DOCUMENT RESUME ED 460 839 SE 062 663 AUTHOR Thompson, Malcolm H.; Rameau, Jonathan D. TITLE Stephen Hawking's Universe. Teacher's Guide. INSTITUTION Thirteen WNET, New York, NY.; Public Broadcasting Service, Washington, DC. SPONS AGENCY Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York, NY.; Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Miami, FL.; Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1997-00-00 NOTE 13p.; Also made possible by AMGEN. "Stephen Hawking's Universe" is a Thirteen/WNET/Uden Associates/David Filkin Enterprises coproduction with BBC-TV. Videotape not available from ERIC. AVAILABLE FROM Educational Publishing, Thirteen-WNET, 356 W. 58th Street, New York, NY 10019. Tel: 212-560-2888; Web site: http://www.wnet.org; Web Site: http://www.pbs.org. For full text: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/tguide.pdf. PUB TYPE Classroom Guides Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Astronomy; Earth Science; Educational Television; Higher Education; *Matter; Nuclear Physics; Physics; Science Activities; Science Education; *Scientific Concepts; Scientific Principles; Secondary Education; Solar System; Space Exploration; *Space Sciences; *Stars; Teaching Guides IDENTIFIERS Big Bang Theory; Black Holes; *Cosmology; *Hawking (Stephen) ABSTRACT This program guide is meant to help teachers assist ,their students in viewing the six-part pubic television series, "Stephen Hawking's Universe." The guide features program summaries that give background information and brief synopses of the programs; previewing activities that familiarize students with the subject; vocabulary that gives definitions of the terms used in each program; postviewing activities that require students to use mathematics, research, and writing skills to examine issues and ideas discussed in the program; biographies of important figures in the history of cosmology; and Web sites on related topics. The first program in this series, "Seeing is Believing," shows the radical revisions that have taken place in cosmology over the last two thousand years. The second, "The Big Bang," describes the controversies surrounding the big bang theory. The third, "Cosmic Alchemy," examines theories concerning the evolution of matter. The fourth, "On the Dark Side," views the role that cold, dark matter plays in the universe. The fifth, "Black Holes and Beyond," discusses the enigmatic objects that result from a star's catastrophic gravitational collapse. The final program, "An Answer to Everything," examines scientists' attempts to develop a complete theory of how the universe works. (WRM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ("5") 00 71- C2I s el en a _Lin: ilk . .14 06 IP / - - I ss _OP '! : : 5 , it rr 416 . rt. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION attics of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document has been reproduced as Th received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 4. s s .411. 01,' , 4 re Stephen Hawking's Universe and this guide are made possible by: Alfred P Sloan Foundation The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations The Corporation for Public Broadcasting Public television stations AMGEN 4A4 . -I _ Acknowledgments AMGEN This guide was produced by .11 Mittin.wnet Educational Resources Center Ruth Ann Burns, Director , , I' , /1 .1 0; 0' ' I s I ' I I I Project Director: Robert A.Miller I' I' /I ' I ' I / I I I I I Supervising Editor: David Reisman, Ed.D. I" I. I' .- I Design/Art Direction: I I vanOs JustM Malko *Graphics: " Malcolm It Thompson Writers: I' 1, I ' / : II I : I I Jonathan D. Rameau ' ' / 1'1 / / / I I I I I I I I I : "I I Christina L. Draper Photo Researcher: I' ' I I I I cop,: Editor and Proofreader: I I : II : 'I Shanbon Rothenberger I I II" I I / ' ' I I I I I 1 II', I I' ' ' I I I : I 1 Idviser: Roe Gould, Education Analyst. Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 1"," I II/ S I' / II / / I I I I ' I l 1 II I I: is a / Stephen Hawking's Universe I I" / I I I I I 11 I I 1 I" I 1 ThirteenAVNET/Uden Associates/David Filkin I : 1 / / / I I I I I 1 Enterprises coproduction in association I "I I 'II , I Ia II II I II I I I I I with BBC-Tv. : / I I " ,/ , II 1 I : I / / I I ' 1 1 A A " I I 51' I I" I 'I Stephen Hawking's Universe : / / I I I I I I and this guide are made possible bv: , ' Alfred R Sloan Foundation v I' I / II" / , '1 The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations I S S " S 'the Corporation for Public Broadcasting / / I , Public television stations AMGEN ..111..._ Copyright © 1997 ThirteenAVNET Ordering Information is available Stcpben Hawkingls Universe on videocassette from PBS I I ome Video. To order, call 1-800-645-4727. ! To purchase for educational use, call 1-800-424-7963. ' I II A companion bookVephen Hawking's . Universe: The Casinos Evplained 1 