[Natalie Allen, Cnn Anchor:] All those smart people out there, they're charting ripples in the "cosmic microwave," which seem to support the explosive big bang theory. Now, all day, we've been reading about this story in the newsroom, all of us, and we couldn't understand it. So, we said, Ann, get down here and explain this to us in, oh, about a minute and a half. And she said, no problem. Ann Kellan is here.
[Ann Kellan, Cnn Science Correspondent:] No problem. We're talking about something only a handful of scientists really, really understand. Physicists came up with a theory in the 1980s how the universe was born and how it evolved, and it's called the inflationary theory. Well, with the help of powerful telescopes and highly sensitive detectors, scientists are proving so far that their theory is right. That's really exciting for them. Three teams of scientists have released similar findings about what they call "cosmic microwave background." Now, basically, what they're looking at are microwaves floating around in our universe now that date back to the big bang. Yes, we're looking at 14-billion-year-old microwaves, which is when they say the big bang occurred. That massive explosion that scientists say started it all created intense light and heat, namely, ultraviolet radiation. Conditions were so hot back then, the subatomic particles that existed, like quarks and electrons, couldn't even come together to make atoms, it was that hot back then.
[Allen:] So, OK. Got that?
[Kellan:] I got that.
[Allen:] So, what are they seeing exactly and where do they go from here? Your typical...
[Kellan:] OK, so right, we have it's like a soap opera here. So, we are seeing these subatomic particles that are so hot and they're floating around. Then, 300,000 years after the big bang, things started to cool down a little. So, that's where the subatomic particles started to congeal, and that's where we get the atoms and that's where we start to see the galaxies and everything forming. OK. So, the scientists start using these instruments today, and they start detecting this ultraviolet heat, which has now calmed down and become microwaves, and they're looking at that and detecting those now.
[Lou Waters, Cnn Anchor:] OK. OK.
[Kellan:] All right. So, the sky is we have pictures now. Now they've taken pictures of what the say the sky looked like way back when. All right? We're going to take a look at these pictures. They say this is the early universe. And what we are looking at right now are blobs of plasma, gases of plasma that eventually turned into galaxies and stuff. You might say that these are the universe's early baby pictures, and it gives an idea of how the universe took shape. Now, the cool thing is that scientists had to put this theory they put together this theory back in the '80s, and now these images are confirming that they were right. The blue areas are a little cooler than the redder areas, but it's very hot. What you are looking at is a really, really hot area, and much hotter than our universe is today.
[Waters:] My head is about to explode.
[Allen:] You did a good job.
[Kellan:] I'm trying.
[Waters:] Well, I have a quote from an astronomy professor who says it's always been theoretically compelling, he said it's on very solid experimental grounds. So, we're not going to get to the bottom of this today.
[Kellan:] No, no. There's a lot more they have to do. And basically what they're saying is that the universe is flat, OK? And that it...
[Waters:] We've heard that before, haven't we?
[Kellan:] And that it's expanding. After the big bang, it started expanding. And now looking at these ancient microwaves, they're able to it's helping them determine that, hey, we were pretty right on.
[Allen:] All right.
[Kellan:] Does that help?
[Allen:] That does help. It's intriguing.
[Waters:] Sounds like a big project.
[Allen:] And we'll be back with more in about 10 years.
[Waters:] OK. Watch for Ann Kellan in another 10 years.