THRESHOLD 1
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THE BIG BANG COSMOLOGY
COSMOLOGY
- The study of the evolution of the universe
- Evolved within the modern European
scientific Tradition
- Modern cosmology draws on ideas,
techniques, and traditions from much of Afro-
Eurasia.
EARLY COSMOLOGIES
Christian Theology (The Bible)
- estimates suggested that God had made the
Earth and the universe in about 4000 BCE -
just over 4,000 years old at the height of the
Roman Empire.
Ptolemy of Alexandria (ca. 90–168 CE)
- The work of the Roman-Egyptian astronomer
became the foundation for ideas about
astronomy and the universe.
THE ANCIENT GREEKS
- Greek scientist Aristotle showed that the
Earth is spherical.
- Aristotle supported his statement that the
Earth is round with observations.
- The Earth’s shadow on the Moon during a
lunar eclipse is circular. The only object whose
shadow is always circular is a sphere.
THE ANCIENT GREEKS
- Eratosthenes (ca. 200 BC, Alexandria, Egypt)
measured the Earth’s circumference:
- Eratosthenes: 42,000 km
- Actual: 40,000 km
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF GREEK ASTRONOMERS:
- Greek astronomers developed a geocentric
(Earth-centered) model for the universe
- Spherical Earth is stationary, at the center of
the universe
- Earth is corrupt, heavens are perfect
- Heavenly bodies move with uniform circular
motion
SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES AND CHANGING VIEWS
Ptolemy - Copernicus - Kepler - Newton - Hubble
Galilei- Leavitt
CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY OF ALEXANDRIA (CA.
CE)
- An Earth-Centered View of the Universe
- Ptolemy accepted Aristotle’s idea that the Sun
and the planets revolve around a spherical
Earth, a geocentric view
- Christian theologians argued that the Earth
was a realm of sin and imperfection; but
surrounding it, in Ptolemy’s model, was a
realm of perfection.
- However, in the sixteenth century, Ptolemy’s
model of the universe came under attack from
several directions.
Retrograde motion
- is an APPARENT change in the movement of
the planet through the sky. It is not REAL in
that the planet does not physically start
moving backwards in its orbit. It just appears
to do so because of the relative positions of
the planet and Earth and how they are moving
around the Sun.
Ptolemy’s explanation of retrograde motion:
- The planet moves in a small circle called the
epicycle.
- The center of the epicycle moves in a large
circle called the deferent.
- The combination of small and large circles
produces retrograde loop
- Epicycles preserved the geocentric model and
kept the planets moving in perfectly circular
orbits.
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (1473–1543)
- A Sun-Centered View of the Universe
- a Polish-born astronomer, revived the ancient
idea that the sun (heliocentric), not the Earth,
lay at the center of the universe
- He was able to show that such an idea could
solve some important anomalies in the
Ptolemaic system.
- Yet, the idea of a Sun-centred, or
“heliocentric” universe was only accepted
after the work of Kepler and Galileo.