3 41 t as) ?si r be David Filkin, the series producer and i: I 2 oi if, a fellow student of I lawking at Oxford, is '.1i IV '01111.4 4)10 Il I availabk!at bookstores for $30. flit Published bv,Basic Books. r Mil N e- 3 ) (ut..t l )8) r 11111) 11)1, r N o) r.11.),))11,ry mio r r till )0e, 1 10 ).; 1(11 .11 Videotaping Rights -( r- N Off-air taping rights of 1_ 7 o) I 1 est ,.) Stephen Hawking:s t r are available to educators for One Universe year folltiwing each broadcast release. ,111. ai HI httio iolu, introduction g How to Use This Guide What is our place in the universe? What existed at the beginning and g This teacher's guide offers the following components: of space and time? Where did the universe come from Program summaries that give background information and where is it headed? ? brief synopses of the programs; ? Throughout history, imaginative mathematicians and scientists ; Previewing activities that familiarize students with the subject; have sought the answers to these fundamental questions. ; Vocabulary that pies definitions of terms used in each pro- Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, Hubble, and others used gram; ? direct observation, reasoning, applied mathematics, and new Postviewing activities that correspond to the program viewed, technologies to overturn ideas about cosmology that were once ? and require students to use mathematics, research and writ- deemed fundamental truths. Their breakthroughs reshaped sci- ? ? ing skills to examine issues and ideas discussed in Stephen ence's understanding of the nature and structure of the uni- 9 Hawking's Universe; verse. Their work, and that of other important cosmologists, not only provided new explanations of the universe, but also ; Biographies of important figures in the history of cosmology; raised seemingly paradoxical questions. Did the vast variety and ; and mass of matter that make up the cosmos evolve from nothing Web sites on related topics. g but energy? If so, where did the energy that created all of the matter in the universe come from? Please Note: Each page in this guide can be photocopied and distributed to students before viewing a program, or can be The history of cosmology is a detective story in which each dis- used as background information for developing lessons. Please covery leads to even more puzzles. Yet each step brings scien- tailor the use of these materials to meet your classroom needs. tists closer to cosmology's ultimate goal a single theory that takes into account all the forces shaping the universe. Stephen Hawking's Universe can be used in both mathematics and science classes. We encourage you to share these materials Stephen Hawking's Universe is a six-part public television with your colleagues. series that invites viewers to take part in this voyage of discov- 9 ery. Hosted by renowned Cambridge University mathematics professor Stephen Hawking, the program features noted astronomers, mathematicians, cosmologists, and physicists who contents provide an overview of the history of cosmology and the con- temporary challenges faced by astronomers. The first program in Stephen Hawking's Universe, "Seeing is Believing," shows the radical revisions that have taken place in "Seeing is Believing" 2 cosmology in the last two thousand years. The second, "The Big Bang," describes the controversies surrounding the big "The Big Bang" bang theory. The third, "Cosmic Alchemy," examines theories ) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 concerning the evolution of matter. The fourth, "On the Dark Side," looks at the role that cold, dark matter plays in the uni- "Cosmic Alchemy" 4 verse. The fifth, "Black Holes and Beyond," discusses the enig- matic objects that result from a star's catastrophic gravitational "On the Dark Side" 5 collapse. The final program, "An Answer to Everything," exam- ines scientists' attempts to develop a complete theory of how "Black Holes and Beyond" the universe works. 6 "An Answer to Everything" 7 Biographies 8 4 seein is believing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Activity a Vocabulary <) universe: Eratosthenes (276-194 BO measured the circumference of the the totali01 of all things. cf) geocentric universe: an earth-centered model of the universe. earth using an ingenious technique. You can use this technique 7.1 heliocentric (adverse: a sun-centered model of the universe. 