Scientist

Robert Woodrow Wilson

1936–present · radio astronomy, cosmology
American radio astronomer, Nobel laureate in Physics (1978) for the joint discovery with Arno Penzias of the cosmic microwave background radiation, which became a key piece of evidence for the Big Bang theory.

Biography

He studied at Rice University and the California Institute of Technology. He worked at Bell Laboratories, where together with Penzias, using a horn antenna, he discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation.

Key discoveries

💡 Initially, Wilson and Penzias thought that the noise in the antenna was caused by pigeon droppings and spent time cleaning it before realizing the nature of the signal.
"He said that they were not looking for it, but it found them."
Concepts
big bangcosmic microwave backgroundexpansion of the universeradio astronomy
Laws
Planck's law
Scientists
Arno PenziasCharles TownesRalph AlpherStephen HawkingEdwin HubbleFred HoyleGeorges LemaîtreAdam Riess

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