Cosmological Conundrums is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Justin Khoury, Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania. This conversation provides a unique window into the world of a practicing cosmologist and examines a wide range of fascinating topics that Khoury’s research covers such as the early universe, the Big Bang, dark matter, dark energy, Cosmic Microwave Background, the MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) theory, and more.
This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Into The Light, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter:
- Becoming A Physicist – The power of passion
- The Victim of Its Success? – Swinging scientific pendulums
- Periodically Fiery – Calculating colliding branes
- The CMB – Almost completely homogeneous
- The Process of Discovery – Typically messier than you think
- Learning from History – Missing mass or missing theory?
- MOND vs. Dark Matter, Part I – Looking at galaxies
- MOND vs. Dark Matter, Part II – Dark matter roars back
- Why Not Both? – The liquid helium analogy
- Dark Energy – Vacuum energy and the cosmological constant problem
- Personal vs. Professional – The scientist as childlike iconoclast
- Revolutionary Rumblings – Cosmology’s Golden Age
Available in electronic format on all major booksellers, including:
Cosmological Conundrums is also part of the five-part Ideas Roadshow Collection, Conversations About Astrophysics & Cosmology, which is available in hardcover, paperback and electronic format.
We’ve produced a one-hour video of our conversation with Justin Khoury which is now available on Vimeo On Demand: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/cosmologicalconundrums
