Session One

Modern Astronomy and Physics and the Oldest and Wildest Philosophy

We are no longer taking registrations for this session.

Fridays, February 3, 10, 17, 24
1:30 - 3:20 p.m.
Lecture Room 2, Van Allen
Registration Deadline: January 27
Class Limit: 125

We've sure come a long way since the time of those ancient Greeks, who thought the entire universe was just a single, eternal, pure entity and the Earth its stationary center. Now we have a big bang model with a finitely old and ever-changing universe, and observers who may even embrace a "many worlds" interpretation of events. While the ancient notions seem childishly naïve in comparison, are they? This course will examine modern discoveries in astronomy and physics from the perspective of their strange echo in these earliest thoughts, which in some ways exhibited remarkable foresight.

INSTRUCTOR: Ken Gayley is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Iowa. He received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of California at San Diego. His current research interests center on radiative transfer in stellar atmosphere, but he dabbles in other areas. The unifying thread throughout his interests is the way we use light to learn about astrophysical phenomena. He is a member of the astrophysics group that operates the Iowa Robotic Observatory.