Cosmology 101

by Kristine M. Larsen

Overview

What should the average person know about science? Because science is so central to life in the 21st century, science educators and other leaders of the scientific community believe that it is essential that everyone understand the basic concepts of the most vital and far-reaching disciplines. Cosmology 101 does exactly that. This accessible volume provides readers - whether students new to the field or just interested members of the lay public - with the essential ideas of evolution using a minimum of jargon and mathematics. Concepts are introduced in a progressive order so that more complicated ideas build on simpler ones, and each is discussed in small, bite-sized segments so that they can be more easily understood.

This volume in the Science 101 series provides readers with a solid understanding of how scientist know what they know about the universe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313337314
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/30/2007
Series:	Science 101
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

KRISTINE M. LARSEN is Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Central Connecticut State University. She is the author of Stephen Hawking: A Biography (Greenwood).

Table of Contents

Series Foreword     xi
Preface     xiii
Introduction     xv
Where Did It All Come From?     xv
What Is Science?     xvii
Science and Religion     xix
Luminous Matters: Light and Stars     1
Cosmology as a Unique Practice     1
The Electromagnetic Spectrum     3
Magnitudes     8
Telescopes     9
Spectroscopy     14
The Classification of Stars     18
The HR Diagram     21
The Interstellar Medium     23
The Lives of Stars     24
Star Formation     24
Stellar Evolution     27
Cepheids and the Period-Luminosity Relationship     31
Stellar Corpses     34
The History of Cosmology     37
The Rise of the Geocentric Universe     37
The Copernican Revolution     41
Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion     43
Galileo, Newton, and the Telescopic Revolution     45
Why Is the Night Sky Dark?     48
The Problem of the Nebulae     49
The Great Debate     53
The Development of Hubble's Law     55
WarpedSpace-time: General Relativity and Modern Cosmology     59
General Relativity     59
Cosmological Models     62
The Big Bang and Steady-State Theories     68
Lemaitre and the Primeval Atom     68
Gamow's Evolutionary Model and the Steady-State     69
The Rise of the Big Bang     70
Measuring and Mapping the Universe     75
Normal Galaxies     75
The Milky Way     79
The Local Group     82
Active Galactic Nuclei     84
Dark Matter     88
Large-Scale Structure     91
The Cosmic Distance Ladder     93
Standard Candles     97
The Age of the Universe     101
Measuring the Hubble Constant     104
The Evolution of the Universe     109
The Standard Model of Particle Physics     109
The Fundamental Forces and Particles     109
Unifying the Forces     112
The First Fifteen Minutes     116
The Dark Age     118
The Fate of the Universe     121
Inflationary Cosmology     122
Problems with the Big Bang     122
Old Inflation     124
New Inflation     126
Eternal Inflation     127
Dark Matter Redux     129
Dark Energy     131
The Accelerating Universe     131
Candidates for Dark Energy     132
The Concordance Model     134
Acoustic Waves and the Early Universe     134
Results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)     136
Other Observations     139
The Road Goes Ever On: Continuing Speculations     141
Multiple Dimensions     141
String Theory     141
M-theory and Braneworlds     143
Cosmic Strings     146
The Fine-Tuned Universe     147
The Anthropic Principle     148
Multiverses     150
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence     151
Life as We Know It (LAWKI)     152
Talking to Aliens     154
Conclusion     157
Glossary     161
Selected Bibliography     173
Index     183

Editorial Reviews

[E]ven younger, motivated students should be able to gain some understanding of these topics without assistance or prior knowledge. Teachers will appreciate the depth and clairity.” —VOYA

“This fascinating, well-written book is appropriate for anyone interested in astronomy or as collateral reading in introductory undergraduate astronomy or physics courses. I recommend it for those who wish to understand how we know what we know about the cosmos.” —SB&F

“In introducing readers to cosmology and the real world of sometimes unscholarly scientists, Larsen examines myths about cosmic bodies, current speculation about the universe, and insights from technology-aided discoveries regarding its nature, mapping, and evolution. The text includes a glossary and annotated bibliography, but no dazzling out-of-this world views of the cosmos.” —SciTech Book News

From the Publisher