long exam crash course

what is Classical Science view

• newtonian framework

• “clockwork universe”

• senses, naked eye

• Gravity + 3 newtonian laws

• OBJECTIVE PHYSICAL REALITY

what is Naive Realism

• physical world as we see it

• fixed rules regardless of observation

• direct perception

• intrinsic properties

  • built in properties of an object

what is Newtonian Mechanics

• mathematical framework of our universe

• speed, velocity, and force (3 laws of motion)

  • universal motion

• absolute space and time

  • space can be 3d, fixed or motionless

  • time is a masterclock ticking identically anywhere in the universe

what is deterministic view

• predictable outcomes → calculate behavior

• no randomness

• no fundamental chance

• world operating like a machine

what are attributes

universal identities of objects

what is mass

• how an object bends space

• how strongly an object gravitates

• resistance to acceleration (inertia)

what is electric charge

how particles interact with electro magnetic fields

what is spin

• quantum property (like charge)

• gives particles magnetic properties

• determines how they pack together

what are spacetime coordinates

‘when’ and ‘where; of an element (x,y,z,t)

what is the subatomic scale

• ≤ 10^-15 meters

• quarks, electrons, neutrinos, and photons

what is the atomic/ molecular scale

• 10^-10 to 10^-6 meters

• atoms, mols, dna, chem

what is the macroscopic scale

• 10^-5 to 10⁶ meters

• classical science → human senses

what is the cosmic scale

• 10⁸ to 10²⁶ meters

• planets, heavenly bodies

what is the Modern science view

• no theory-independent view of reality —> may mga models

• model-dependent realism

what is the criteria of a model

1. elegance

2. contains few arbitrary elements

3. agrees with observations

4. makes testable predictions

assigning “reality” to abstract concepts

• like Einstein’s theory of general relativity

  • gravity bending 4d fabric called spacetime

• spacetime is real → because math model accurate

what is the coexisting models: wave-particle paradox

• travel of light → wave

• light interacting with objects → particles (photons)

• neither is correct on its own → both are valid

what is Strong nuclear force

• strength: 1 (strongest)

• range: extremely short range (approx. 10^-15 m)

• power of the sun

what is electromagnetic force

• relative strength: 1/137

• range: infinite

• friction, electricity, magentism

what is weak nuclear force

• relative strength: 10^-6

• range: extremely short (approx 10^-18 m)

• radioactive decay, stars

what is gravitational force

• relative strength: 10^-39 (weakest)

• range: infinite

what is the cosmic calendar

• carl sagan → bool of eden

• 13.8 billion year history of earth → condensed into 1 year

The cosmic calendar — The Big Bang

January 1 (00:00)

The cosmic calendar — Solar System Forms

September 9

The cosmic calendar — First life on earth

september 25

The cosmic calendar — Dinos extinct

dec 30

all of recorded human history

dec 31 (23:59:46)

The cosmic calendar — Cosmic era

• January to august

• Jan 1: big bang -→ matter, space, and time

• Jan 22: First galaxies form from collapsing gas clouds

• may 12: milky way galaxies take shape

The cosmic calendar — early and early life era

• sept 2: sun condenses into solar nebula → lives on earth

• sept 6: earth from cosmic debris

• sept 21: prokaryotes emerge in Earth’s oceans

• oct 12: photosynthetic organisms → beginning of exygen

• nov 9: complex eukaryotic cells evolve

The cosmic calendar — complex life boom

• december

• dec 5: first multicellulaar organisms

• dec 17: cambrian explosion

• dec 20: plants on land

• dec 23: reptiles

• dec 25: dinos on earth

• dec 30: asteroid booommm dinos dead → more mammals

• dec 32: human history

what is radiometric dating

• radioactive atoms

• transformation rates → half life

• measuring ratio of unstable atoms to new stable atoms in rock or fossil → know age

what is stellar spectroscopy

• light travels through element → diff elements absorb specific colors

• tells us what stars are made off, how fast stars movie, how far stars, and elements across time

what is the cosmic microwave background → cosmic microwave brownie !!

