In July 1925—exactly a century ago—famed physicist Werner Heisenberg wrote a letter to his equally famous colleague, Wolfgang Pauli. In it, Heisenberg confesses that his “views on mechanics have become more radical with each passing day,” requesting Pauli’s prompt feedback on an attached manuscript he’s considering whether to “complete…or to burn.” That was the Umdeutung […]
Radical New Theory Rewrites the Story of the Earliest Universe
Following the Big Bang, our universe expanded at an exponential rate. According to this theory, known as cosmic inflation, the explosive growth produced tiny quantum fluctuations that later evolved into galaxies. Cosmic inflation neatly explains how our universe got so large and mostly homogenous, and that’s why it’s remained a strong theory in cosmology for […]