Cosmology: Science Fact to Science Fiction

6 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture) This course gives an introduction to the scientific study of the universe as a whole. Modern aspects of cosmological physics, not usually encountered in elementary physics courses, will be covered. These topics include the following: the standard scenario for early universe evolution; the triumph of big bang cosmology; the hierarchical nature of galaxy formation and clustering; the speed-of-light constraint on space travel and communication; the paradoxical nature of quantum physics; the existence of antimatter; the success of the Special Theory of Relativity; the description of gravity using Einstein's General Theory of Relativity; the characteristics of neutron stars, black holes, wormholes, cosmic strings and other astrophysical oddities; and the logic of spacetime topology of higher dimensions, of parallel universes, and of time travel. Finally, the course will consider how human beings and extraterrestrial life forms fit into the overall scheme of things. Although the subjects discussed will be conceptually sophisticated, the presentation will require minimal mathematical knowledge.