0 today with modern data. 0 1) On a piece of lined paper Program Summary I> draw two intersecting lines. From the dawn of civilization, humans have struggled to under- 2) With a protractor measure stand the nature of the universe. The ancients sought answers a) the angle each drawn line from pure reason limited by beliefs in gods and an earth-cen- makes with one of the paral- tered universe. Eratosthenes's determination of the earth's cri lel printed lines. The lines radius and Ptolemy's system of planetary motion shed no light represent parallel rays of sun- LLI on more fundamental issues. In the Renaissance, Copernicus, light. Kepler, Galileo, and Newton sparked a revolution in thought. C) c.) O They added measurement and the concept of universal physical 3) Subtract one angle from the law to reason and supposition. Science was born, initiating dis- other. coveries which, in 1927, brought Edwin Hubble to a California 4) Now measure the angle where the two drawn lines intersect. mountaintop observatory with the right question and the means It should equal the difference between the two angles. to answer it. The interpretation of his results was astounding: 5) Make a general statement describing your findings. the entire universe was expanding from an explosive moment of creation the big bang. Activity b Before Viewing the Program The sun's rays are parallel. Below are data taken when the sun Divide into groups of three, each group taking responsibility was highest in the sky on August 1st in Omaha, NE and in Tulsa, for researching the individuals on one of the lists below (some OK, 355 miles directly to the south. In both cities a stick was groups will have the same list). Each member of the class driven straight into the ground, and the angle that the sun's should research the dates and major achievements of one per- parallel rays made with the top of each stick determined. The son on the list. Present your findings to the class. What do the sticks are extensions of the earth's radii. From the data and people on the list have in common? What do the lists have in knowledge that there are 360 degrees in a circle, you can use a common? What is different about the historical periods repre- simple algebraic equation to calculate the circumference of the sented by each list (Greek, Renaissance, modern)? earth, parallel rays of sunlight List 2 List 1 List 3 23.4° Il 18.25° Eratosthenes Ptolemy Aristotle Copernicus Magellan Newton stick stick Yuri Gegerin Hubble Einstein low Each member of the class can also research the achievements OMAHA 355-mile arc TULSA of Galileo. Discuss what he has in common with the people on each of the lists. 18.25° 23.4° Those who researched Eratosthenes can do the earth-measur- 'ng activity in advance and then act as mentors for a whole class activity before or after viewing the program. Web Sites Galileo: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Mathematiclans/Gailleo.htmil Newton: http:// ovww-groups.dcs.st-ancLac.uk/hlstory/Mathematiclans/Hewton.htmi Einsteln: http:// Ingwve-gromps.dcs.st-anaLuc.uk/history/Mathematiclans/Ehrostein.htmll Nubble: ihuttp:// www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Hubble.htnti 5 big the bang 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 000 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Activity 0 Vocabulary CT) Between Newton and Hubble, astronomers came to realize that astvonomy: the study of the universe beyond the earth. cni= cosffuogogy: the study of the large scale structure and origin of the the sun was not in the center of the universe. It was just one of 0 universe. billions of stars in our galaxy. Then Hubble found that our galaxy was one of billions of galaxies in the universe. With his L.L.9 Program Summary i> colleagues, he also found that every other galaxy was speeding c.) N Many scientists of the early 20th century, including Albert away from us, and that the speed seemed to be proportional to a) Einstein, found the idea of an expanding universe with an its distance. That is, if one galaxy is twice as far away as anoth- abrupt origin unpalatable. They viewed the universe as static er, it is moving twice as fast, three times as far, three times as and eternal. Ironically, the most vocal advocate of the expand- fast, and so on. This leads to a startling conclusion. You can cc ing universe was Father LaMaitre of the Roman Catholic UI(NJ co arrive at the same conclusion by looking at the following data. 0 Church, the institution that had once strenuously resisted 0 Galileo's ideas. Were the same human constraints that plagued Speed (lot years/year) Distance (light years) I earlier astronomers present in modern times? To a certain UI 0.002 30,000,000 extent they were, but now there was a difference. All scientists 1 0.004 60,000,000 agreed that the controversy could only be settled by direct and 90,000,000 0.006 precise measurements. What measurements? For almost 40 0 years a debate raged until Robert Dicke proposed that the big 0 bang would have produced a flash of light still present every- where as a glow of radio waves. In 1965 Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson unmistakably found that glow, now called the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR). The debate was over. Our universe, the totality of all things, had a fiery