Winter 2000
This information effective for Winter 2000.
Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.
Winter 2000
This information effective for Winter 2000.
Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.
Fall Quarter 1999
Instructors:
Joel R. Primack, Professor of Physics, joel@physics.ucsc.edu
Nancy Ellen Abrams, Lecturer, nancy@physics.ucsc.edu
Guest lecturers:
Etiel Herring, meditation instructor, UCSC Hillel
Brant Secunda, Huichol shaman, Dance of the Deer Foundation,
Soquel
Introduction to scientific cosmology. Examination of cultural roles of creation myths and cosmologies; examples include Huichol and ancient, medieval, and modern Judeo-Christian cosmologies. Possible cultural and religious repercussions of Big Bang, Gaia, and other modern origin stories.
Topical in Natural Science or Social Science (T7).
Seminar course, Monday nights, 7:00-10:30 PM, including a half hour break. Stevenson 175. Required readings in UCSC Copy Center Reader Vol. 1 and two books. Optional readings in Copy Center Reader Vol. 2. Open-book midterm examination. Take-home final examination, or (with approval of the instructors, following written student proposals) term projects based on additional readings and individual creativity.
Timothy Ferris, The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the- Universe(s) Report (Simon & Schuster, 1997) $14
Joseph Campbell, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space (Harper and Row, 1995) new $15, used $11.25
Cosmology and Culture Reader, Vol. 1 (includes all required readings not in Ferris or Campbell). At the Copy Center, Communications Building, UCSC.
Cosmology and Culture Reader, Vol. 2 (includes all optional readings except those in Ferris, Campbell, or handouts). At the Copy Center.
The books by Ferris and Campbell are available at Bay Tree Bookstore, on the UCSC campus.
Introduction to Cosmology and Culture. Overview of Biblical, Medieval, Newtonian, and contemporary scientific cosmologies. How to picture the universe. Contemplation -- two traditions: one monotheistic, one earth-centered.
The Big Bang, expansion of the universe, and the mythic dimensions of these ideas. Anthropological approaches to cosmology. Contemplation. Guest lecture by Etiel Herring. READINGS FOR THIS WEEK (to be completed BEFORE Oct. 4): Timothy Ferris, The Whole Shebang, Preface, Ch.1-2, pp. 11-67 Joseph Campbell, Inner Reaches of Outer Space, pp. 11-35 Edward R. Harrison, Ch.1-2, Masks of the Universe ( Macmillan, 1985), pp. 1-32 Bronislaw Malinowski, "The Role of Myth in Life," "Myths of Origin," Magic, Science and Religion, and Other Essays (Doubleday Anchor, 1954), pp. 96-117 [Optional: Mircea Eliade, Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries (Harper, 1960), pp. 155-189] [Optional: Cosmology: A Research Briefing, National Research Council Board on Physics and Astronomy (National Academy Press, 1995), p. 1-11] [Optional: Michael Turner, "Inner Space & Outer Space," and Virginia Trimble, "Cosmology: Where in the $&#**% Universe Are You?" Beam Line, Fall 1997, pp. 2-13, 52-60]
Ancient cosmologies and cultures of the Near East. Old and new elements in the Hebrew creation myths. READINGS: Evan Hadingham, "Ancient Astronomy and the Roots of Science," Early Man and the Cosmos (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1985), pp. 10-29 - but first look at the Chronological Table from p. xi and the Glossary from pp. 251-255 (included in reader) Edward Harrison, Ch. 3-4, Masks of the Universe, pp. 33- 66 Steven Weinberg, "The Giant and the Cow," and "Epilogue: The Prospect Ahead," The First Three Minutes (Basic Books, 1977), pp. 3-10, 150-155 Richard Elliott Friedman, "Big Bang and Kabbalah," The Disappearance of God (Little, Brown, 1995), pp. 219-237 Genesis 1:1-3:24, 6:1-9:19, The Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger (Oxford Univ. Press, 1965), pp. xxi-xxiv, 1-11 Thorkild Jacobsen, "Enuma Elish-The Babylonian Genesis," Milton Munitz, ed., Theories of the Universe (Free Press, 1957), pp. 8-20 Richard Elliot Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? (Harper & Row, 1987), pp. 50-61, 236-8 "The Story of the Flood," The Epic of Gilgamesh, translation by N.K. Sandars, (Penguin Classics, 1960), pp. 105-110 [Optional: Michael Coogan, Stories from Ancient Canaan (Westminster, 1978), pp. 9-25, 75-85] [Optional: E.M. Wilmot-Buxton, "How All Things Began," The New Junior Classics, Vol. III (P.F. Collier & Son, 1952), pp. 253-260 (Icelandic creation saga)] [Optional: W.M.L. Hutchinson, "Prometheus the Firebringer," The New Junior Classics, Vol.III (P.F. Collier & Son, 1952), pp. 13-25]
