What is the History of the Universe and How Can I Learn More?

In summary, this 15 year old from India is interested in learning more about physics. He has watched Max Tegmark's History of the Universe and learned about the history of the universe and things like the theory of cosmic inflation. He wants to know more but does not know where to start. He recommends some books and websites to read.
  • #1
Mastermind01
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Hello, this is my first post. I am a 15 year old from India just finishing my 1st year in high school. One of my friends recommended to me the world science U website -

http://www.worldscienceu.com/courses/master_class

I watched Max Tegmarks' History of the universe - http://www.worldscienceu.com/courses/master_class/master-class-max-tegmark and got to know about the history of the universe and things like the theory of cosmic Inflation. Now I want to know more but have no idea where to start. As I mentioned I will finish my first year in high school this March so my math is pretty much limited to that. I know a little of trigonometry, some algebra and euclidean geometry.
 
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  • #2
Welcome to the forum. On place for some interesting and entertaining lectures on various aspects of physics is here:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/physics-ted-talks.796299/#post-5000714

This has the disadvantage of not being at all structured, and very random in the topics covered but it may give you a good place to get information on a number of areas so you can see where you would like to focus further inquiries.
 
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  • #3
If you can get the book _The First Three Minutes_ by Weinberg, you may find it accessible. It certainly uses the least math possible for the subject.

If you can find any of Asimov's science books, they are accessible as well. And if you happen to read some of his science fiction along the way, well, you could do worse. Many scientists were originally drawn into science by reading science fiction. But Asimov also wrote many popular explanations of science topics. For example _Universe_ edited by Preiss. Though you may have to go to used books to get copies of many of Asimov's books.

There are a large number of introductory books on various related subjects. As long as you are at the introductory level with not much math, you will not get past these introductory books. This is not a bad thing at your age. You could look at _Cosmos_ by Sagan. Or you could look at Hawking's _A Brief History of Time_. Lots of fun.
 
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Thanks, I'll look at Weinberg and TED. I recently got Hawking's Theory of Everything. So I am planning on reading that. Thanks again for your answers.
 

Related to What is the History of the Universe and How Can I Learn More?

1. What is the Universe?

The Universe is the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy. It includes all galaxies, stars, planets, and other celestial bodies, as well as the laws of physics that govern them.

2. How big is the Universe?

The observable Universe is estimated to be around 93 billion light years in diameter. However, the actual size of the Universe is unknown and may be infinite.

3. How old is the Universe?

The Universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old. This age is determined by studying the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is the leftover heat from the Big Bang.

4. What is dark matter and dark energy?

Dark matter is a type of matter that does not interact with light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation, but can be detected through its gravitational effects on visible matter. Dark energy is a mysterious force that is causing the expansion of the Universe to accelerate.

5. Are there other universes besides our own?

The existence of other universes, also known as the multiverse theory, is still a subject of debate among scientists. Some theories suggest the possibility of parallel universes or a cyclic universe where the Big Bang is followed by a Big Crunch and another Big Bang, creating an infinite cycle of universes.

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