This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Justin Khoury, Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania. This thoughtful, extensive conversation gives a window into the world of what a practicing, theoretical physicist cosmologist is doing all day long and examines a wide range of fascinating topics that his research covers such as the early universe, the Big Bang, dark matter, dark energy, Cosmic Microwave Background, the MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) theory, and more. This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Into The Light, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter: I. Becoming A Physicist - The power of passion II. The Victim of Its Success? - Swinging scientific pendulums III. Periodically Fiery - Calculating colliding branes IV. The CMB - Almost completely homogeneous V. The Process of Discovery - Typically messier than you think VI. Learning from History - Missing mass or missing theory? VII. MOND vs. Dark Matter, Part I - Looking at galaxies VIII. MOND vs. Dark Matter, Part II - Dark matter roars back IX. Why Not Both? - The liquid helium analogy X. Dark Energy - Vacuum energy and the cosmological constant problem XI. Personal vs. Professional - The scientist as childlike iconoclast XII. Revolutionary Rumblings - Cosmology’s Golden Age About Ideas Roadshow Conversations Series: This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert in a relaxed and informal setting to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks. For other books in this series visit our website (https://ideas-on-film.com/ideasroadshow/).

From the possible causes of the Big Bang to the mysterious fate of odd socks, this entertaining, enlightening and often inspired book unravels the science behind the world around us.

Scientists studying the universe find strange things in two placesâ€"out in space and in their heads. This is the story of how the most imaginative physicists of our time perceive strange features of the universe in advance of the actual discoveries. It is almost a given that physics and cosmology present us with some of the grandest mysteries of all. What weightier questions to ponder than, "How does the universe work?" or "What is the universe made of?" There are any number of bizarre phenomena that could provide clues or even answers to these queries. The strangeness ranges from unusual forms of matter and realms of existence to wild ideas about how time and space are related to one another. Many of these proposals may well turn out to be wrong. But how many will be proven to be right? This book speaks for the scientific theorists who are bold enough to imagine and predict the impossible. New ideas are percolating in their heads every day. One physicist may dream of subatomic particles that could resolve a variety of cosmological conundrums while another may study the likes of "funny energy," which may explain how rapidly the universe is expanding. This is the stuff of Strange Matters. In broad terms, this book is about a variety of discoveries that theorists of the past imagined before the observers and experimenters actually saw them. Moreover, it is about the things that today’s are now imaginingâ€"but haven't yet been discovered or confirmed by the observers. Strange Matters artfully mixes the present with the past and future, reporting from the frontiers of research where history is in the process of being made. Each chapter examines a different step along the twisted path we've walked to gain our rudimentary understanding of the universe, incorporating historical examples of successful "prediscoveries" with current stories that relate brand new ideas. We come to see the universe not only in terms of what has already been discovered, but also in terms of what has yet to be observed. Strange Matters is a guide to the discoveries of the twenty-first century, a series of visions dreamt by the most imaginative scientists of our time merged with the achievements of the pastâ€"to point the way towards even greater accomplishments of the future.

Inflation has revolutionized cosmology primarily because it has eliminated the dependence of cosmological modelling on initial conditions. Thus inflationary cosmology is able to account for the present universe starting from a wide range of initial conditions. This volume reviews the presents state of subject. Each chapter consists of a brief introduction followed by reprints of important papers. Experts in the field are also provided with a unifying view point.

'Brilliant. You won't find a clearer, more engaging guide to what we know (or would like to know) about the universe and how it is put together' Bill Bryson Celebrated physicist and global bestselling author Paul Davies tells the story of the universe in thirty cosmological conundrums In the constellation of Eridanus there lurks a cosmic mystery. It's as if something has taken a huge bite out of the universe, leaving a super-void. What could be the culprit? A super massive black hole? Another, bigger universe? Or an expanding vacuum bubble, destined to envelop and annihilate everything in existence? Scientists now understand the history of our universe better than the history of our own planet, but they continue to uncover startling new riddles-the hole in the universe being just one. In this electrifying book, award-winning physicist Paul Davies walks us through the puzzles and paradoxes that have preoccupied cosmologists from ancient Greece to the present day. Laying bare the audacious research that has led us to mind-bending solutions, Davies reveals how we might begin to approach the greatest outstanding enigmas of all.

This book represents the proceedings from the NATO sponsored Advanced Research Workshop entitled "Observational Tests of Inflation" held at the University of Durham, England on the 10th-14th December, 1990. In recent years, the cosmological inflation model has drawn together the worlds of particle physics, theoretical cosmology and observational astronomy. The aim of the workshop was to bring together experts in all of these fields to discuss the current status of the inflation theory and its observational predictions. The simplest inflation model makes clear predictions which are testable by astronomical observation. Foremost is the prediction that the cosmological density parameter, no, should have a value negligibly different from the critical, Einstein-de Sitter value of 00=1. The other main prediction is that the spectrum of primordial density fluctuations should be Gaussian and take the Harrison-Zeldovich form. The prediction that n =l, in patticular, leads to several important consequences o for cosmology. Firstly, there is the apparent contradiction with the limits on baryon density from Big Bang nucleosynthesis which has led to the common conjecture that weakly interacting particles rather than baryons may form the dominant mass constituent of the Universe. Secondly, with n =l, the age of the Universe is uncomfortably short if o the Hubble constant and the ages of the oldest star clusters lie within their currently believed limits.

The field of astrophysics is in the midst of a technologically driven renaissance, as fundamental discoveries are being made with astonishing frequency. In the last decade, new detectors in space, on earth, and deep underground have, when coupled with the computational power of modern computers, revolutionized our knowledge and understanding of the astronomical world. This is a great time for a student of any age to become acquainted with the remarkable universe in which we live. This volume is a collection of essays, originally presented orally to a diverse group of students and professionals, which reveal the most fertile areas for future study of astronomy and astrophysics. The emphasis of this work is on the clear description of the current state of our knowledge as a preparation for the future unraveling of the mysteries of the universe that appear today as most fundamental and most amenable to solution. A stellar group of astronomers and astrophysicists describes the directions and styles of work that they think are most likely to lead to progress. Bibliographical notes at the end of each presentation provide guidance for the reader who wishes to go more deeply into a given subject. Unsolved Problems in Astrophysics is a uniquely stimulating introduction to some of the most important topics in modern astrophysics.