⚡ THE INFLATIONARY UNIVERSE
PAGE 1 OF 5 — FASTER THAN LIGHT
10⁻³⁶ TO 10⁻³² SECONDS
THE UNIVERSE DOUBLED OVER AND OVER IN AN INSTANT
In the first unimaginably tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang, a burst of energy caused space itself to expand at an extraordinary rate: doubling in size at least 90 times in 10 to the power of minus 32 seconds. This is faster than the speed of light, which is allowed because it was space itself stretching, not matter moving through space. A region smaller than a proton became something larger than our entire observable universe.
🔮 SCALE OF INFLATION
During inflation, the universe grew by a factor of at least 10 to the power of 26. That is 100 million billion billion times larger in a time interval so brief it makes a billionth of a second seem like an eternity by comparison.
EXPAND!
BEFORE
🔮 Before inflation: universe smaller than a proton
🔥 Extremely hot, dense quantum energy
⚡ The inflaton field is in a false vacuum state, ready to release energy
🔥 Extremely hot, dense quantum energy
⚡ The inflaton field is in a false vacuum state, ready to release energy
AFTER
🌟 After inflation: universe 10²⁶ times larger
🌈 Perfectly smooth and uniform in every direction
⚛️ Tiny quantum fluctuations stretched to cosmic scales
🌈 Perfectly smooth and uniform in every direction
⚛️ Tiny quantum fluctuations stretched to cosmic scales