A special forum on critical issues in cosmology in celebraton of Princeton University's 250th birthday. The proceedings of this conference, held as part of Princeton University's 250th birthday celebrations, features lectures and discussions by many of the world's leading scientists on the status and future of modern cosmology. The volume offers the non-specialist a fascinating insight into the current status of cosmology and the issues of contention at the research frontiers of the science. It constitutes the proceedings of a special conference, held as part of Princeton University's 250 birthday celebrations, featuring lectures and discussions by many of the world's leading scientists on the status and future of modern cosmology. The volume is based on the format of a series of debates in which a range of conventional wisdom is reviewed, defended and critcised by renowned specialists in each field. The technical level of the volume is accessible to a very broad audience of non-specialists. This innovative exchange of ideas at the cutting edge of cosmology therefore offers an unusual opportunity for the average reader to savour the excitement of probing into the ultimate secrets of the universe."--Publisher's website.

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/).

“Some of the most compelling, cutting-edge ideas about who we are and what kind of world we live in. This is a daring book—and a great read!”—Glenn Hartelius, PhD, coeditor of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered “What is the universe?” In this lively and engaging collection of interviews, astronomer Stephan Martin talks with some of today’s most innovative and cutting-edge thinkers on the nature of the universe and our relationship to it. Scientists, mystics, indigenous elders, and cultural creatives all share their unique voices on the nature of reality, the interplay of science and religion, the future of humanity, and the role of each person in a mysterious and evolving universe. Filled with rich insight, dynamic discussion, and penetrating wisdom, Cosmic Conversations asks the fundamental questions about the universe many of us have wondered about, yet few have explored in-depth, questions such as: Do time, space, and matter really exist? Can the universe be inside us, outside us, or both? Is the universe alive, conscious, and intelligent? Where are we in the cosmic evolutionary picture? A compelling journey from the farthest reaches of outer space to the innermost realms of the human heart, Cosmic Conversations will change the way you look at the universe (and yourself) forever. “An excellent contribution to the philosophical revival that is taking place in the marketplace of ideas. Stephan’s searching and heartfelt questions bring out the best of the authors he interviews.”—Steve McIntosh, author of The Presence of the Infinite

Delineating the huge strides taken in cosmology in the past ten years, this much-anticipated second edition of Malcolm Longair's highly appreciated textbook has been extensively and thoroughly updated. It tells the story of modern astrophysical cosmology from the perspective of one of its most important and fundamental problems – how did the galaxies come about? Longair uses this approach to introduce the whole of what may be called "classical cosmology". What’s more, he describes how the study of the origin of galaxies and larger-scale structures in the Universe has provided us with direct information about the physics of the very early Universe.

The twentieth century witnessed the development of astrophysics and cosmology from subjects which scarcely existed to two of the most exciting and demanding areas of contemporary scientific inquiry. In this book Malcolm Longair reviews the historical development of the key areas of modern astrophysics, linking the strands together to show how they have led to the extraordinarily rich panorama of modern astrophysics and cosmology. While many of the great discoveries were derived from pioneering observations, the emphasis is upon the development of theoretical concepts and how they came to be accepted. These advances have led astrophysicists and cosmologists to ask some of the deepest questions about the nature of our Universe and have pushed astronomical observations to the very limit. This is a fantastic story, and one which would have defied the imaginations of even the greatest storytellers.

This book has its roots in a series of collaborations in the last decade at the interface between statistical physics and cosmology. The speci?c problem which initiated this research was the study of the clustering properties of galaxies as revealed by large redshift surveys, a context in which concepts of modern statistical physics (e. g. scale-invariance, fractality. . ) ?nd ready application. In recent years we have considerably broadened the range of problems in cosmology which we have addressed, treating in particular more theoretical issues about the statistical properties of standard cosmological models. What is common to all this research, however, is that it is informed by a perspective and methodology which is that of statistical physics. We can say that, beyond its speci?c scienti?c content, this book has an underlying thesis: such interdisciplinary research is an exciting playground for statistical physics, and one which can bring new and useful insights into cosmology. The book does not represent a ?nal point, but in our view, a marker in the development of this kind of research, which we believe can go very much further in the future. Indeed as we complete this book, new developments - which unfortunately we have not been able to include here - have been made on some of the themes described here. Our focus in this book is on the problem of structure in cosmology.