hi-- i highly recommend the book "shadows of creation" by michael riordan & david schramm. it's an intro to cosmology popular book. also check out the boomerang webpage: http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~boomerang/index.html
especially the cmb fact sheet on the press page. you can also check out my home page:
http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~coble/

hope this helps,
kim coble

On Sat, 14 Oct 2000, Stephanie Cox wrote:
> hey that's sounds interesting to read about, where can
> I find more info?
> ~stephanie
>
> --- Claudine Kavanagh <KLAVAK@excite.com> wrote:
> > On Sat, 14 Oct 2000 15:41:36 PDT, Angela Magee
> > wrote:
> >
> > > What does that the universe in geometrically flat mean?
> >
> > good question, angela.
> >
> > i'll answer it by using a comparison between an
> > infinite flat sheet and globe.
> >
> > if i draw a straight line on a globe, like an orange, i'll eventually come
> > around to meet up where is started again. a line that seems to start off
> > going straight ends up going to back to the beginning point, and it never
> > turned!
> >
> > if i draw a straight line on a flat infinite sheet, it'll never encounter
> > the same starting point again. it'll just go on and on forever _without_
> > intersecting its starting point anywhere, anytime.
> >
> > there was a project that was recently completed at the south pole, using
> > large balloons to hold a telescope aloft long enough to get enough data to
> > answer the question about whether the universe is more like an orange or an
> > infinite flat sheet. the answer might seem obvious..(it's a sheet,
> > right?).. but the Earth (which _is_ round) looks flat from our perspective.
> > so the astronomers on this "BOOMERANG" project in antarctica took data
> > answer the question using pictures of the little fluctuations of the
> > microwave background radiation left over from the big bang. dr. kim coble is
> > a SII associate who's been working on the "BOOMERANG" project and she came
> > to speak at the SII conference in September.
> >
> > if the little fluctuations (the dappled spots representing temperature
> > changes) were sized within one parameter, the universe would be distorting
> > images and showing us that it was "curved." maybe not completely like an
> > orange, but something like that. specifically, the way they could tell is
> > related to the internal angles of a triangle. draw a triangle on an orange
> > and the interior angles **don't** meet up to 180 degrees like they would in
> > a flat sheet. the same would be true for a larger object, like the vast
> > expanse of space.
> >
> > but the BOOMERANG scientists found that the fluctuations were smaller than
> > the size projected for a "curved" universe. so they concluded that the
> > geometery of the larger universe is flat.
> >
> > so, this finding was announced on the national news because it was a major
> > discovery. many reporters said: "the universe is like a pancake." the
> > _oregonian_ ran an editorial cartoon of angels playing billiards on a FLAT
> > table. (get it?) but those pictures are not really true, either. i can
> > still move up and down and all around in three spatial dimensions. i can
> > also move forward in time, a fourth dimension. there are lots of dimensions
> > for all kinds of movement, but a ray of light going away from me will always
> > go away from me.
> >
> > there are tons more details about this study and they can be found at:
> >
> http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~ruhl_lab/boom/BoomFont.html
> > there's even a primer for non-scientists, if you want more info.
> >
> > hope this helps.
> >
> > anyone else have something to add, or i forgot to mention?
> > claudine
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > | Claudine Kavanagh |
> > | Program Coordinator |
> > | Science Integration Institute |
> > | office: 503) 848-0280 |
> > |