beginning about 15 billion years ago. Before Viewing the Program In preparation for the viewing of "The Big Bang," discuss what you believe about an origin to the totality of all things. In view- ing the program, try to identify the fundamental nature of the debate described. How was the controversy settled? After Viewing the Program Continue discussing the origins and the history of our view of the universe. Hold a conversation on the Hubble measurements and their interpretation. Then do the following activity and dis- cuss the 15-billion year result. This result assumes that the galaxies have been traveling at a constant velocity. What if gravi- ty has been slowing them down? (The universe would appear to be younger than calculated in the activity.) If we know how far an object is away from us, and how fast it is speeding away, then we can calculate how long ago it left our neighborhood. We do it by dividing the distance by the speed. Do it now for all three galaxies. Record your results. Hubble believed that the universe, of which our galaxy is a part, was in a general state of expansion. From a result similar to yours, the big bang origin of the universe was conceived. Write a brief paragraph on how your result could lead to the idea of a beginning of the universe at a single point in time. Web Sites MAP Untroduction to Cosmology Page: http://man.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmVareb_site.html Cosmology and the Big Bang: http://csenl.phy.onffilgoviguldvy/vlolence/cosonology.htm0 A 6 alchemy cosmic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Vocabulary Activity Otot big bang: theory supported by Edwin Hubble that the universe Each element gives off a unique pattern of light colors (wave- .51 originated at a single point in space and time. lengths) by which it can be identified. Scientists use a device -J egoactevecepan a device that divides light into its component 0 called a diffraction grating to observe the pattern. Its surface is wavelengths (colors), used to determine the chemical makeup of a dis- similar to the reflective surface of a CD, except the grooves are tant object. parallel. You can see the component wavelengths of light by holding a CD at just the right angle you see a rainbow. You I> Program Summary can actually analyze some light sources in the following way. What is the universe and everything in it made of? Where does First, cut a slit in a piece of dark construction paper about 2 it all come from, and how do we know? Discoveries in the late millimeters wide and 3 centimeters long. Holding a CD under 19th century revealed that the entire observable universe is CC the slit paper at about a 30 degree angle (some adjustment made of the same elements as those on earth. With knowledge 0 CO needed), you will see a spectrum (rainbow) reflected on the of the dual nature of matter and energy, scientists began to fit 0 CD. The spectrum you get depends upon the light source. Point the pieces of the macroscopic and microscopic world together. it at the sun or at a normal incandescent light, and you will see uJ This program covers the discovery of the nature of matter, its a continuous spectrum. If you point it at neon signs in store initial creation from the primordial conditions in the big bang, windows, you will see the line spectrum of whatever gas or the building up of elements in stars, and the way this might gases are in the tubes (except for red, most have mercury for affect the end of the universe. brilliance). Before Viewing the Program CO Discuss the question of the elemental composition of the uni- light source verse. How do we know what elements are in the universe? Do the spectroscopy activity and focus on the identification of ele- ments from a distance. If the matter is glowing (a star), we can determine its composition. dark paper The same laws governing atoms on the earth permeate with thin (1-2mm) slit throughout the universe, just as gravity does. These are the fun- damental assumptions of modern astronomy. They allow us to theoretically apply the results of experiments here on earth to the entire universe. compact disk Web Sites WebEeements: http://www.sheff.ac.uir/arni/academic/A-C/cheno/web-ellements/weir-eiements-home.htoug What is the Periodic Law and how was it forrnallated?: hictp://edie.cprost.sfor.ca/-qhflogan/perriodlic.htoni A Littie Nut: http://www.nmission.cona/dparber/nnelears.htorol 7 The Day the Universe Went Runny: hittpr://www2.nesn.edu/annity/Ilockers/usersiff/feider/pnbilic/benny/papers/relativity.htmi 4 \ dark de si the on 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Activity Vocabulary The velocity of an orbiting object is controlled by the amount of dark [Antler: matter in space known to exist only from indirect matter (mass) within the orbit and the radius of the orbit: the observation of its gravitational effects. radio