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The Mysterious Architecture of the Universe - With J Richard Gott

The Royal Institution via YouTube

Overview

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Embark on a captivating journey through the history of our understanding of the Universe's structure in this illuminating lecture by J Richard Gott. Explore the concept of the 'cosmic web', which posits that our Universe resembles a sponge composed of galaxy clusters intricately connected by filaments. Delve into the groundbreaking telescope surveys, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, that are revolutionizing our comprehension of the cosmos. Discover how the cosmic web holds crucial clues to the universe's origins and its potential future over the next trillion years. Learn about various cosmological concepts, including the Hubble-Humason observations, the Friedmann Big Bang model, Fritz Zwicky's work on galaxy clusters, and the theory of cosmic inflation. Examine the evolution of our understanding through historical milestones, cutting-edge simulations, and observational data from projects like the WMAP and Planck missions. Gain insights into the complex structure of the Universe, from regular polyhedrons to the sponge-like nature of galaxy distributions, and explore the implications of these findings for our cosmic understanding.

Syllabus

Intro
Hubble/Humason 1931
Friedmann Big Bang model 1922
Fritz Zwicky
Coma cluster (Zwicky)
Perseus Cluster
Growth of a cluster
Zeldovich, Shandarin, Einasto 1983
Inflation, Guth 1981
Bubble Universes 1982
Regular Polyhedrons
Regular planar networks
My Westinghouse Science Project
My science fair project
Regular Pseudopolyhedrons
Squares, 6 around a point Divides space into interlocking parts
Honeycomb (Swiss cheese)
Gott, David Weinberg
Stereo views
deLapparent, Geller, Huchra 1986
Great Wall of Geller & Huchra 1989
Park 1990 simulation-bottom
Giovanelli & Haynes observations
CfA observations--spongelike
CfA observations--Vogeley
Bond, Klypin Cosmic Web 1995
Sloan Great Wall-1.37 billion l.y. Great Wall -756 million l.y.
Eastern End Sloan Great Wall galaxies 50x enlarged (Hofstetter)
Millennium Run cosmic web 2005
Observations (blue) Millennium Run simulation (red)
Observational samples
Genus - holes - isolated regions SDSS spongelike 2009
WMAP Cosmic Microwave Background
Planck fluctuations
Acoustic oscillations

Taught by

The Royal Institution

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