WEEK 1: PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Lesson 1: In the Beginning (Big Bang Theory and Formation of the Light
Elements)
Cosmology is the study of the Universe and its components, how it formed, how it has evolved and
what is its future. Modern cosmology grew from ideas before recorded history. Ancient man asked questions
such as "What's going on around me?" which then developed into "How does the Universe work?", the key
question that cosmology asks.
What is Big Bang?
The big bang is how astronomers explain the way the universe began. It is the idea that the universe
began as just a single point, then expanded and stretched to grow as large as it is right now (and it could still
be stretching).
What's This Big Bang All About?
In 1927, an astronomer named Georges Lemaître had a big idea. He said that a very long time ago, the
universe started as just a single point. He said the universe stretched and expanded to get as big as it is now,
and that it could keep on stretching.
BIG BANG THEORY
The broadly accepted theory for the origin and evolution of our universe is the Big Bang model, which
states that the universe began as an incredibly hot, dense point roughly 13.7 billion years ago. So, how did the
universe go from being fractions of an inch (a few millimeters) across to what it is today?
A. The universe may have begun as an infinitely hot and dense initial singularity, a point with all of space,
time, matter and energy. This means that there was nowhere, when or what. There is no space around
the singularity – just nothingness.
B. All of it then began to rapidly expand in a process known as inflation. Space itself expanded faster than
the speed of light. In this still hot and dense mass of the universe, pairs of matter and antimatter
(quarks and antiquarks) were formed from energy, but these pairs cancelled each other back into
energy (annihilation).
C. The universe cooled down as it expanded. An excess of matter (electrons, protons, neutrons and other
particles) somehow came to be in a highly energetic “plasma soup.” Photons (light particles) were
being scattered everywhere in this “soup”. Protons and neutrons came together to form different
types of nuclei by nucleosynthesis or nuclear fusion.
D. Much later on, electrons started to bind to ionized protons and nuclei forming neutral atoms in a
process called recombination. The bound particles no longer scattered photons so light and energy
moved freely across space. The period was hence known as the “dark ages”.
E. Gravity caused these atoms to collapse onto one another to form stars and galaxies and eventually,
other matter. This still happens until today. Space also continues to expand at an accelerating rate,
thus increasing the distance between the matters inside it.
Misconceptions About Big Bang Theory
1. It does not explain the creation of the Universe
It is an attempt to explain how the universe developed from a teeny, dense ball of matter into what we see
today
2. There was NO “BANG” or “ EXPLOSION”
Instead there was ( and continues to be) an expansion. It is just a term !
Evidence of the Big bang Theory
1. RedShift
It was found out that the light of galaxies is found to be redshifted (the light looks “stretched”) which
suggests that galaxies are moving away from each other (red light has a longer wavelength. It was later
determined that they are not moving away instead space itself is expanding in all directions causing all the
galaxies to be relatively farther apart.
2. Elemental Abundances
1
The term nucleosynthesis refers to the formation of heavier elements, atomic nuclei with many protons
and neutrons, from the fusion of lighter elements.
Light elements (namely deuterium, helium, and lithium) were produced in the first few minutes of the Big
Bang, while elements heavier than helium are thought to have their origins in the interiors of stars which
formed much later in the history of the Universe. Through measurements, we find that around 24% of the
universe’s ordinary matter is currently comprised of helium, about 74% hydrogen, and 2% of other elements.
3. Cosmic Background Radiation
Astronomers have also discovered a cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). This comes from all
directions in space and has a temperature of about -270°C. The CMBR is the remains of the thermal energy
from the Big Bang, spread thinly across the whole Universe.
Lesson 2: We Are All Made of Star Stuff (Formation of the Heavy Elements)
Continuation of Big Bang into Star formation, star fusion and other fusion processes
Stars are giant nuclear reactors. In the center of stars, atoms are taken apart by tremendous atomic
collisions that alter the atomic structure and release an enormous amount of energy. This makes stars hot and
bright.
Nuclear fusion is an atomic reaction that fuels stars. In fusion, many nuclei (the centers of atoms) combine
together to make a larger one (which is a different element). The result of this process is the release of a lot of
energy.
Stars are powered by nuclear fusion in their cores, mostly converting hydrogen into helium.
The production of new elements via nuclear reactions is called nucleosynthesis. A star's mass
determines what other type of nucleosynthesis occurs in its core (or during explosive changes in its
life cycle).
Each of us is made from atoms that were produced in stars and went through a supernova.
Stars start their lives as clouds of dust and gas. Gravity draws these clouds together. A small protostar
form, powered by the collapsing material. Protostar often form in densely packed clouds of gas and
can be challenging to detect.
Smaller bodies — with less than 0.08 the sun's mass — cannot reach the stage of nuclear fusion at
their core. Instead, they become brown dwarfs, stars that never ignite.
But if the body has sufficient mass, the collapsing gas and dust burns hotter, eventually reaching
temperatures sufficient to fuse hydrogen into helium. The star turns on and becomes a main
sequence star, powered by hydrogen fusion. Fusion produces an outward pressure that balances
with the inward pressure caused by gravity, stabilizing the star.
Stars evolve because of changes in their composition (the abundance of their constituent elements)
over their lifespans, first by burning hydrogen (main sequence star).
Main sequence stars fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms in their cores. About 90 percent of
the stars in the universe, including the sun, are main sequence stars. These stars can range from
about a tenth of the mass of the sun to up to 200 times as massive.
Larger stars find their outer layers collapsing inward until temperatures are hot enough to fuse helium
into carbon. Then the pressure of fusion provides an outward thrust that expands the star several
times larger than its original size, forming a red giant.
The new star is far dimmer than it was as a main sequence star. Eventually, the sun will form a red
giant, but don't worry — it won't happen for a while yet.
It then undergoes a supernova explosion that releases a tremendous amount of energy enough to
synthesize elements heavier than iron.
Examples of these elements are uranium and thorium, which are some of the heaviest known
elements. This is done through the r-process that involves rapid capture of neutrons by the atom.
Other heavy elements are also synthesized through s- process involving slow neutron capture in red
giants.