a nonvisible telescope: device used to collect radio waves greater the mass, the more gravity, the higher the velocity. The form of light emitted by distant objects. greater the radius of the orbit from the center, the lower the velocity. This relationship is described by Newton's equation Program Summary According to the observational research of Vera Rubin on the Vorb = velocities of stars around galaxies, there is a great deal of mat- R ter exerting a gravitational force that we simply cannot see. is the constant of G where Vorb is orbital velocity, M is mass, This matter appears to be of an entirely different nature from is the radius (distance) from the center. More gravity, and R the ordinary matter we experience, observe, and interact with than 99 percent of the mass in the solar system is concentrated in everyday life. There is no spectral evidence of its presence. in the sun. Therefore, the sun's gravity controls the orbital This "dark matter" makes up roughly 90 percent of the stuff in speeds of the planets. Here is a graph of the orbital speeds of the universe, and it has important gravitational implications for the planets against the distance of the sun. the future of the universe. Specifically, will the universe keep expanding forever, or will it someday stop and start collapsing planet velocity vs. distance upon itself on the way to a big crunch? Perhaps there is just enough matter for the expansion to be halted by gravity, but not enough to collapse. For science there are two problems here: What is the mysterious dark matter? How much of it is there? Before Viewing the Program real solar system 1. Here are the levels of organization of observable matter in the universe. 6. solar systems 1. subatomic particles 40 20 0 2. atomic nucleus 7. galaxies 8. galaxy clusters 3. atom radius 9. galaxy superclusters 4. molecule Within the whirling disk of the galaxy the velocities of orbiting 5. planets or stars stars remain roughly constant with increasing distance from the center. This is because the mass of the galaxy is spread out (as Do research in pairs on each with regard to size and the force increases, M increases as well because more and more R holding the matter together. mass is included in the orbits.) But when we come to the edge After Viewing the Program of the visible mass in the galaxy, we expect the orbital velocity of outlying stars and satellite dwarf galaxies to get smaller. Vera Do the following activity to examine the dark matter problem in Rubin found that that was not the case. galaxies. What Vera Rubin found was that even beyond the edge of the galaxies, velocity was constant, indicating large amounts of unseen mass. 5 5 II ; 1\17 . 5 - 0 Using the equation and your knowledge of dark matter, pro- pose an explanation for the observed high orbital velocities. Web Sites 561 Primer on Dark Matter: http://csepl.phy.oragoviguldrry/viollence/darkmatter.hami Cosmic Nide and Seek: The Search for Missing Klass: http://wIrrw.ganet/cmonliller/drkmter.htmll 8 holes 0 black and beyond 0 0 0. 0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Vocabulary Activity hiack hole: gravitationally collapsed object from which not even light Any mass, if squeezed down small enough, can become a black (i) can escape. hole. To make the earth into a black hole it would have to be quasar: stands for "quasi-stellar" object; energetic galactic nuclei. squeezed down to a radius of .86 centimeters, about half the size of a golf ball. To calculate the radius of the black hole for > Program Summary the mass of the earth, the equation used is: The universe is a strange and violent place, full of regions 2MG Er o spewing out energy on an unimaginable scale and objects so co UV= massive not even light can escape from them. With the discov- <-1 ery of quasars (extremely luminous, compact objects in the Me=5.8*1027grams, G=6.67*104, where for the earth hearts of ancient galaxies), the picture of the universe became c=3*lircm/sec. Re=6.4*11.08cm and more complex. Though the mechanism responsible for such enormous outputs of energy is not completely established, one If you could weigh a thimbleful of the black hole/earth, how answer was found in a part of Einstein's theory of relativity much would it weigh? black holes, specifically supermassive black holes at the cen- ters of distant galaxies. These objects consume enormous Classical physics predicts that the radius of a black hole amounts of matter. As the matter falls inward, it releases a large increases in exact porportion to an increase in mass (if an cn amount of observable energy. Einstein didn't think black holes object is twice the mass of the earth, it would have twice the were possible, despite the fact that his own theory implied their earth's black hole radius). What would the black hole radius of existence. Robert Oppenheimer thought otherwise