153 Dark Matter, Dark Energy: The Dark Side of the Universe, Part II
Computers, Science, Tech | Available (Membership Required)
For the first time in human history, we know what the universe is made of. A series of remarkable observations at the close of the 20th century enable cosmologists to discover a complete inventory of the universe: about 5 percent ordinary matter (atoms, stars, galaxies), 25 percent dark matter (some new particle that hasn’t yet been detected here on Earth), and 70 percent dark energy. Dark Energy is something completely new and unexpected: a kind of energy density that seemingly exists even in completely empty space. Together, dark matter and dark energy hold the key to the ultimate fate (and, possibly, the origin) of our universe.
This course will examine why we think dark matter and dark energy must exist and what they might be telling us about the mysteries of fundamental physics.
This DVD is from The Great Courses media series and presented by Professor Sean Carroll, a senior research associate in physics at the California Institute of Technology. He is a former instructor in the University of Chicago’s physics department and Enrico Fermi Institute.
After the six sessions viewing the DVD lectures, there will be an additional session by Dr. Ralph Isler and Professor Soren Sorensen.
Dan Robbins
Dan Robbins retired from B&W Y-12 in 2013 after 47 years of company service. At Y-12 he was the director of the analytical laboratories. He is a chemistry graduate at UNC, Chapel Hill and a PhD at Princeton. He is the founding chairman of the Greenways of Oak Ridge Organization, which has supported the development of greenways in Oak Ridge since 1993, and from which he retired as Chairman this year.
Dr. Ralph Isler is a retired researcher from ORNL’s Fusion Energy Division and Professor Soren Sorensen is a retired former Head of UT’s Department of Physics. They have both previously lectured at ORNL on similar topics related to Cosmology. They will provide an update on the scientific information obtained since the DVD used in this course was produced.