About this course: We have learned a lot recently about how the Universe evolved in 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang. More than 80% of matter in the Universe is mysterious Dark Matter, which made stars and galaxies to form. The newly discovered Higgs-boson became frozen into the Universe a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang and brought order to the Universe. Yet we still do not know how ordinary matter (atoms) survived against total annihilation by Anti-Matter. The expansion of the Universe started acceleration about 7 billion years ago and the Universe is being ripped apart. The culprit is Dark Energy, a mysterious energy multiplying in vacuum. I will present evidence behind these startling discoveries and discuss what we may learn in the near future. This course is offered in English.
Who is this class for: Completion of this course requires introductory physics knowledge (qualitative understanding of concepts such as force, energy, etc.) and some basic math (basic algebra and geometry). To audit the course, no prior knowledge is required.
Created by: The University of Tokyo
Taught by: Hitoshi Murayama, Director, Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study (TODIAS)
MacAdams Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 2-4 hours/week |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Russian, Romanian |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
From Daily Life to the Big Bang
Understanding the Universe in which we live and how to probe it can begin with simple daily life experiences such as night and day and the four seasons. Starting from these observations, we will take a journey from our local Earth at the present time all the way to the edge of the universe and back to its birth, learning the techniques and findings in modern physics that provide us this understanding.
12 videos, 3 readings, 10 practice quizzes
- Video: Course Preview
- Video: Introduction
- Leitura: Course Description
- Leitura: Syllabus
- Video: 1-1 Night and Day, and Four Seasons
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-1
- Video: 1-2 Revolution of the Earth
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-2
- Video: 1-3 Why Elliptic?
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-3
- Video: 1-4 Why Does Everything Fall the Same Way?
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-4
- Video: 1-5 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past I
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-5
- Video: 1-6 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past II
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-6
- Video: 1-7 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past III
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-7
- Video: 1-8 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past IV
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-8
- Video: 1-9 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past V
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-9
- Video: 1-10 Cosmic Expansion
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 1-10
- Leitura: About Optional Challenge Problems
Graded: Graded Quiz 1-1
Graded: Graded Quiz 1-2
Graded: Graded Quiz 1-3
Graded: Optional Challenge Problem 1
WEEK 2
Birth of Elements and Higgs Boson
We are made of chemical elements. So one of the fundamental questions “where do we come from?” leads to another question: “how were elements born?”. This is related to the Higgs Boson, an important particle in answering this question which remained elusive until its discovery was recently announced on July 4, 2012. In this module, we will learn recent research outcomes on these topics.
9 videos, 9 practice quizzes
- Video: 2-1 Birth of Elements I
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-1
- Video: 2-2 Birth of Elements II
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-2
- Video: 2-3 Birth of Elements III
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-3
- Video: 2-4 Birth of Elements IV
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-4
- Video: 2-5 Birth of Elements V
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-5
- Video: 2-6 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe I
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-6
- Video: 2-7 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe II
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-7
- Video: 2-8 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe III
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-8
- Video: 2-9 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe IV
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 2-9
Graded: Graded Quiz 2-1
Graded: Graded Quiz 2-2
WEEK 3
Dark Matter and Anti-Matter
In this module, we will learn about dark matter and anti-matter -- some of the more mysterious sides of the Universe. We know dark matter played an important role in the formation of stars and galaxies, but much of properties are still unknown to us. In another strange mystery, we will see how the beginning of the universe started with equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, yet somehow only matter (which we are composed of!) survived.
8 videos, 1 reading, 8 practice quizzes
- Video: 3-1 Power Spectrum
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-1
- Video: 3-2 Dark Matter I
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-2
- Video: 3-3 Dark Matter II
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-3
- Video: 3-4 Nature of Dark Matter I
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-4
- Video: 3-5 Nature of Dark Matter II
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-5
- Video: 3-6 Neutrinos and Anti-Matter I
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-6
- Video: 3-7 Neutrinos and Anti-Matter II
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-7
- Video: 3-8 Neutrinos and Anti-Matter III
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 3-8
- Leitura: About Optional Challenge Problems
Graded: Graded Quiz 3-1
Graded: Graded Quiz 3-2
Graded: Optional Challenge Problem 2
WEEK 4
Inflation and Dark Energy
At the very beginning, the Universe exponentially expanded during a period known as the cosmic inflation. Recent studies suggested that the Universe has entered into another stage of expansion, considered to be caused by 'mysterious' dark energy. In this module, we will learn about inflation, dark energy, and the possible fates of our Universe.
8 videos, 7 practice quizzes
- Video: 4-1 Inflation and Uncertainty Principle I (Inflation)
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 4-1
- Video: 4-2 Inflation and Uncertainty Principle II (Uncertainty Principle I )
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 4-2
- Video: 4-3 Inflation and Uncertainty Principle III (Uncertainty Principle II )
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 4-3
- Video: 4-4 Fate of the Universe
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 4-4
- Video: 4-5 Dark Energy
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 4-5
- Video: 4-6 Big Rip
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 4-6
- Video: 4-7 Future Observations
- Teste para praticar: Practice Quiz 4-7
- Video: 4-8 Wrap-up
Graded: Graded Quiz 4-1
Graded: Graded Quiz 4-2
FAQs
How It Works
Trabalho
Cada curso é como um livro didático interativo, com vídeos pré-gravados, testes e projetos.
Ajuda dos seus colegas
Conecte-se com milhares de outros aprendizes, debata ideias, discuta sobre os materiais do curso e obtenha ajuda para dominar conceitos.
Certificados
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Creators
The University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo was established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan. As a leading research university, UTokyo offers courses in essentially all academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels and conducts research across the full spectrum of academic activity.
Ratings and Reviews
great
Love the style of the teaching and the approach for newcomers who want to get into the field or discipline of the hard sciences without wanting that much math at first. Love it! I would love to see a bit more math however, I understand the approach 100% and appreciate it since it gets newer people into the study.
Very informative, interesting and fascinating! Great course, great teacher.
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FL
Muy intersante, aprendí cosas que no tenía bien claras !