Convection is the process in which heat is carried by parcels of moving fluid. For example, heating a pan of water causes the lowermost layer of fluid to expand and become less dense, making it rise and carry its heat upward. Upcoming article in Physical Review Letters . For example, big blobs in the CMB map imply a large value for omega, which in turn suggests the universe will collapse.
Small blobs imply a smaller omega and an expanding universe.
Higher resolution samplings of tiny portions of the CMB, such as that made with the Saskatoon detector in northern Canada, observe blobs at a size that stands midway between that corresponding to an open and shut universe. The new data should settle the matter. Just type in a term or expression and up come references to items in past Updates. All past Updates can be viewed by going to the archives. See also Physics News Graphics , our growing archive of physics figures, most of which accompany Update items.