Physics 209 - THE BIG BANG AND BEYOND

According to modern science the universe as we know it began expanding about 14 billion years ago from an unimaginably hot, dense fireball. Why was the universe in that particular state? How did the universe get from that state to the way it is today, full of galaxies, stars and planets? What evidence supports this “big bang model”? Throughout this course we focus not simply on what we know about these questions, but also on how we know it and on the limitations of our knowledge. Designed for non-science majors. Enrollment limited to 20.