A long long time ago, no one can remember when, the universe did something quite
odd, it came into being. Standard cosmology indicates that in the past the
universe was hot. The energy density contained in radiation matched that
contained in matter. This equilibrium was momentary. The initial conditions
produced an expanding universe. A cooling universe. Today the average
temperature of the universe is a fraction above 2.7 Kelvin. At this
temperature the photons are microwaves. Microwave radiation can be picked up by
a television set as static. When you get a page of static about half of the
signal is coming straight from the Big Bang. There are fluctuations in the
signal. Although these fluctuations are on the order of 10 exp -5 of a degree
Kelvin, if you wish, you can choose to think that your television set is
flickering to the beat of the Universe. The universe is flickering like my
television set.