Coming of Age in the Milky Way
Page 58
Kelvin, Lord, 186, 246, 247–248, 249, 250, 280, 282
Kepler, Johannes, 66, 69, 71, 74–82, 84, 107, 136, 167, 182, 205, 346
astronomical unit estimated by, 125
date of Creation estimated by, 220
Galileo and, 94–96, 97, 98
mean distances of planets from the sun as measured by, 124
solar system and, 75, 78–82, 123
Kepler’s laws, 79–81
inverse-square law and, 112–113, 114, 115, 117
Newton’s laws and, 81, 108n, 112–113, 115
Keynes, John Maynard, 104
Kirchhoff, Gustav, 164–165
Klein, Oskar, 332
Kopernik, Mikolai, see Copernicus, Nicolaus
Koran, the, 43
Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste de, 236
Lamarckism, 236
Lambert, Johann Heinrich, 144, 149–150, 161
Laplace, Pierre-Simon de, 161, 290–291
Large Magellanic Cloud, 70, 175, 327
Law of falling bodies, 84, 90–94
Law of universal gravitation, 81
Laws of thermodynamics, 247
Lead, 279
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan, 169–170, 171, 172, 258
Le Gentil, Guillaume, 133–134
Lemaître, Georges, 210–211, 212, 214, 274
Leptons, 294–296, 350
Light as electromagnetic field, 187n, 188
velocity of, 179–180
Light-year, 38
Linde, Andrei, 393–394
Linear time, 220–225
Lithium, 278, 343
Little Dipper, 57
Lobachevski, Nikolai Ivanovich, 199
Local Group of galaxies, 175
Local symmetry, 309–310
Locke, John, 118, 119, 223
Longitude, determination of, 128–130
Lookback time, 174
Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon, 181, 182, 191, 197, 203
Lorentz contractions, 181–182
special theory of relativity and, 181, 191
Lucretius, 33, 90n, 201, 369
Luther, Martin, 67, 369
Lyell, Charles, 217, 225, 226–229
Darwin and, 229, 231, 232, 239, 242, 243, 244
Mach, Ernst, 190–191, 386
Magellan, Ferdinand, 48, 56n, 59
Magellanic Clouds, 70, 169–170, 171, 175, 327
Magnesium, 165, 272
Magnetic monopoles, 356–357
Malthus, Thomas, 237
Many body problem, 121
Mars, 117
Kepler’s study of, 78–79
life on, 394
mean distance from the sun (est.), 124
measurement of diameter of, 125
retrograde motion of, 24, 25
spacecraft mission to, 371
triangulation of, 126, 130
Mason, Charles, 132–133
Mass inertia and, 193–195, 196
Newton’s laws and, 116–117
relativistic time dilation and, 192–193
Mathematical Syntaxis (Ptolemy), 28–29
Matter building blocks of, 294–296
electromagnetism and, 193
Maury, Antonia, 258, 259
Maxwell, James Clerk, 10, 185–188, 190, 255
Maxwellian velocity distribution theory, 263
Medici, Cosimo de, 95, 96
Mendel, Gregor, 242
Mercury, 23, 68, 279
death of the sun and, 270
mean distance from the sun (est.), 124
transit of, 131
Messier, Charles, 157
Meteorites, 252
Michelson, Albert, 180, 182
Michelson-Morley experiment, 11, 180–181, 188
aether drift theory and, 188, 192
Micrometry, 125
Microwave radiotelescope, 213, 347
Milky Way galaxy, 48, 96, 144, 145, 146, 149, 152, 161, 162
big bang and, 272–273
dark nebulae in, 144, 158
diameter of, 171
early-universe theory of, 341
ecology of, 266–267
elements in, 277
galaxies beyond, 175
Galileo’s observation of, 89, 90
location in the solar system of, 168–175
spectroscopy and, 166
spiral arms of, 153, 174
Milton, John, 76, 83, 101
