Helge  Kragh. Matter and Spirit in the Universe: Scientific and Religious Preludes to Modern Cosmology. (History of Modern Physical Sciences, 3.) 298 pp., bibl., index. London: Imperial College Press, 2004. $62 (cloth).

Isis ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-366
Author(s):  
Michael J. Crowe
Keyword(s):  
Imperial College ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe

scholarly journals Chaos and Order: Contemporary Cosmology and Myth

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Tomašević
Keyword(s):  
Modern Science ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Stephen Hawking ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Concise Definition

The paper offers a definition of cosmology and its connections with mythology, and presents contemporary theories as a secular mythical narrative suitable for anthropological analysis. The paper is dedicated to emphasizing the folklore characteristics of modern cosmology and points to the importance of popular cosmological narratives as reading that contains culturally, philosophically and even religiously relevant elements. Special attention is paid to cosmogonic myths that describe the state of the universe before the creation of space and time. A parallel has been drawn between modern cosmology and conventional cosmogonic myths. In the end, the paper offers a concise definition of popular cosmology and recalls the most important authors and popularizers of modern theories. The main task of the paper is to present the basic concepts that can contribute to a complete understanding of the anthropological character of the presentation of contemporary cosmology that we encounter in popular narratives. The aim of such an analysis is to observe the depth of the significance of modern science for creating a philosophical picture of the world that inherits secular worldviews. By treating popular cosmology as a modern myth, the paper presents a new dimension of the significance of scientific theories for today's civilization. Such an approach unravels the strictly positivist halo of cosmology and points to its anthropological character. The concepts highlighted in the paper serve as an illustration of the significance that the image of the universe and the position of the Earth has for the history of civilization. By presenting the cultural dimension of cosmology, it opens a space for dialogue between different branches of scientific research, i.e. it contributes to the communication of philosophy and science. Equally important, by illuminating the folklore character of the narrative of the origin and history of the universe, a training ground is created for philosophers and theologians who, in their own ways, interpret the creation of everything around us. By drawing attention to authors such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lawrence Kraus, Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku and others, as contemporary bards and narrators, the paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of popular cosmology as an expression of modern man's need for great stories, for narratives that transcend the spatial and temporal frames of one generation, and that is exactly what myths do.

General Relativity and Cosmology

2020 ◽  
pp. 227-360
Author(s):  
P. J. E. Peebles
Keyword(s):  
Constant Velocity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
Inertial Frames ◽  
Moving Body ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Freely Moving ◽  
The Universe

This chapter discusses the development of physical sciences in seemingly chaotic ways, by paths that are at best dimly seen at the time. It refers to the history of ideas as an important part of any science, and particularly worth examining in cosmology, where the subject has evolved over several generations. It also examines the puzzle of inertia, which traces the connection to Albert Einstein's bold idea that the universe is homogeneous in the large-scale average called “cosmological principle.” The chapter cites Newtonian mechanics that defines a set of preferred motions in space, the inertial reference frames, by the condition that a freely moving body has a constant velocity. It talks about Ernst Mach, who argued that inertial frames are determined relative to the motion of the rest of the matter in the universe.

scholarly journals Observational Cosmology 1920–1985: An Introduction to the Conference

1987 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Sandage
Keyword(s):  
Final Section ◽  
Observational Cosmology ◽  
Evolutionary Trends ◽  
Look Back ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Observational Bias ◽  
Age Of The Universe ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Hubble Time

The history of modern cosmology has been divided into two periods. The primary discovery phase extended from 1920 to ∼1950 when most of the classical tests were developed. The subsequent consolidation period from 1950 to ∼1980 saw a deeper understanding of the tests and the introduction of concepts of stellar populations that led to estimates of evolutionary trends with look-back time. The only test not affected by evolutionary effects is the comparison of the Hubble time, Ho−1, with independent estimates of the age of the Universe. The N(m), m(z), θ(z), θ(m), and HoTo (qo, Λ) tests are reviewed as they have been discussed in the archive literature. The problem of observational bias is emphasized, as is the difficult recent search for secular evolutionary effects. Current problems which have prospects for solutions in the next decades are set out in the final section.

