would be energetic enough to ionize neutral hydrogen atoms, the fundamental components of stars and the universe.

This transition from an ionized state to one filled with neutral atoms marked a significant era in the Universe's history. In the early Universe, photons scattered off electrons at a high rate. Once neutral atoms formed, radiation could travel unobstructed, merely affected by the expansion of space.

This realization led to the understanding that present-day radiation has cooled from thousands of Kelvin to just a few degrees above absolute zero, emanating as a background signal from all directions. This radiation should exhibit specific spectral characteristics, resembling a blackbody distribution, detectable in the microwave to radio frequency range.

Light encompasses more than the visible spectrum; it includes various wavelengths, frequencies, and energies. As the Universe expands, light shifts to longer wavelengths. Ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light from billions of years ago is now observed as microwave and radio waves.

In the 1960s, a team at Princeton, including Bob Dicke, Jim Peebles (who received this year's Nobel Prize), David Wilkinson, and Peter Roll, aimed to detect this theoretical radiation with a specialized radiometer.

However, 30 miles away, two scientists were struggling with their radio antenna, detecting an omnipresent, cold noise that they couldn't explain. Upon consulting with the Princeton team, they realized this noise was the remnant glow of the Big Bang.

Subsequent measurements confirmed that the cosmic microwave background matched the Big Bang predictions. Specifically, it conformed to a blackbody distribution peaking at 2.725 K and remained remarkably consistent across the Universe.

From a contemporary perspective, we understand that the cosmic microwave background radiation, which validated the Big Bang theory, could have been detected across various wavelengths had the signals been appropriately analyzed.

Interestingly, a simple yet ubiquitous device, the television set, became widely available in households after World War II.

Televisions operate by receiving powerful electromagnetic waves transmitted by towers, which are captured by antennas. These waves carry audio and visual signals, allowing viewers to enjoy programming at home. Different channels broadcast at varying wavelengths.

However, Channel 03 simply displays “static” or “snow.” This "snow" consists of various signals:

• Human-made radio transmissions
• Solar radiation
• Cosmic events, including black holes and pulsars

If one could filter out these other signals, a persistent signal remains—about 1% of the total static—originating from the Big Bang's residual glow.

If you were to operate a television on the Moon, shielded from Earth’s signals, you would still observe this persistent snow-like signal. This static is unalterable, indicating it is from the cosmic microwave background.

Through proper measurement and analysis, anyone could have detected the cosmic microwave background at home, providing evidence for the Big Bang long before scientists officially did.

In a world where experts often advise against conducting experiments at home, this is one lost technology worth remembering. As Virginia Trimble aptly noted, “Pay attention. Someday, you’ll be the last one who remembers.”