Comments on: The Universe On TV http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/ Fri, 24 May 2013 15:41:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Tales From The Industry XIII - Magnetic Moments - Asymptotia http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-84747 Tales From The Industry XIII - Magnetic Moments - Asymptotia Fri, 26 Oct 2007 04:35:43 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/#comment-84747 [...] The background goes as follows: It turned out that last week I was planning (but never got to it) on writing another blog post about the History Channel show “The Universe” to encourage you to watch some of the episodes, since (although it is not perfect – what show is?) I think that the show is worth supporting. (I’ve done a number of posts already, e.g. here.) I was going to particularly highlight the one entitled “Beyond the Big Bang” for how good a job they did on several aspects of the subject. (It’ll air again Nov 10/11.) They did a good job of explaining some of the key ideas surrounding the development of the foundations of the modern precision cosmology we take for granted today. This goes back to the arguments over whether the Big Bang model or the Steady State model was correct. Usually, references to this discussion make the Steady State idea (of Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle – famously championed by Hoyle) seem like some sort of dodgy effort, and Fred Hoyle is often painted as a strange figure on the fringes. They did not do that in this program. The point is that the models were both viable candidates at the time, each with their strengths and weaknesses (from both the physics and philosophical perspectives of the day). There are good treatments in books (such as Simon Singh’s “Big Bang” – an excellent (relatively) recent book by the way), but this is the first program (or one of the few) that I’ve seen on television that get across the sense that – in the absence of the data that were yet to come – the discussions in the scientific community over the two ideas really helped sharpen the whole field of modern cosmology and build it into what it is today. Good science and good ideas came forth from people on both sides of the argument, bringing several fields of physics together in the context of astrophysics and cosmology (such as Hoyle’s pivotal idea on nucleosynthesis – explaining that most of the heavy elements we know are made in stars. As it transpired, the Big Bang is better supported by nucleosynthesis of the highly abundant lighter elements like helium – stellar processes don’t make them in the right quantities). Interestingly, some of the key ideas that underlie the Steady State mechanism are showing up again in modern cosmology in a new guise, such as inflation, and eternal inflation. – Good ideas don’t always work exactly the way (or in the context) that they first arise, but they’re often good for something in the end. [...]

]]> By: The Scary Universe? - Asymptotia http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-72747 The Scary Universe? - Asymptotia Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:11:30 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/#comment-72747 [...] Well, I myself don’t think of the Universe that way, but tonight (at 9:00pm) the History Channel will be presenting the next show in their series (called “The Universe”), which is about (they say) the Most Dangerous Place In The Universe”. It looks as though it will be a survey of various places where a lot of very energetic activity is taking place, powering some of the most powerful phenomena we’ve ever seen, such as quasars, magnetars, and so forth. So black holes will feature quite a bit, I imagine, and although I probably should not really be telling you about it before I’ve had a chance to see it (recall my remarks about the windy shooting conditions), I think (I’m not sure) that I’ll be making an appearance as one of the contributors. (I did not get caught off guard this time.) [...]

]]> By: My Superpowers Revealed - Asymptotia http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-69977 My Superpowers Revealed - Asymptotia Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:45:34 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/#comment-69977 [...] « The Universe On TV [...]

]]> By: Clifford http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-69972 Clifford Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:22:56 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/#comment-69972 Well, me seeing me is not that important. After all, I pretty much knew what I said already…. More important that others get the message of the show, which overall is pretty well made – it gives a sense that the research on many aspects is alive and well, and that it is fun.

There was one thing I was curious to see though… see next post.

-cvj

]]> By: Jude http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-69970 Jude Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:15:30 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/08/09/the-universe-on-tv/#comment-69970 Good thing you recorded it so you didn’t miss yourself.

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