Findings presented at the American Physical Society April, 2001 meeting further confirm the Big Bang model of the creation of the universe. Three independent experiments, Boomerang, Maxima, and DASI projects, confirmed that sizes of temperature fluctuations in the microwave background radiation are consistent with the theoretically predicted variations.

According to the so-called Big Bang theory the universe was created 12 to 15 billion years ago by the "big bang" explosion. The intense heat of the explosion is still detectable as microwave radiation known as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), discovered in 1965 by radio telescope. Theorists predicted a series of "structures" in the CMB. Small variations in the density of matter in the years after the big bang resulted in patterns of ripples in the background radiation. The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite based experiment confirmed evidence of structure in the CMB. Larger ripples were observed, partially confirming the theories. However, the earlier experiments were unable to confirm the presence of smaller ripples also predicted by theory.

There have been some unresolved questions about the big bang theory and the universe. First is whether the universe is "flat" or "curved". Flat does not refer to a two dimensional universe. The curved universe model assumed that standard geometry did not apply; if an object or light beam traveled a sufficient distance in a "straight" line it would eventually wrap around and return to its starting point. The flat model assumed that standard geometry did apply on a cosmic scale. If an object or light beam traveled on a straight line forever it would never return.

The other question was about the continued expansion of the universe. The universe is now expanding, as it has been since the big bang. But will it continue to expand? Or will the gravitational attraction of the mater in the universe cause the expansion to end and a contraction to occur, resulting in a "big crunch", the opposite of the big bang? Perhaps then another big bang would occur, in a never ending cycle of expansions and contractions. The other viewpoint is that the universe will continue to expand forever with no contraction. The big bang would have been the beginning of the universe, not just the most recent in an infinite series of bangs and crunches.

Previous experiments provided evidence that the universe is flat and will continue to expand. The three recent experiments provided further evidence that the universe is "flat", and that the universe is will continue to expand.

The Boomerang (Balloon Observations of Millimetric Extragalactic Radiation and Geophysics) project suspended a radio telescope by balloon twenty two miles above the Antarctic.

The Maxima (Millimeter Anisotropy eXperiment Imaging Array) experiment also used a balloon to suspend a radio telescope

The DASI (Degree Angular Scale Inteferometer) project is ground based, located at an observatory at the South Pole.

Boomerang involves physicists from Italy, Canada, the UK, and the US. Both the DASI and the Maxima projects are only US supported.