Mimas (satellite of Saturn), 156
Minkowsky, Hermann, 197–198
Moon, 22
Galileo’s observation of, 88, 90
Newton’s laws of gravitation and, 107
Moon rocks, 252
Morrison, Philip, 371
Music, symmetries in, 304–305
Mutuality of gravitation, 117–118
NASA’s interstellar spacecraft study, 375
Natural selection theory of evolution, see Darwinism
Navigation astronomy as tool for, 20–21, 47–49, 52
determination of longitude and, 128–130
Nebulae, 151–152
bright, 143–144
elliptical, 144, 146, 148, 152, 161–162, 165
Herschel’s study of, 150–159
island universe theory of, 161, 171, 172, 173
nature of, 144
planetary, 143, 157
spiral, 144, 162, 165–166
Nebular hypothesis, 161, 162, 165–166
defects in, 166–173
Ne’eman, Yuval, 311
Neoplatonism, 64, 65
Networking of interstellar communications, 375–380
Neutrino decoupling, 344
Neutrinos, 264, 265, 327, 344
Neutrons, 256
as fermions, 292
quarks and, 296, 338, 340
symmetry and, 307
Neutron star, 279
Newton, Humphrey, 113, 115–116
Newton, Isaac, 101, 103–122, 127, 128, 152, 161
the calculus invented by, 106, 108–110
date of Creation estimated by, 220
Einstein and, 177, 178, 183, 184, 193n
gravitation and, 103, 107–109, 113–118, 120–121, 177
inertia and, 34, 94, 116–117, 177
Kepler’s third law and, 81, 108n, 112–113, 115
the Principia of, 103, 115–118, 119, 120–121
reflecting telescope of, 110–112
stellar distances measured by, 136
Newton’s first law, 116–117
Newton’s second law, 117
Newton’s third law, 117
Nickel, 277
Nitrogen-14, 251
Noneuclidean geometries, 198, 199
Novikov, Igor, 280
Nuclear energy, 248
Nuclear forces, see Strong nuclear force; Weak nuclear force
Nuclear fusion, 248, 252–254, 367
See also Stellar nuclear fusion
Nuclear physics, 211–212
Nuclear weapons, 252–254
Nucleons, 293, 294
Observational astrophysics, 168
Olbers, Wilhelm, 201n
Olbers’s paradox, 201n
Oldenburg, Henry, 111, 112
“On the Electrodynamics of
Moving Bodies” (Einstein), 193
On the Heavens (Aristotle), 28, 69
On the Revolutions (Copernicus), 63, 64, 65, 66, 67–68, 84, 98
Öpik, Ernst, 275–276
Oppenheimer, Robert, 279, 310
Optics, 110, 163, 187
Oresme, Nicole, 64–65
Origin of Species, The (Darwin), 68, 116, 236, 242, 243–244, 245, 248
Origin of the universe, see
Cosmogony
Orion Nebula, 157
Oxygen, 272
Pangenesis theory of Darwin, 242
Parallax (triangulation), 125–126, 127, 130
of the stars, 136–141
Parity violation in the weak nuclear force, 313
Particle physics
&nbs
p; -cosmology link, 335–348
time and, 337–340
Pauli, Wolfgang, 292, 310, 333
Pauli exclusion principle, 292, 293
PEP accelerator, 333
PETRA accelerator, 333
Photinos, 333
Photon decoupling, 343
Photons, 258, 264–265, 318, 337
early-universe theory and, 343
released by the big bang, 212n, 213, 214
Pi, value of, 40
Pi mesons, 318
Planck, Max, 183, 193, 258, 286
Einstein and, 204n
Planetary nebulae, 143, 157
Planetesimals, 167n
Planets, 22–23
Copernicus and, 68
elliptical orbit of, 66
extrasolar, 394–395
Kepler’s laws and, 79–81
mean distances from the sun (est.), 124
measuring distances via micrometry and triangulation, 125–126, 127
Newton’s laws and, 107, 117, 120–121
retrograde motion of, 23, 24, 25, 26–27
