Lecture · MIT
18. Cosmic Microwave Background Spectrum and the Cosmological Constant, Part I
MIT OpenCourseWare · Alan Guth
From MIT 8.286 The Early Universe (Fall 2013), the story behind this section's satellite callout: from 23:17 Alan Guth goes from Penzias and Wilson's single frequency to a 1987 rocket result well above the blackbody curve, then to COBE (32:12), its 1990 preprint and the standing ovation for John Mather. At 36:37 he turns to the spectrum's shape, writes it per unit frequency (38:51) and at 40:00 notes the extra factor needed per unit wavelength, section 2's warning in action; the segment ends near 42:40, and the rest of the lecture is about the cosmological constant.