JOHANNES KEPLER (1571–1630)
- Demonstrated that the planets did not orbit in
the perfect circles required by Ptolemy’s
cosmology, but in ellipses, or squashed-up
circles.
- Kepler developed laws that marked a key step
in the revolution which moved the center of
the universe from the Earth (geocentric
cosmology) to the Sun (heliocentric), and they
laid the foundation for the unification of
heaven and earth, by Newton, a century later.
KEPLER’S LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
Kepler’s First Law:
- The orbit of each of the planets is an ellipse,
with the Sun at one focus.
Kepler’s Second Law:
- The radius vector joining the planet to the Sun
sweeps out equal areas in equal times. This
means that the planet orbits, its speed
changes. It moves fastest when it is closest to
the Sun (at “perihelion”) and slowest when it
is furthest away (at “aphelion”).
Kepler’s Third Law:
- The square of the orbital period of the planet
in years is proportional to the cube of the
semi-major axis of the planet’s orbit. This
simply relates average distance from the Sun
to orbital period. These laws showed that the
planets did indeed orbit the Sun, supporting
the Copernican universe.
GALILEO GALILEI (1564– 1642)
- An Italian scholar, put to rest the idea that the
sublunar and heavenly regions were
completely distinct.
- Galileo was one of the first astronomers to
view the heavens through a telescope.
- By doing so, he was able to show that the
sun’s face, far from being flawless, was
covered with spots, while Jupiter had moons.
Both facts contradicted Ptolemy’s model.
- Galileo also explained why we don’t feel the
Earth moving.
ISAAC NEWTON (1642–1727)
- Sir Isaac Newton developed the three basic
laws of motion and the theory of universal
gravity, which together laid the foundation for
our current understanding of physics and the
Universe.
- Newton understood gravity as a universal
property of all bodies, its force dependent
only on the amount of matter contained in
each body.
- By combining physics, mathematics, and
astronomy, Newton made a giant leap in
human understanding of Earth and the
cosmos.
Putting these laws together, Newton was able to state
the Law of Universal Gravitation.
It states that every mass attracts every other
mass in the universe, and the gravitational force
between two bodies is proportional to the product of
their masses and inversely proportional to the square
of the distance between them.
Stated more simply, the gravitational
attraction between two bodies decreases rapidly as
the distance between them increases. Gravity affects
everything with mass – and has nothing to do with an
object’s charge or chemical composition.
This means that it can account for both the
force that causes the planets to orbit the Sun - as
described by Kepler - and the downward force that
causes objects to accelerate towards the Earth - as
described by Galileo.
HENRIETTA LEAVITT (1868–1921)
- American astronomer known for her
discovery of the relationship between period
and luminosity in Cepheid variables, pulsating
stars that vary regularly in brightness in
periods ranging from a few days to several
months.
- The subsequent calibration of the period-
luminosity curve allowed American
astronomers Edwin Hubble, and others to
determine the distances of many Cepheid
stars and consequently of the star clusters
and galaxies in which they were observed.
Before the invention of the telescope, ancient Greek
astronomers use parallax to try to determine the
distance of stars from Earth.
Parallax is the change in the apparent relationship
between two fixed objects caused by the movement
of the observer.
Finding distances of objects far out in space required
different techniques.
Leavitt found that a certain type of star, the
Cepheid variable, pulses at a rate that’s related to its
brightness.
Leavitt discovered a direct correlation
between the time it takes for a Cepheid variable to go
from bright to dim and back to bright, and how bright
the star is (its “intrinsic brightness”). The longer the
period of fluctuation, the brighter the star. This meant
that even though a star might appear extremely dim,
if it had a long period it must be extremely large; it
appeared dim only because it was extremely far away.
By calculating how bright it appeared from Earth and
comparing this to its intrinsic brightness, one could
estimate how much of the star’s light had been lost
while reaching Earth, and how far away the star was.
EDWIN HUBBLE (1889–1953)
- Showed that some Cepheid variables were
outside our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
- This proved for the first time that there were
many different galaxies in the universe, which
showed once again that the universe was
much bigger than most astronomers had
supposed.
- He has been called one of the most influential