spacecraft missions to, 370, 371
transit of, 130–136
See also names of planets
Plato, 19, 25–26, 27, 31, 62, 64, 65, 75, 145, 217
Pleiades (star cluster), 259, 263
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for, 269–270
Plutarch, 33, 39, 40
Poincaré, Henri, 181–182, 193, 201
Polaris (North Star), 57
Pole star, 52
Political power, use of astronomy for, 22
Polo, Marco, 47, 49–50, 54
Popper, Karl, 383
Portable telescopes, 163
Positrons, 308
Pound, James, 137, 153
Precession of equinoxes, 23n
Primordial atom, 211, 212
Principia (Newton), 103, 115–118, 120–121
publication of, 118–119, 120
Printing press, invention of, 62–63
Probes in interstellar flight, 374–375, 376
Project Ozma (SETI experiment), 372
Proton accelerators, 319–326
Proton-antiproton collider, 324–326
Proton-proton chain reaction for stellar nuclear fusion, 263–265, 272, 278
Protons, 262, 264–265
as fermions, 292
half-life of, 327
heat of stars and, 260–261
penetration of the Coulomb barrier by, 262, 264–265
quarks and, 338, 340
symmetry and, 307
Ptolemy, Claudius, 28–31, 33, 34, 38, 40, 62, 63, 69, 72, 124, 145
Islamic astronomy and, 43
Pythagoras, 35, 217
Pythagorean doctrine of celestial harmony, 75–77
Q and A time for interstellar radio signals, 376, 377, 378
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), 297, 311, 312, 313
Quantum electrodynamics (QED), 297, 315–316
Quantum field theory relativistic, 297, 337
string theory and, 328
symmetry and, 312–313
Quantum genesis hypothesis, 351, 362–365
Quantum indeterminacy, 287–288
Einstein and, 290–291
proton action and, 262
quantum genesis hypothesis and, 365
Quantum leap, 288
Quantum mechanics, 200, 257
string theory and, 330, 331
Quantum numbers, 31
Quantum physics, 178, 183, 186, 200, 286–299, 367
four fundamental forces in, 293–294, 295
standard model theories for, 292–299
symmetry and, 307–309
Quantum principle, 286–287
Quantum tunneling, 262–263
Quantum vacuum, 351–352
Quarks, 293, 294–295, 350
antiquarks and, 344
big bang and, 338, 339, 340
inflationary universe hypothesis and, 360
symmetry and, 312
Quasars, 174, 390
Radioactive decay, 293
Radioactivity, 248, 249–254, 255, 256
Radio astronomy, 213–214
Radiometric age-dating, 250–252
age of the solar system by, 266
Radio telescopes, 213, 347
SETI projects and, 371–372, 374, 376
Radium, 249, 250
Red giant stars, 269, 270
Redshift-distance relation of galaxies, 207–208, 209–211, 214
Reflecting telescope, 110–112, 154, 168
Refracting telescope, 152–157, 158
Relativistic quantum field theories, 297, 337
Relativistic time dilation, 192–193
Relativity (term), 193, 285–286
See also General theory of relativity; Special theory of relativity
Renaissance, 47–59
Retrograde motion of planets, 23, 24, 25
Eudoxus and, 26–27
Roman Catholic Church
Copernicus’s heliocentric theory and, 67
persecution of Galileo by, 11, 84, 96–100
Rubbia, Carlo, 322–323, 324–326
Russell, Henry Norris, 168, 259–260, 261
Rutherford, Ernest, 249–250, 256, 282
Salam, Abdus, 313, 314, 316, 317, 321, 326
Sandage, Allan, 174, 351
Saturn, 23, 43, 73, 117
mean distance from the sun (est.), 124
Saturn (cont.)
