Cosmic Inflation: The Universe’s First Split Second

Cosmic inflation describes a sudden, exponential expansion of the universe right after the Big Bang.
It occurred within the first trillionth of a trillionth of a second after creation.
During inflation, the universe grew faster than the speed of light—not objects, but space itself.
Inflation explains why the cosmos looks smooth and uniform on large scales.
Tiny quantum fluctuations during inflation became the seeds of galaxies.
It also solves the “horizon problem”—why distant parts of the universe share the same temperature.
Inflation predicts a flat universe, matching observations of the cosmic microwave background.
The idea was first proposed in the early 1980s by physicist Alan Guth.
Scientists search for evidence of inflation in subtle patterns of polarized CMB light.
Inflation remains a leading theory, though its exact mechanism is still unknown.