The modern creation story: cosmic evolution. Picturing size scales in the universe, from the cosmic horizon to the smallest size possible according to relativity and quantum mechanics. TERM PAPER PROPOSALS DUE (optional). READINGS: Ferris, Ch. 6-7, pp. 145-203 [Optional: Ch. 3-5, pp. 68-144] Sheldon Glashow, "Life on Log Time," and excerpt from "What is an Elementary Particle?" The Charm of Physics (American Institute of Physics), pp. 42-54, 109-113 Nancy Ellen Abrams and Joel R. Primack, "What is the Universe?" and "The Cosmic Serpent Swallows its Tail" (draft chapters of unpublished manuscript of a book in progress, Prayers for an Expanding Universe), 8+11 pages J.B.S. Haldane, "On Being the Right Size," On Being the Right Size (Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 1-8 Michael LaBarbera, "The Strange Laboratory of Dr. LaBarbera," University of Chicago Magazine, October 1996, pp. 18-24 Alan Watts, excerpt from In My Own Way (Pantheon, 1972), pp. 376-377 [Optional: Cosmology: A Research Briefing, pp. 12 - 40]
Contemplative practices. Medieval Christian and Jewish cosmologies. Cultural impacts of the Copernican-Newtonian revolution. READINGS: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living (Dell, 1991), pp. 153-7 Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: the Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel (Amity House, Inc., 1986), pp. 19- 20, 33-37 Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Meditation: a practical guide (Schocken, 1985), pp. 64-75 C. S. Lewis, "The Heavens," The Discarded Image (Cambridge, 1967), pp. 92-121 Edward R. Harrison, Ch. 5-7, Masks of the Universe (Macmillan, 1985), pp. 67-117 Isaac Newton, "Letter to Richard Bentley," Milton Munitz, ed., Theories of the Universe (Free Press, 1957), pp. 211-214 Daniel Matt, The Essential Kabbalah (Harper San Francisco, 1995), pp. 1-19 Daniel Matt, trans., Zohar: the Book of Enlightenment (Paulist Press, 1983), pp. 43-45, 49-53, notes pp. 204-214 [Optional: Richard S. Westfall, "Newton and the Scientific Revolution," Newton's Dream (McGill: Queen's Univ. Press, 1988), pp. 4-18] [Optional: Thomas S. Kuhn, "The Ancient Two-Sphere Universe" (excerpt), "The Assimilation of Copernican Astronomy," The Copernican Revolution (Vintage, 1959), pp. 1-8, 185-228]
What happened before the Big Bang? Inflation and eternal inflation. Connections with medieval Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah). READINGS: Ferris, pp. Ch. 9-10, pp. 229-264 [Optional: Ch. 8, pp. 204-228, Ch. 11-12, pp. 265-303] Joel R. Primack and Nancy Ellen Abrams, "In A Beginning...Cosmology and Kabbalah," Tikkun, Jan/Feb 1995, pp. 66-73 "The Handwriting of God," Newsweek, May 4, 1992, p. 76
MIDTERM EXAM (45 minutes, in class, notes and books allowed). The concept of "truth" in science and religion. A living, earth-centered cosmology and shamanistic culture. Guest lecture by Brant Secunda. READINGS: Campbell, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, pp. 55-62 Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science," "Science and Religion," Ideas and Opinions (Crown, 1982), pp. 36-49 Brant Secunda, "Dreamers of the Sun: Huichol Shamanism," Enlightenments, Oct. 1993, pp.18-19 Brant Secunda, "Journey to the Heart" (2 pages) Rochelle Gordon, "Places of Power: an interview with Huichol Shaman Brant Secunda," Body Mind Spirit, July/Aug 1994, pp. 39-42 Maria von Bolschwing, "Dancing through the God's Eye: Huichol Art and Culture," Whole Earth Review, summer 1992, pp. 48-51 [Optional: Campbell, pp. 93-105] [Optional: Peter Furst, "Huichol Cosmogony: How the World Was Destroyed by a Flood and Dog-Woman Gave Birth to the Human Race," South and Meso-American Native Spirituality (Crossroad 1993), pp. 303-323]
Einstein's question about the creation of the universe: "Did God have a choice?" Anthropic cosmology. Dreams of a Final Theory. READINGS: Ferris, "Contrarian Theological Afterword," pp. 303-312 Carl Sagan, "The Great Demotions," Pale Blue Dot (Random House, 1994), pp. 23, 26-39 Ian Barbour, "Religious Responses to the Big Bang," talk at American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting, Boston, Feb. 14, 1993, 15 pages Daniel Matt, God and the Big Bang (Jewish Lights, 1996), pp. 79-90, notes pp. 184-6 Steven Weinberg, "Facing Finality," "What About God?" Dreams of a Final Theory (Pantheon, 1992), pp. 230-261 [Optional: John Gribbin and Martin Rees, Cosmic Coincidences: Dark Matter, Mankind and Anthropic Cosmology (Bantam Books, 1989), pp. 241-255]
