Inflation and measurement of cosmic bodies

[Negativ3]

TL;DR

Question regarding inflation and the measurement of cosmic bodies

Hi,

Is it true that measurement proves the universe has inflated by 13.8 billion light years, and if so, how do we estimate the age or distance of those measurements?

What's giving me pause is my assumption that the oldest light measured (furthest away) is 13.8 billion light years old, but does that not make that body being measured in the observed position 13.8 billion light years equivalent in the past? Would that body relatively speaking, right now, be 27.6 billion light years away?

Thanks

 

[anorlunda]

Sort of correct, about 45.7 billion light-years away.

But the diameter of the observable universe is tricky to define. There are many logical traps an misconceptions possible. You might try starting here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe

 

[timmdeeg]

Summary:: Question regarding inflation and the measurement of cosmic bodies

Hi,

Is it true that measurement proves the universe has inflated by 13.8 billion light years, and if so, how do we estimate the age or distance of those measurements?

What's giving me pause is my assumption that the oldest light measured (furthest away) is 13.8 billion light years old, but does that not make that body being measured in the observed position 13.8 billion light years equivalent in the past? Would that body relatively speaking, right now, be 27.6 billion light years away?

Thanks

The inflation happened prior to the very hot and very dense state of the universe which we call big bang, about 13.8 billion years back. For more you might like to search ‘cosmological inflation’.

Talking about „light“ you seem to mean the CMB (cosmological microwave background -> easy to search) which was set free about 380000 years after the big bang. This light is *now* about 46 billion light years away from us as can be calculated from our knowledge of the expansion of the universe since then.

Talking about *body* I have no idea what you mean.