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3/4: This file details Steady State theory creation, Hoyle's element theory, coining "Big Bang," and CMB discovery. Fred Hoyle, Bondi, and Gold conceived Steady State theory after watching The Dead of Night (1946/47). Their model proposed continuous creation via quantum uncertainty. Hoyle solved carbon formation: two helium atoms form unstable Beryllium-8, briefly uniting with third helium to forge Carbon-12. Hoyle predicted carbon's specific energy level, which Willie Fowler at Caltech verified. Hoyle coined "Big Bang" derisively on BBC radio, mocking single-blast creation. Gamow and Ralph Alpher called initial substance "ylem." Hoyle and Gamow met in 1956 La Jolla, discussing universe temperature; Hoyle believed near 0 Kelvin, Gamow preferred 10 Kelvin. In 1964, Penzias and Wilson at Bell Labs accidentally discovered persistent background radiation—the Cosmic Microwave Background—proving the Big Bang that Gamow sought.
Flashes of Creation: George Gamow, Fred Hoyle, and the Great Big Bang Debate, by Paul Halpern

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