P.J.E. Peebles
Princeton University
The Expanding Universe
I will show astronomical images that illustrate what is known about the large-scale nature of our physical universe. Inferences from these images and other measurements have led us to the conclusion that our universe is evolving: it has expanded from a dense hot early state. Physical science is only as good as its experimental basis. The experimental case for this hot Big Bang theory looks better every day. But there are no final answers in physical science. We can't say for sure what our universe was doing before the Big Bang.
Jim Peebles is the Albert Einstein Professor of Science Emeritus at Princeton University. One of the principal architects of the modern big bang theory of the universe, he has made numerous contributions to cosmology. Among the first researchers to predict the cosmic microwave background radiation, he also made the first modern calculation of the formation of the light isotopes during big-bang nucleosynthesis and has been a leading proponent of the currently accepted theory of galaxy formation. He is also author of several widely known texts, including Physical Cosmology and Principles of Physical Cosmology.
Cookies at 3:30!