Big Bang under the microscope
Scientists have replaced the telescope by the microscope: Using the similarities between the structure of a crystal and the state of the cosmos in the early universe, they have explored a yet unconfirmed phenomenon, the formation of cosmic strings. These so-called “topological defects” are believed to have formed as the universe expanded shortly after the Big Bang.
Studying the formation and early development of the universe is difficult as neither can be recreated in the laboratory. Instead, cosmologists and astrophysicists depend on gigantic telescopes orbiting in space. With these, they observe the cosmic microwave radiation, which is a kind of echo of the Big Bang and can reveal important information about early universe processes. But recently materials scientists have entered the field of cosmology and gained new insights using more simple earth-based supercomputers and microscopes. This is the case with Nicola Spaldin, Professor for Materials Theory and Manfred Fiebig, Professor for Multifunctional Ferroic Materials at ETH Zurich. Read more