The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect is a phenomenon in astrophysics that describes the scattering of cosmic microwave background radiation by hot gas in clusters of galaxies. When this radiation passes through the intergalactic medium of a galaxy cluster, it is scattered by high-energy electrons in the hot gas, causing a distortion in the background radiation known as Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. This effect can be used to study the physical properties of galaxy clusters, such as their mass, temperature, and density, and is an important tool for cosmology and understanding the large-scale structure of the universe. Researchers use observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, along with other data, to study the evolution of galaxy clusters, the distribution of dark matter, and the growth of large structures in the universe.