astronomers since the times of Galileo,
Kepler, and Newton.
EXPANDING UNIVERSE
- Hubble discovered an odd fact: Almost every
galaxy he observed appeared to be moving
away from the Earth. He knew this because
the light coming from the galaxies exhibited
redshift.
Hubble’s Law
- basically states that the farther away the
object was, the larger the red shift; in other
words, the faster it seemed to be moving
away from us. It was proof that the Universe
is expanding.
- The rate at which a galaxy is moving is directly
proportional to its distance from us.
- In other words, the farther away a galaxy is
from us, the faster it travels away from us.
- Thus the universe is expanding.
VESTO SLIPHER
- An American astronomer who performed the
first measurements of radial velocities for
galaxies.
- He was the first to discover that distant
galaxies are redshifted, thus providing the first
empirical basis for the expansion of the
universe.
- He was also the first to relate these redshifts
to velocity.
WHAT IS RED SHIFT?
- Astronomers often use the term redshift
when describing how far away a distant object
is.
- When an object in space moves toward us it
light waves are compressed into higher
frequencies or shorter wavelengths, and we
say that the light is blueshifted.
- When an object moves away from us, its light
waves are stretched into lower frequencies or
longer wavelengths, and we say that the light
is redshifted.
- Scientists examining the light emitted by stars
observe dark lines in the spectrum.
- These dark lines are caused by different
elements, such helium, in the stars being
studied.
- Edwin Hubble observed that the pattern of
dark lines in light from distant galaxies is
shifted towards the red end of the spectrum.
- This red shift suggests that distant galaxies are
moving away from Earth and supports the
idea of an expanding Universe.
- Red shift occurs because of the Doppler
effect, which can be observed in sound waves
and electromagnetic waves.
HOW DOES THE DOPPLER EFFECT WORK IN SPACE?
- The Doppler effect means that sound moving
away from an observer appears to be lower in
frequency.
- - The same thing happens with light from
distant galaxies, which appears to be shifted
towards the low frequency, red end of the
spectrum.
 - This means the distant galaxies must be
moving away from the Earth.
- It has also been observed that the further
away a galaxy is, the greater the amount of
red shift.
- This means that very distant galaxies must be
moving faster than near, all of which is
evidence for the Big Bang theory.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
Shorter wavelength – higher frequency, higher energy
Longer wavelength – lower frequency, lower energy
The absorption lines have all been “shifted” towards
the longer wavelength end (red end)…
- The faster the light source moves the further
its light will be “shifted” (Red shift)
- A like Doppler Effect
In 1929, Edwin Hubble used the redshift of light from
galaxies to calculate the velocities and distances of
these galaxies from the Earth.
He discovered that they were moving away from the
Earth and from each other. His calculations supported
the theory that the universe is expanding.
WHAT IS THE BIG BANG THEORY?
- The observation of red shift is a key piece of
evidence for the Big Bang theory about the
origin of the Universe.
- This states that the Universe ‘began’ with a
colossal explosion 13,700 million years ago
and has been expanding ever since.
The other key piece of evidence for the Big Bang
theory is cosmic microwave background radiation
(CMBR).
CMB is radiation remaining from the Big Bang
explosion and fills the whole of the Universe.
This radiation has cooled as the Universe has
expanded and is now slightly less than 3 degrees
above absolute zero.
EVIDENCE OF THE BIG BANG
1.The expansion of the universe
- Edwin Hubble's 1929 observation that galaxies
were generally receding from us provided the
first clue that the Big Bang theory might be
right.
2. The cosmic microwave background (CMB)
radiation
- The early universe should have been very
hot. The cosmic microwave background radiation is
the remnant heat leftover from the Big Bang.
3. The abundance of the light elements H, He, Li
- The Big Bang theory predicts that these light
elements should have been fused from protons and
neutrons in the first few minutes after the Big Bang.
COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION
- Long-wavelength radiation that fills all space.
- Can be detected using special antenna. (1% of
this can be detected in the static on your TV
set.)
George Gamow (1940’s) predicted there should be
“echoes” of the Big Bang “explosion.”
HISTORICAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE CMBR
- Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
(WMAP)
- captured the “glow” of the Big Bang by
