5 our cosmic origins

Big Questions in Science

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: moving clocks run slower

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4

Big Bang theory: • What it says • Predictions and tests • The first three minutes • Brief history of the universe

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Big Questions in Science, fall 2012. SdH, AUC 5 The Earth, as seen from the Moon, looks like a regular planet. Not special at all!

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-21/shuttle-landing-marks-nasa-shift-to-commercial-space-efforts.html

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Manned missions to Moon, Mars Unmanned:

Curiosity on Mars (August 2012)

Juno will arrive Jupiter 2016

Beyond Pluto

Telescopes and Observatories

Hubble Telescope (Endeavour)

International Space Station

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The universe began at a specific time in the past, and it has been expanding ever since.

Space itself expands:

Raisin-bread analogy

Expanding balloon

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Universal expansion: Hubble’s Law Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Abundance of light elements

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Mount Wilson telescope Hubble found distant galaxies, measured distance. Redshift: colors were shifted towards red.

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Hubble Space Telescope

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http://www.lon-capa.org/~mmp/applist/doppler/d.htm

Waves “pile up” in the direction of the motion.

Frequencies appear higher (shorter wavelengths).

Same effect for stars and galaxies.

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Method can be used to detect exoplanets

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Edwin Hubble 1929

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Universal expansion: Hubble’s Law Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Abundance of light elements

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Penzias and Wilson, 1965

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Universal expansion: Hubble’s Law Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Abundance of light elements

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Stars consist mostly of hydrogen

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http://www.chem.ufl.edu/~itl/2045/lectures/lec_1.html

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cosmological_Composition_%E2%80%93_Pie_Chart.svg

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Big Questions in Science, fall 2012. SdH, AUC 30 http://ut-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/crabnebulawallpaper.jpg

Universal expansion: Hubble’s Law Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Abundance of light elements

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Key concepts at each scale: • Time and space • Density • Temperature • Complexity • Radiation vs. matter • Forces

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A Brief Cosmic History

Gravity Electromagnetic Weak nuclear Strong nuclear

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http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Graphical-timeline-from-Big-Bang-to-Heat-Death http://russherman.com/Talks/FirstThreeMinutes_CollegeDay.pdf

Hot soup

Universe grows factor of

between and

s from

cm to 10 m

Explains smoothness.

Matter Era Ratiation Era

Quarks too energetic to bind W, Z indistinguishable from photons

Mix protons, neutrons, electrons and their anti-particles. Production and annihilation in balance. Number proton anti-proton pairs same as photons, same baryons and anti-baryons, small excess 1 in

.

Temperature below rest energy of the proton; proton anti-proton pairs annihilate. Only small primordial excess of protons remains.

Radiation and leptons. Muon-antimuon pairs annihilate, protons and neutrons transmute via weak interactions.

Plasma: Electron excess equals proton excess (charge neutrality). Photons scatter off electrons, matter and radiation are a single fluid, radiation provides pressure. 4000 K hydrogen forms, deuterium and helium. Helium abundance of 25 % as observed.

The First Three Minutes

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http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/060713/darkmatter.shtml

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http://journalofcosmology.com/Multiverse9.html http://mossdreams.blogspot.com/2011/01/endless-doppelgangers-in-multiverse.html

Physics and religion two separate modes of enquiry. Physics aims at mathematical explanation of the

mechanisms. Realm of observation.

Religion looks for meaning and causes on a different level.

Generically no logical contradictions possible. There may be overlaps.

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Marx: “Every traditionally raised Jewish child knows (…) that the Bible is not a a a a scientific book.” Big Questions in Science, fall 2012. SdH, AUC 40