Modern myths of the origin of life. The discovery of geologic time. The Origin of Species. Evolution as continuous creation. The Gaia myth. READINGS: Loyal Rue, "The Epic of Evolution" (talk at Star Island conference, 1995), 17 pages Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell (Bantam, 1974), pp. 1- 4, 170-174 Martin J. S. Rudwick, "The Shape and Meaning of Earth History," in David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers, God and Nature (University of California Press, 1986), pp. 296- 321 James Lovelock, The Ages of Gaia: a Biography of our Living Earth (W.W. Norton, 1988), pp. 15-41 Lynn Margulis and Michael Dolan, "Gaia: Cosmic Beginnings and Nonhuman Ends," Cosmic Beginnings and Human Ends, ed. Clifford N. Matthews and Roy Abraham Varghese (Open Court, 1995), pp. 187-204
Understanding the modern world in light of cosmology. Implications for 21st century life and culture. Optional Term Paper DRAFTS DUE. Take-home Final Exam distributed, due at time of scheduled Final Exam, December 6, 7:30 pm. READINGS: Joel E. Cohen, "Ten Myths of Population," Discover, April 1996, pp. 42-47 Lynn White, jr., "The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis," Science, Vol. 155, pp. 1203-1207 (10 March 1967 Lewis Thomas, "The Iks," The Lives of a Cell (Bantam, 1974), pp. 126-129 [Optional: Campbell, pp. 119-148]
(on reserve at Science Library) David S. Ariel, The Mystic Quest: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism (Schocken, 1992) $13.00 Ian G. Barbour, Religion & Science (Harper & Row, 1990) $18 Michael Coogan, Stories from Ancient Canaan (Westminster, 1978) $14 Mircea Eliade, Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries (Harper, 1960) Richard Elliott Friedman, The Disappearance of God (HarperCollins, 1996) $14 Richard Elliot Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? (Harper & Row, 1987) $14 John Gribbin and Martin Rees, Cosmic Coincidences (Bantam Books, 1989) Evan Hadingham, Early Man and the Cosmos (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1985) $22 Edward R. Harrison, Masks of the Universe (Macmillan, 1985) Thomas S. Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (Harvard U. Press, 1957) $12.95 C. S. Lewis, The Discarded Image (Cambridge U. Press, 1994) $9.95 David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers, God and Nature (UC Press, 1986) $24.95 James Lovelock, Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (Oxford UP, 1979) $11.95 James Lovelock, The Ages of Gaia (Norton, 1988) $13 Daniel Matt, The Essential Kabbalah (Harper San Francisco, 1995) $12 Daniel Matt, trans., Zohar: the Book of Enlightenment (Paulist Press, 1983) $12.95 Daniel Matt, God and the Big Bang (Jewish Lights, 1996) $16.95 Jeremy Naydler, Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred (Inner Traditions, 1996) $19.95 Dorothy L. Sayers, The Mind of the Maker (Harper San Francisco, 1979) $13 Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell (Bantam, 1974) $11.95
(also to be listed as Astronomy 171)
Fall 1999 MWF 11-12:10 289 Kerr
Instructor:
Joel R. Primack, Physics , joel@physics.ucsc.edu
Review of special relativity. Curved space-time, including metric and geodesics, will be illustrated with simple examples. The Einstein equations will be solved for cases of high symmetry. Black holes and cosmology will be discussed, including recent developments.
Week 1 Introduction, Special Relativity
Week 2 Equivalence principle, gravitational redshift
Week 3 Space and space-time curvature, Schwarzschild metric, tensors
Week 4-5 Generalized covariance, Riemann tensor, Einstein field equations
Week 6 Tests of general relativity
Week 7 Black holes and gravitational collapse
Week 8 Gravitational radiation
Week 9-10 Cosmology and recent developments
Week 1, by Ian R. Kenyon (Oxford University Press, 1990).
Supplementary readings from C. M. Will, Was Einstein Right (Basic Books, 1986). Also useful: A. Pais, Subtle Is the Lord, the science and the life of Albert Einstein (Oxford, 1982).
There will be regular problem sets, and an in-class midterm and final. Students will be expected to be familiar with special relativity and partial differential equations at the level of Physics 101A, 114B, and 110B. It is intended that this course will be at about the same level of difficulty as 110B.