detecting temperature changes just like COBE.
- WMAP was much more precise.
CONTENT OF THE UNIVERSE
- WMAP data reveals that its contents include
4.6% atoms, the building blocks of stars and
planets. Dark matter comprises 23% of the
universe. This matter, different from atoms,
does not emit or absorb light. It has only been
detected indirectly by its gravity.
- 72% of the universe, is composed of "dark
energy", that acts as a sort of an anti-gravity.
This energy, distinct from dark matter, is
responsible for the present-day acceleration
of the universal expansion. WMAP data is
accurate to two digits, so the total of these
numbers is not 100%. This reflects the current
limits of WMAP's ability to define Dark Matter
and Dark Energy.
EINSTEIN'S 'BIGGEST BLUNDER' TURNS OUT TO BE
RIGHT
Hubble’s Law was proof that the Universe is
expanding. No astronomer had expected this.
Indeed, Einstein— whose theory of relativity had
appeared a few years before Hubble published his
results—was so shocked by Hubble’s results that he
insisted for a time that there must be an error. He
even modified his own theory of relativity to avoid the
possibility of an unstable universe by suggesting the
existence of a new type of force that balanced gravity.
He later accepted Hubble’s results, calling his
attempts to avoid it one of his greatest blunders.
Curiously, recent developments may have partly
vindicated Einstein, for, his quick fix seemed to point
to the existence of a new force that we now call dark
energy. Dark energy is a form of energy that seems to
push space itself apart, and that pervades the entire
universe.
Scalar Field
- Is a value that varies, or scales, in magnitude
but it does not have a direction. Examples of
scalars are mass and volume.
Chameleon Particles
- Hypothetical particles vary in mass according
to the surrounding density of energy.
DARK ENERGY
One explanation for dark energy is that it is a property
of space. Albert Einstein was the first person to realize
that empty space is not nothing. Space has amazing
properties, many of which are just beginning to be
understood.
The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is
possible for more space to come into existence. Then
one version of Einstein's gravity theory, the version
that contains a cosmological constant, makes a
second prediction: "empty space" can possess its
own energy.
Because this energy is a property of space itself, it
would not be diluted as space expands.
As more space comes into existence, more of this
energy-of-space would appear. As a result, this form
of energy would cause the universe to expand faster
and faster.
What is Dark Matter
1. Dark matter is dark
2. Dark matter is no clouds of normal matter
3. Dark matter is not antimatter
4. Dark matter us not black holes
GRAVITATIONAL LENSING
Astronomers cannot see dark matter directly, but can
study its effects. They can see light
bent from the gravity of invisible objects called
gravitational lensing. They can also
measure that stars are orbiting around in their
galaxies faster than they should be.
BIG HISTORY An Introduction
WHAT IS BIG HISTORY?
- Big History tells the story of the Universe from
the Big Bang to the present, a time span of 13.8 billion
years.
- Big History is the modern, scientific origin
story, based on the best evidence that scientists and
historians have compiled to date. As new and better
evidence is found, the story will need to be updated.
- Big History asks big questions. Among the
questions that big historians tackle are: How was the
Universe created? Why does it work the way it does?
Why are stars so big? Why are you and I so small?
CHRONOMETRIC REVOLUTION
Chronometry
- from Greek word chronos, "time" and metron,
"measure“
- the science of the measurement of time, or
timekeeping.
HISTORY BEFORE THE CHRONOMETRIC REVOLUTION
History and Science were not talking to each other!
SCIENCE X History
There seemed to be no history to Science. There
seemed to be little science in History!
NO DATES MEANT NO DATES!
HISTORY BEFORE THE CHRONOMETRIC REVOLUTION
- Before the mid 20th century all absolute dates
based on written records
 - As History became more “scientific” it needed 1. They consist of multiple diverse components:
rigorous chronologies
Complex things are composed of many diverse
1. These used written evidence
components. Simple things such as atoms contain few
2. Could only reach back 5,000 years
elements: just one proton and one electron in the
3. History came to mean “human history”
case of hydrogen. More complex things, like a
- New Paradigms:
molecule of DNA, may contain billions of atoms of
 In Big Bang Cosmology, Plate Tectonics &
Genetics different kinds. So, the first thing we can say is that
 Made the sciences more historical complex things contain many diverse components.

