Emilio Segre Distinguished Lecture by Andrew Lange: How Did the Universe Begin?
There is strong evidence that the entire Universe sprang from sub-atomic dimensions 13.7 billion years ago in a violent event known as Inflation, but we understand almost nothing of what would have caused this to happen. Scientists around the world are now racing to find important clues in the Cosmic Microwave Background, the faint relic of the primeval fireball that filled the early Universe.
http://www.physics.berkeley.edu
