Contents From Antiquity to Einstein 1. Introduction Overview The scientific method What is the ``scientific method''? What is the difference between a fact, a theory and a hypothesis? Truth and proof in science. If scientific theories keep changing, where is the Truth? What is Ockham's Razor? How much fraud is there in science? Are scientists wearing blinkers? Why should we worry? Large numbers Appendix: Examples of large numbers Times (in seconds) Distances (in meters) Velocities (in meters per second) Masses (in kilograms) Temperatures (in deg. Kelvin) Monies (in 1994 US dollars) 2. Greek cosmology Egypt and Babylon Babylon Egypt Other nations India China Early Greeks Mythology Early cosmology The Pythagoreans Early heliocentric systems Aristotle and Ptolemy Aristotelian Cosmology The motion according to Aristotle Ptolemy 3. From the Middle Ages to Heliocentrism Preamble The Middle Ages. The Copernican Revolution Aristotle in the 16th century Kepler 4. Galileo and Newton Introduction Galileo Galilei Galilean relativity Mechanics The motion of falling bodies The motion of projectiles Astronomy Galileo and the Inquisition Isaac Newton Mechanics. Optics Gravitation. 5. The Clouds Gather Electricity and magnetism Electricity Magnetism Waves vs. particles Light Problems Ether Galilean Relativity Prelude to relativity Einstein's Relativity and Modern Cosmology 6. The Special Theory of Relativity Introduction Enter Einstein The first prediction: the speed of light and the demise of Newton's mechanics The second prediction: Simultaneity is relative The third prediction: The demise of Universal Time Length contraction Paradoxes. Space and Time The top speed. Mass and energy. 7. The General Theory of Relativity The happiest thought of my life. Newton vs. Einstein Gravitation vs acceleration Light Clocks in a gravitational force. Black holes Gravitation and energy Space and time. Properties of space and time. Curvature Waves Summary. Tests of general relativity. Precession of the perihelion of Mercury Gravitational red-shift. Light bending The double pulsar 8. The universe: size, origins, contents Introduction Light revisited The inverse-square law The Doppler effect Emission and absorption lines A happy marriage Cosmic distance ladder Step 1: distances up to 100 Step 2: distances up to 300,000 l.y. Step 3: distances up to 13,000,000 l.y. Step 4: distances up to 1,000,000,000 l.y. Step 5: distances beyond 1,000,000,000 l.y. The relativistic universe The expanding universe The Microwave Background Radiation Nucleosynthesis At the cutting edge Dark matter The cosmological constant Homogeneity and isotropy Summary 9. The lifes of a star Introduction. Stellar Power The lifes of a star In the beginning A rising star A Giant appears And so it goes The heavyweights About this document ...