scholarly journals Accelerated expansion of the Universe in the presence of dark matter pressure

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-216
Author(s):  
Zeinab Rezaei
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Equation Of State ◽  
Hubble Parameter ◽  
Energy Equation ◽  
Accelerated Expansion ◽  
Luminosity Distance ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Expansion Of The Universe ◽  
The Universe

Expansion dynamics of the Universe is an important subject in modern cosmology. The dark energy equation of state determines these dynamics so that the Universe is in an accelerating phase. However, dark matter (DM) can also affect the accelerated expansion of the Universe through its equation of state. In the present work, we explore the expansion dynamics of the Universe in the presence of DM pressure. In this regard, applying the DM equation of state from the observational data related to the rotational curves of galaxies, we calculate the evolution of DM density. Moreover, the Hubble parameter, history of scale factor, luminosity distance, and deceleration parameter are studied while the DM pressure is taken into account. Our results verify that the DM pressure leads to higher values of the Hubble parameter at each redshift and the expansion of the Universe grows due to the DM pressure.

Relativistic models and the expanding universe

2019 ◽  
pp. 75-119
Author(s):  
Matteo Realdi
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Relativistic Cosmology ◽  
Theory Of Relativity ◽  
Expanding Universe ◽  
General Theory Of Relativity ◽  
Relativistic Model ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe

The origin and evolution of the universe constitutes one of the most fascinating and challenging questions in the scientific investigation of nature. The general theory of relativity has made it possible to properly address this question. Einstein transformed cosmology when he formulated, in 1917, a relativistic model that could describe the universe in its entirety. The incorporation of the observational evidence of extragalactic recession into relativistic world models culminated in 1930 with the recognition of the expanding universe, which was a breakthrough in the scientific understanding of the universe as a whole. This chapter traces the history of the early phase of modern cosmology, from the formulation of the first cosmological models based on general relativity to the acceptance of the expanding universe and the early systematization of relativistic cosmology as a new scientific discipline.

The Oxford Handbook of the History of Modern Cosmology

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
General Nature ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
The Past ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Symbiotic Relation ◽  
The Universe

Although some of the observational and conceptual roots of modern cosmology can be traced back to the nineteenth century, it was only in the twentieth century that the study of the universe as a whole emerged as a genuine physical science. The development through the twentieth and now well into the twenty-first century has been far from smooth, but in spite of a number of false trails it has been tremendously fruitful and surprisingly successful scientifically. The volume presents a comprehensive overview of the development of cosmology from about 1860 to the most recent discoveries. It describes and explains the historical background to what we know about the universe today and what people in the past thought they knew about the universe, starting with the first observations of spiral nebulae and ending with the discovery of gravitational waves. The book is organized into thirteen roughly chronologically ordered chapters, some focusing on theory and others more on observations and technological advances. A few of the chapters are of a more general nature, relating to larger contexts such as politics, philosophy and religious world views. The chapters are written by eight different authors, some of whom are astrophysicists or cosmologists while others have backgrounds in the history and philosophy of science. Each chapter can be read separately but also has a symbiotic relation with the other chapters. As a result, the book describes the history of modern cosmology coherently, comprehensively and with ample references to the relevant sources.

scholarly journals The Universe in Images: an Art-Historical Approach to the Plurality of Worlds

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1 and 2) ◽  
pp. 283-303
Author(s):  
Lucia Ayala
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Extrasolar Planets ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
William Herschel ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Special Relevance

The idea of a plurality of worlds, consolidated in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, is one of the most inspiring and exciting chapters in the history of astronomy. Nevertheless, one crucial aspect has yet to be written. In this paper I propose to recompose the fascinating visual mosaic around the subject, in order to establish the basis for a largely forgotten iconography. It represents a key period in the evolution of the notions around the large-scale structure of the universe, one of the milestones in Early Modern cosmology. This tradition continued until the nineteenth century, when astronomers such as William Herschel still considered the existence of multiple similar inhabited systems. Today, when extrasolar planets and the cosmic web are in the forefront of the astrophysical vocabulary and its images are so popular, reflecting on the visual genealogy of this field acquires special relevance. This paper invites the reader to look at the sky through a telescope provided with art historical lenses.

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