and set out the sun be, given its mass of 334,672.02 units of earth mass? cc co to prove the presence of collapsed stars so massive not even light can escape them. Black holes seem to be a reality. At the center of each galaxy, a black hole with a mass of a mil- lion to a billion (106-109) times the mass of the sun is believed Before Viewing the Program to reside. What black hole radius would such massive objects Black holes are so strange, they almost seem to be from sci- have? There are 160,000 centimeters in a mile. ence fiction. While understanding the details of space and time in the neighborhood of a black hole requires knowledge of The radius of our solar system is roughly 690" centimeters, general relativity, their essence is relatively easy to grasp. or about 3.75*109 miles. How do the radii of these massive black holes compare to the radius of the solar system? Review the introduction to the black hole activity, then do a thought experiment. "Suppose, in our imaginations, we squeeze the earth down to half its present radius. What happens to the surface gravity? What happens to the velocity required to escape?" They both increase. Now squeeze it to half again, and again. At some radius the velocity required to escape will exceed the velocity of light (c). The earth will be a black hole. Artist's illustration of matter from a red giant star being pulled toward a black hole. Web Sites What Feeds the Monster?: http://zehm.moregon.edao/9.996/0123/coso.htm0 Hanhhie Surveys the "Nome" off Quasars: http://www.ns4ali.nipwcarDhopiquasars.html Beyond the Event Horizon: An Ontroduction to Black NoOes: http://bradOey.hradiey.edan/dware/hlkhole.html everything :0 to an answer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Activity Vocabulary quantum mechanics: themy describing the properties of the atomic Select one or more of the topics below, and write an essay on I= (/) and subatomic particles. the topic, citing examples from Stephen Hawking's Universe. -7J relativity: Einstein's themy of space and time describing gravity and 0 -J the large scale operation of the universe. 1. Nature stands mute on itself; progress toward explaining even the simplest process in the universe begins with a pro- UJ Program Summary posal. Describe the role of imagination in science in general Scientists generally agree on the big bang origin of the universe and in the history of cosmology in particular. 1:3) as we see it today. Fifteen billion years ago there was a momen- tous event whose nature is uncertain. But as we track the N: 2. What makes science, science? As bizarre theories on the expansion backward, toward that moment of seeming creation, early history and ultimate fate of the universe appear, some the details blur. Is our universe a minor event in an endless have asked if physics is moving toward metaphysics. series of universes (or multiverses)? Our physics seem inade- Describe the role of measurement in science and why it quate to explain the early times in a way that is consistent with applies to all new views of the universe. the conditions existing today. That is a crucial requirement of no gaps should exist in the cause-and-effect chain science 3. Mathematics is an abstract subject. But from Galileo and linking two moments in a physical history. If our physics fails, Newton to today's cosmologists, advances toward under- understanding on the most fundamental level weakens; we have standing the fundamental aspects of the real universe could a crisis in science. New tentative and remarkable theories unit- not have been made without mathematics. Describe the role ing relativity and quantum mechanics have been proposed of mathematics in science in general and how it connects to inflation theory and superstring theory. They are strange, not the real physical world. yet worked out, but seem to shed light on the earliest times. They hold the promise of providing a simple and elegant way to Select all of the above topics and, incorporating the notions of explain everything in universe and how it all works. observation and/or experiment, describe how science is done. Before Viewing the Program Discuss the following: If all the matter and energy in the uni- verse are packed into a very small volume, the result fits the characteristic profile of a black hole. Then how could it expand? (While physicists have been able to explain this using mathe- matics, there is no simple, clear verbal explanation for it yet.) Hourglass nebula Web Sites Measnvement in Quantum Mechanics FAQ: http://terwmantnonath.cono/faq/rneas-cgrn.htord Beyond the mg Bang: http://www2.acri.net/home/odenwaid/anthoi/beyondbb.htmi Mathematical Breakteuroughs Establish God's Extva-Dianensionai 1 0 http://www.sarff.corn/..westley/405ffaff/4q95donsn.htndl Superstrring Theory: http://matur.lassin.comeli.edu/GradnefiteAdmissions/greene/greene.htoni /7 \