Mar 28, 2024  
2013-2014 HillBook (Class of 2017) 
    
2013-2014 HillBook (Class of 2017) [ARCHIVED HILL BOOK]

PHY 292 - The Universe

Three Credits
Spring Semester

Structure and evolution of the Universe. Topics include: a brief history of our ideas about the size of the Universe, from the Greeks to Copernicus; the Newtonian revolution and the defeat of the anthropocentric view of the cosmos; Einstein and the geometry of space-time; the Milky Way and the discovery of other galaxies; stellar evolution; supernovae; white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes; pulsars; how stars produce the atomic building blocks of life; Big Bang and the expansion of the universe; discovery of microwave background radiation; and the mystery of dark matter. The course will include class activities, such as labs, and repeated visits to our astronomical observatory.

Fulfills the Natural Scientific Inquiry requirement.