Robert Wilson: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Robert Wilson, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

Two engineers tried to fix noise in their antenna and found the echo of the Big Bang
In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson kept picking up a faint, uniform hiss in a radio antenna in New Jersey no matter where they pointed it. After ruling out pigeon droppings an…
— Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, A Measurement of Excess Antenna Temperature at 4080 Mc/s
Two engineers cleaning pigeon mess off an antenna had found an echo of the Big Bang
In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson kept picking up a faint hiss in their radio antenna and cleaned out nesting pigeons trying to eliminate it. It wasn't equipment trouble — it…
— Arno Penzias, Robert Wilson, A Measurement of Excess Antenna Temperature at 4080 Mc/s

Five ideas worth knowing, every week