ffect should be seen as a peak in the CMB spectrum. This will tell scientists how long ago ionization happened. Scientists are also looking for gravitational waves which might tell if inflation is a correct theory.
In 2001, scientists unveiled what was hailed as the first credible alternative to the big bang theory (Seife 189). Inflation theory had been popular since it was put forward by physicist Alan Guth in the early 1980s to solve several problems with the big bang theory. It explained why the universe was flat and has roughly the same properties everywhere. It proposed that the early universe went through a violent and rapid expansion which resulted in the flatness and isotropy that exists. Almost every cosmologist accepts this theory.
The new model is based on string theory known as M-theory, which takes place in 11 dimensions, six of which are rolled up and can be ignored (Seife 190). It is proposed by physicist Paul Steinhardt and his student Justin Khoury, of Princeton University. Two perfectly fl
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