Risa Wechsler
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Physics 16:
The Origin & Development
​ of the Cosmos

Course Information


Instructor: Professor Risa Wechsler
Course Lectures: Tuesday / Thursday 1:30-2:50pm Hewlett 102
Office Hours: Monday 4-5pm Physics & Astrophysics Bldg, Rm 211
TAs: Junwu Huang, Warren Morningstar, Ken Van Tillburg
for course communication, use piazza

Lecture Schedule


  • 1. The Modern View of the Universe
  • 2: Our place in the Universe
  • 3. The Science of Astronomy
  • 4. Energy and Motion
  • 5. Gravity and Orbits
  • 6. Light, the Cosmic Time Machine
  • Midterm 1
  • 7. The Sun and other Stars
  • 8. The Lives and Deaths of Stars
  • 9. The Milky Way
  • 10. The Galaxy Zoo
  • 11. Galaxy Distances and Hubble's Law
  • 12. Galaxy Evolution
  • Midterm 2
  • 13. How did the Universe begin? Inflation
  • 14. What is the Universe made of?  Dark Matter
  • 15. How does the Universe evolve?  Structure Formation
  • 16. What is the Fate of the Universe? Dark Energy
  • 17. Surveying the Universe
  • 18. The Next Decade of Cosmology

Course Requirements

Exceptions

If you want special permission to turn in work late, or to take an exam at a different time, YOU MUST MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME IN ADVANCE!
As a rule, I only grant exceptions in truly exceptional cases, and do not grant them when it would not be fair to offer them to only one person in the class. For example, if you need to turn in a problem set late because you're having chemotherapy, I will gladly help accomodate you. However, if you would like to do extra credit work because you're disappointed in your grade, then I will probably not grant you an exception, unless I decide to offer it to the class as a whole.  In general, keep me informed.

Resources

  • https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtPAJr1ysd5yGIyiSFuh0mIL
  • Crash Course Astronomy: Introduction to Astronomy
  • Crash Course Astronomy #7: The Gravity of the Situation
  • Crash Course Astronomy #24: Light
  • Crash Course Astronomy #25: Distances
  • Crash Course Astronomy #37: The Milky Way
  • Crash Course Astronomy #38: Galaxies Part 1
  • Crash Course Astronomy #39: Galaxies Part 2
  • Crash Course Big History #2: Exploring the Universe
  • Crash Course Big History #10: The Deep Future

Articles
  • What happened before the big bang Atlantic Monthly, January 19, 2012
  • A cosmic detective story Atlantic Monthly November 16, 2015
  • Cosmic Dawn: Astronomy's Ancient Quest to find the Universe's First Stars Atlantic Monthly November 14, 2012
  • The Quietest Place in the Universe Harper's Magazine May 2012
  • What came before the big bang Harper's Magazine, January 2016
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  • Home
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