• space expand after BBT → flash of light free → travels through univ

• scientists map this bg → first pic of univ

what is The micro realm

• structure of the world

• extreme microscopic level

• protons and neutrons etc → fundamental forces holding them tgt

what is meso and macro realm

• structure of the world

• human scale and sized objs

• billions of chem compounds aggregate over millions ofyears to form stuff

what is the cosmic realm

• structure of the world

• tiny earth big galaxies

• physical laws → gravity, thermodynamics, and relative

what is the division of natural sciences

• physics

  • fundamental forces, energy, matter at extremes

• geology

  • macroscopic structures, planetary systems

• chem

  • electronic structures, molecular bonding, etc

what is Theory (the map)

• predicts new phenomenon → mathematical explanations

what is experiment (the testing)

• empirical data and real world observations

• reveal anomalies and break current models

falsification

• cannot prove a theory 100% true forever → cent test every theory

• can prove a theory false with one counterexample

what is paradigm shift → changing the map

• normal science

  • Scientists work within an agreed upon map

• revolutionary science

  • unexplained stuff (anomalies) pile up

  • old map plot holes → new map better

What is technology and creativity in terms of the direct contributions of science

P6 → electromagnetism → electricity, radio waves, microchips, and smartphones

What is medicine and health in terms of the direct contributions of science

Biology, chem, germ theory → transformed average human life expectancy

What is environmental stewardship and risk reduction in terms of the direct contributions of science

• Chem and earth sci → monitor air quality, detect ozone depletion, predict superstorms, and burn early warning systems for earthquakes and tsunamis

What is overcoming superstition and risk reduction in terms of the indirect contributions of science

Through science we were able to explain outbreaks and tsunamis and other natural calamities + how the universe predicts what happens to our surroundings

What is philosophical grounding and critical thinking and risk reduction in terms of the indirect contributions of science

Science taught us to rely on evidence over authority or intuition

What is the dual-use dilemma: nuclear energy vs: nuclear weapons

Split atoms can generate zero-carbon electricity for millions of homes, or they can level entire cities in seconds.

What is the dual-use dilemma: synthetic chemistry

Nitrogen fixation → revolutionized agriculture but also used to manufacture explosives in world wars

What is the dual-use dilemma: AI

Help spot early-stage cancer or for deepfakes and automated weapons

what is hawking’s argument?

• In an increasingly technological democracy, citizens must have sufficient scientific understanding to make informed voting decisions on public policy (e.g., climate change, energy choices, health regulations).

• A requirement for society so alam natin kung ano ang nangyayari sa community. Both in our day to day lives to have healthy deloberative democracy 

what is technocracy (rule by experts)

Power gets turned over to a small group of unelected scientists bc public feels incapable of handling choices

what is demagoguery and misinformation

Politicians and others manipulate votes using fear, emotional stories, and pseudosciences to push harmful policies 

what is distinguishing science from pseudoscience: the peer review process

Independent rival scientists must tear apart experiments to check for errors before discovery is accepted

what is distinguishing science from pseudoscience: falsifiability and self correction

Pseudoscience makes claims so vague that they can never be tested or proven wrong

What is the Big Bang Theory

• 14B years ago there was a sudden expansion and cooling from a small hot dense point 

• The expansion and cooling is still happening 

  • Allowed the building blocks of matter to form lighter elements 

• the expansion of space (not the objects in it)

What is Hubble’s Law of Galaxies moving away

• pillar of Big Bang

• Edwin Hubble -→ masive telescope at distant galaxies

• light → shift towards red end of spectrum (REDSHIFT)

  • the expansion of space between galxies

• ¨farther away from us, the faster they are receding

what is the CMB radiation thermal “afterglow”

• afterglow from the hot early dense state

• found out when testing a massive radio antenna

• mysterious static noise pick up

• thermal foot print from over 380k years ago after BB

What is Light Elements 75% hydrogen, 25% helium

• composition of the oldest stars

• how hot universe is in the first three minutes → could only fuse simple atoms of ***** and ***** with a trace of Lithium

What are composite objects

• atoms, protons, and neutrons

• have detectable internal structure

What are elementary objects

• electrons

• no internal components or substructure

• quarks, lepons, bosons, elecyton neutrinos

What is the shift in modern physics

• particle is not an isolated speck of matter

• localized bundle or spike of energy or a quantum excitation

what is ancient greek philosophy vs. modern science

• the quest for the ultimate building blocks of the world
  
  

• democritus and leucippus

  • proposed the idea of atoms
    
    

  • democritus (like democracy)

    • hard physical objects that bumped into each other in a void
      
      

  • elementary particles are not shaped solid objects but rather excitations in mathematical quantum fields

What are the major gaps in the Standard model thatr must be addressed

1. missing gravity

2. unexplained phenomena

• missing suff like dark matter and dark energy

3. arbitrary values

What is the standard model

The primary theory in physics that unifies all known elementary particles and describes how three of the fundamental forces govern their movement, interaction, and binding.

