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Nobel Prizes and Laureates

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2006
John C. Mather, George F. Smoot

Nobel Lecture

Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Anisotropies: Their Discovery and Utilization

George Smoot held his Nobel Lecture December 8, 2006, at Aula Magna, Stockholm University. He was presented by Professor Per Carlson, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics.

Summary: A detailed account is given of the search for anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation. The COBE satellite, launched in 1989, found very small differences between the temperatures of the cosmic microwave background radiation in different directions. Small fluctuations, of the order of parts per million, were found. These are expected to make up the seed for the formation of structures in the galaxy, giving strong support for the Big Bang theory.

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From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 2006, Editor Karl Grandin, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 2007

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MLA style: "George F. Smoot - Nobel Lecture: Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Anisotropies: Their Discovery and Utilization". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 19 Jun 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2006/smoot-lecture.html>

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