3D

3-D Print a Tiny Universe

   

The Cosmic Microwave Background or CMB is the glow the universe have been emitting in the microwave range. Scientist have mapped this when it became visible instead of a fog of plasma radiation.The CMB formed when the universe was 380,000, which makes it the oldest light in the universe.

A satellite in space is making very detailed maps of the CMB, which gives astronomers clues to the early universe. Unfortunately in this case, the more detailed they become the hard it becomes to read the maps. The more detailed they become the harder it becomes to make them on a flat surface because the detailed maps are easily distorted.

To figure out an easier way to read them, Dr Dave Clements from the Department of Physics at Imperial, and two final-year undergraduate students in Physics, have created the plans for 3D printing the CMB. A paper describing the process is published today in the European Journal of Physics.

The reason they chose a 3-Dmodel is because it brings in that extra sense of touch, you can feel the lumps which represtent heat, which makes it easier to desifer where the hot and cold spots are.

To learn about the process you could watch this video: http://phys.org/news/2016-10-physicists-d-baby-universe.html