The Chronometric Revolution: 2. They are arranged within a precise structure:

- Provided absolute dates for the whole of Their

time!
- Linked cosmology, astronomy, chemistry,
geology, biology, human history
- Within a single timeline

NOTE ON CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND DATES

ABB (After Big Bang)

BP (Before Present) - “before 1950,” which was when

radiometric dating techniques began to be used.

BC (Before Christ)

CE (Common Era)

BCE (Before Common Era)

AD (Anno Domini) - Years are designated as after the

Christ's birth.

ORIGIN STORIES

- offer accounts of the origin of all things, of

people, animals, landscapes, the Earth, stars,
and the universe as a whole
- based on the best available knowledge in each
society so they provide a sort of road map for
understanding the history of everything
- these maps of the past are powerful because
they help individuals understand how they fit
into the whole story of the universe and of life
on Earth
COMPLEXITY
- the state or quality of being intricate or
complicated
- complex things have many diverse
components that are arranged in precise ways
so that they generate new qualities called
emergent properties
KEY FEATURES OF COMPLEX THINGS
components are bound together in precisely specified
ways. ways. Take all the pieces of a modern airliner
and rearrange them arbitrarily. You’ll soon realize that
you can’t fly unless the parts are arranged in just the
right way. The different parts must function as if they
were part of a single team. Similarly, the atoms that
make up a molecule of DNA can do nothing much
unless they are arranged in a particular pattern so that
the many genes making up the DNA molecule can
work together.
3. They have new or emergent properties:
The ways in which things are structured give them
certain distinctive properties. When complex things
are arranged in the right patterns, in patterns that
enab their parts to work together, they can do new
things. New features “emerge. ”Arrange a molecule of
amoeba D NA correctly, and it provides all the
information needed to assemble a living organism.
4. They appear only where the conditions are just that helped shape the universe.
right: example, the surface of our Earth is ideal for First came the radiation era,
named for the dominance of radiation
complex chemical reactions. There are lots of different right after the Big Bang.
chemical elements, there are solids, gases, and This era is made of smaller stages call epochs
liquids, and temperatures are just right for chemical that occurred within the universe's
reactions. first tens of thousands of years.
The earliest is the Planck epoch.
The Goldilocks principle is named by analogy to the 01:42
No matter existed in the universe at this time,
children's story "Goldilocks and The Three Bears", in 01:45
which a little girl named Goldilocks tastes three only energy and the ancestor
different bowls of porridge and finds that she prefers 01:47
porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold, but has to the four forces of nature, the superforce.
01:51
just the right temperature. The concept of "just the At the end of this stage, however,
right amount" is easily understood and applied to a 01:53
wide angel of disciplines. a key event occurred in which gravity
01:55
5. They are held together by flows of energy: split away from the superforce.
01:58
The forms of complexity that will interest us most Next came the grand unification epoch,
depend on flows of energy. Take away the energy 02:01
named for the three remaining unified forces of nature.
flows and they lose the emergent properties that 02:05
make them different. This is true whether they are This epoch ended when one of those forces,
stars, which cease to shine when deprived of fusion 02:08
reactions at their center, or humans who die when called strong, or strong nuclear, broke away.
02:12
deprived of energy from food, or cars that stop Then the inflationary epoch began
moving when they run out of gas. 02:15
during which the universe rapidly expanded.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics is about the 02:19
quality of energy. It states that as energy is Almost instantly it grew from the size of an atom
transferred or transformed, more and more of it is 02:22
to the size of a grapefruit.
wasted. The Second Law also states that there is a 02:25
natural tendency of any isolated system to The universe at this time was piping hot
degenerate into a more disordered state. 02:28
and it churned with electrons, quarks, and other
particles.
02:33
Then came the electroweak epoch,
02:35
- [Narrator] The universe is everything when the last two forces, electromagnetic and weak,
From the tiniest particles, 02:39
to the largest galaxies, finally split off.
to the very existence of space, time, and life. 02:41
But how did it all begin? During the next stage, the quark epoch,
The origin of the universe is the origin of everything. 02:44
Multiple scientific theories all of the universe's ingredients were present,
plus creation myths from around the world 02:47
have tried to explain its mysterious genesis. however, the universe was still too hot and dense
However, the most widely accepted explanation 02:51
is the Big Bang theory. for subatomic particles to form.
The Big Bang theory states that the universe began 02:54
as a hot and infinitely dense point. Then, in the hadron epoch, the universe cooled down
Only a few millimeters wide, it was similar enough
to a supercharged black hole. 02:57
About 13.7 billion years ago for quarks to bind together and form protons and
this tiny singularity violently exploded. neutrons.
And it is from this explosion, this bang, 03:03
that all matter, energy, space, and time were created. In the lepton and nuclear epics,
What happened next were two major stages 03:05
of the universe's evolution. the radiation era's last two stages,
Called the radiation and matter eras, 03:07
they're defined by key events
the protons and neutrons underwent a significant 04:44
change. Heat within the stars caused the conversion
03:11 04:47
They fused and created nuclei. of helium and hydrogen into almost all
03:14 04:50
And in doing so, they created the first the remaining elements in the universe.
03:16 04:54
chemical element in the universe, helium. In turn, those elements became the building blocks
03:22 04:57
The universe's new ability to form elements, for planets, moons, life,
03:25 05:03
the building blocks of matter, everything we see today.
03:27 05:07
queued the matter era. This ecosystem of everything was only possible
03:29 05:10
Much as the name suggests, the matter era's defined because of the many stages in the universe's
03:33 development.
by the presence and predominance 05:16
03:34 While countless questions about the origins
of matter in the universe. 05:18
03:37 of our universe remain, it's only a matter of time
It features three epochs that span billions of years. 05:22
03:40 for some long-sought answers to emerge.
The vast majority of the universe's life span,
03:43
and includes the present day.
03:45
The first was the atomic epoch.
03:48
In this stage, the universe's temperature
03:50
cooled down enough for electrons
03:52
to attach to nuclei for the first time.
03:55
Called recombination, this process helped create
03:58
the universe's second element, hydrogen.
04:02
This hydrogen, along with helium atoms,
04:05
dotted the universe with atomic clouds.
04:09
Within the clouds, small pockets of gas
04:11
may have had enough gravity to cause atoms to
collect.
04:15
These clusters of atoms, formed during the galactic
epoch,
04:19
became the seedlings of galaxies.
04:22
Nestled inside those galaxies, stars began to form.
04:26
And in doing so, they queued the latest
04:29
and current stage of the universe's development,
04:32
the stellar epoch.
04:37
The formation of stars then caused
04:39
a tremendous ripple effect
04:41
and helped shape the universe as we know it.