Microwaves Are Everywhere “CMB: Hiding in Plain Sight”

This article is the first in a continuing series of general interest papers on the applications of microwaves in areas of science and technology that might not be evident to the casual observer. What better topic to start the series than an introduction to the most pervasive microwave field in the universe: the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The prediction, discovery, and importance of the CMB from a microwave engineering perspective are reviewed and discussed.