Structure formation refers to a largely unsolved, but extensively researched problem in physical cosmology. The universe, as is now known from observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation, began in a hot, dense, nearly uniform state approximately 13.8 Gyr ago. However, looking in the sky today, we see structures on all scales, from stars and planets to galaxies and, on much larger scales still, galaxy clusters, and enormous voids between galaxies. How did all of this come about from the nearly uniform early universe?
Read more about Structure Formation: Overview, Very Early Universe, Primordial Plasma, Linear Structure, Nonlinear Structure, Gastrophysical Evolution
Famous quotes containing the words structure and/or formation:
“When a house is tottering to its fall,
The strain lies heaviest on the weakest part,
One tiny crack throughout the structure spreads,
And its own weight soon brings it toppling down.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
“The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)