Discovery of the Hot Big Bang: What happened in 1948
arXiv:1310.2146 · doi:10.1140/epjh/e2014-50002-y
Abstract
The idea that the universe is filled with the thermal radiation now termed the Cosmic Microwave Background was first discussed in eleven publications in the year 1948. These papers offer a detailed example of the process of development of a new and now very productive line of research, and of the confusion that can attend new ideas. The confusion in this case left a common misunderstanding of the considerations that motivated the idea of the sea of radiation.
A 24-page preprint; version 2 has additions, revisions and corrections to version 1