rings of, 81
satellites of, 156
triangulation of, 136
Scientific age-dating, 221–229
Second law of thermodynamics, 247
SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence), 371–372, 374
Shapley, Harlow, 168–172, 208
Silver, 277, 279
Slipher, Vesto, 206–208, 210
Smith, William, 221, 222
Sodium, 165
Solar fusion, 263–265
Solar system age of, 266
comets as products of, 69n
Copernicus’s model of, 65–66, 123, 124
Galileo and, 88–90, 123, 132
Kepler and, 75, 78–82, 123
location of Milky Way in, 168–175
mean distances of planets from the sun in (est.), 124
measuring proportions of, 123–126
Newton’s laws and, 117, 120–121, 123
origin of (computer model), 167n
space probes from other stars in, 374–375, 376
Tycho and, 73, 123
Solar telescopes, 168
Spacecraft, 81, 104, 252, 370–371
Space probes in interstellar flight, 374–375, 376
Spacetime continuum, 31, 32
four-dimensional, 197, 198, 199–202
Spacetime geometry, 364–365
Special theory of relativity, 11, 178, 183, 185, 191–194, 197, 200
Lorentz contraction as key element in, 181, 191
quantum physics and, 297
symmetry and, 307
Spectroscopy, 144, 162–166
Bohr and, 257–259
Spiral nebulae, 144, 162, 165–166
Milky Way galaxy and, 171, 172, 175
redshifts of, 207–208, 209–210
Star clusters, 259, 263, 270, 271
age of, 269
globular, 170–171
Stars, 19–25
aberration of starlight, 139
double, 168
exploding, 167
Galileo’s observation of, 89, 90
lifetime of, 265–271, 280
quantum tunneling and, 262–263
spectral classes of, 258–260
tree of, 260, 267–270
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for, 259–260
triangulation of, 127, 136–141
variable, 168–169, 170, 172, 173, 208, 274
Stellar energy, 256–266, 280
Stellar nuclear fusion, 263–271
a
s source of elements, 271–272, 275–280
String theory, 328–332, 347n, 391
Strong nuclear force, 292, 294, 295, 296, 297, 346
quantum chromodynamics and, 311, 312
symmetry of, 309
Sun, 65
age of nuclear fusion and, 248, 252–254
thermodynamics and, 246–248
ancient astronomy and, 22
composition of, 164–165, 265–266
lifetime of, 265–266, 270–271
See also Heliocentric universe
Superconducting super collider, 326, 340
Supernovae, 61, 70–71, 167, 268, 270, 276, 327, 391–392
Superstring concept, 332–333
Supersymmetry, 312, 328–334
early-universe theory and, 345, 348
inflationary universe theory and, 359
Symmetry, 320–334, 348
asymmetries and, 313
GUTs and, 327–328, 332–334
mystery of the universe and, 385–386
string theory and, 328–332
supersymmetry and, 328–334
unified electroweak theory and, 313–314, 317–318, 321–326
Telescopes
Galileo’s improvement on, 84, 86–88, 95–96
Herschel and, 152–157, 158
Newton and, 110–112
radiotelescopes, 213, 347
reflecting, 110–112, 154, 168
refracting, 152–157, 158
zenith, 137
Teller, Edward, 212, 263
Thermodynamics, 246–248, 254
symmetry of law of, 307
Thermonuclear fusion, 261–262
Tides, Newton’s laws and, 117
Time cyclical, 217–220
imaginary, 363, 364
linear, 220–225
lookback time, 174
particle physics-cosmology link and, 337–348
special theory of relativity and, 191, 192–193
timekeeping by the stars, 21–22
Tin, 275, 279
Toscanelli, Paolo dal Pozzo, 49, 55, 58, 59
Transit of the planets, 130–136
Translational symmetries, 304
Tree of life, 238–239
Triangulation, see Parallax
Tryon, Edward, 353–355, 361
Tycho (Tycho Brahe), 61, 69, 70–73, 74, 77, 97, 124, 167
Kepler and, 77–79
solar system and, 73, 123
Unified electroweak theory, 313–314, 317–318, 321–326, 345
big bang and, 336–337
Unified field theory, 186, 299, 308–309, 332–333
experimental versions of, 346–348
Uniformitarianism, 225–229, 233
“Up” quarks, 296, 312
Uranium, 249, 250
Uranus, 155–156
Ussher, James, 220, 224
Vacuum genesis of the universe, 351–356, 361, 362, 393–394
Variable stars, 168–169, 170, 172, 173, 208, 274
Venus, 68
angular diameter of, 154
death of the sun and, 270
Galileo’s observation of, 88–89
mean distance from the sun (est.), 124