E=mc2
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Cosmology Demystified
That has got to be the single strangest post title I’ve ever written. Of all the whacky branches of science out there, cosmology almost takes the cake — second only, I think, to the downright trippy world of quantum mechanics.…
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The Big Bang in a Nutshell
Okay, okay, I know…with that featured image, I just broke my own cardinal rule of not depicting the Big Bang as an explosion. I did pick that image for a reason, though. We first covered the Big Bang waaaay back…
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Dark Matter: What We Know
I considered titling this post “Dark Matter Demystified” and including it in my “Cosmos Demystified” series…but honestly, there are some promises I can’t make! Dark matter is one of the most mysterious concepts in cosmology, second only to the even…
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The Proof in the Afterglow
In 1915, Einstein published his theory of general relativity. This theory predicts that, since gravity works by bending space-time, it also determines the shape of space — and the shape of the universe as a whole. In 1929, Edwin Hubble…
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The Big Bang Theory, Revised
Imagine a time before stars and galaxies existed, before free-floating subatomic particles combined to form the first atoms, before the synthesis of the first atomic nuclei… Wait a second — this sounds familiar! Way back in May, we rewound the…
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The Discovery of Dark Energy
In 1998, astronomers made an extraordinary discovery. Contrary to expectation, the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Astronomers wondered at first if their measurements were wrong; further measurements confirmed the results. And then confirmation of the expansion came in the…
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The Universe’s First Moments
Imagine a time before galaxies existed, before the first stars had been born, before the most basic building blocks of matter — atoms — had formed. This was mere moments after the Big Bang. No one understands how matter and…
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The Proton-Proton Chain
Take a wild guess: how much energy do you think the sun generates? Think about it. It definitely generates enough energy to power a world. Humans depend on the photosynthesis of plants, which converts sunlight into energy. And that’s not…