What are fermions

• matter particles (quarks and leptons)

• compose all physical mass and structure in the universe.

what are bosons

• force carrier particles

• nagsasabi ng fundamental force interactions, movements, and particle binding

what are first generation particles?

• up and down quarks, electrons, and neutrinos

• lightest most common particles → form all normal atoms and matter

what are second and third generation particles

• heavier rarer siblings of first generation particles (big back kapatid ng mga first gen)

• charm/strange quarks, muons, and muon neutrinos

• top/bottom quarks, tau and tau neutrinos

what is an electron

• indivisible lepton orbiting nucleus

• responsible for electricity

• bound by electomagnetism

what is a neutrino

• vv light and abundant fundamental particle

• interacts thought weak force

• passing through matter mostly undetected

solar neutrino

• vv light and abundant fundamental particle

• most common element flowing through your body

• produced by nuclear fusion in the sun

what are antimatter particles

• particles corresponding to each matter particle with identical mass bu opposite electric charge

• eg. positions and electrons

what is a molecule

• smallest unit of a chemical compound

• made of two or more atoms tgt

what is an atom

• smallest unit of an element

• atomic nucleus + orbiting electrons

what is an atomic nucleus

• dense center of atoms

• made of protons and neutrons (glue: strong force)

what is a proton made of

two up quarks and one down quark

what is a neutron made of

one up quark and two down quarks

what are the six types or flavors of quarks

Up, Down, Charm, Strange, Top, and Bottom.

what is a gluon

• boson

• carries strong force

• inds quarks tgt inside protons and neutrons

what are W and Z bosons

• heavy fore carrying particles

• mediates weak nuclear force

what is the Higgs Field

• invisible background energy field spanning the universe

• particles acquire mass based on how strongly they interact with it

what is the Higgs Boson

• boson associated with higgs field

• grants mass to elementary particles

What is the timeline from the darg ages to the first light

1. gas collapses into stars

2. stars fuse light elements into heavy ones

3. dying starts disperse these elements into space

4. new generations of starrs and rocky planets form

What are Population III stars

• like the first gen kpop idols of the universe

• giants → 10 to hundred times more massive that the sun

• few million years before dying (supernova like Chappell)

What are Supercomputer simulations and protogalaxies

• collective gravitational pull gas

• building blocks of modern galaxies like the Milky Way

How were the first stars made?

Pristine Hydrogen and Helium Gas + dark matter halos → collapse into population III giant stars → supernovae disperse heavy metals → enriched gas forms protogalaxies

what is the interstellar cloud collapse

• star formation today inside molecular clouds with heavy element dust

• makes lower mass stars like the sun

• Dust radiates heat away efficiently, cooling gas down to a frigid 10 K. Cold gas has lower pressure, allowing much smaller gas pockets to collapse into Sun-like stars.

what are the forces regulation star formation?

• gravity

• turbulence

• magnetic fields and feedback

How does gravity regulate star formation?

• universal pull (g) pulling gas tgt

• collapse interstellar clouds to dense stellar cores

How does turbulence regulate star formation?

• supersonic has churns stir up cloud

• local seeds for collapse → supports clouds against rapid collapse

How do magnetic feilds and feedback regulate star formation?

• act like cushions resisting compression

• winds blow away excess gas to limit growth

What are protostars and disks

• “Pull!” gravity said to himself. And with his command, space and dust shrinks towards the center

• with the atom’s shock, the cloud suddenly spins faster and smaller, like a tornado shrinking into itself, but it was speeding up, and this terrified him

• and suddenly splat the cloud goes. The speed was too much and its now flat. What is atom going to do now?

How are planets formed

• Tiny dust grains → stick tgt via electrostatic forces → build to kilometer sized planetesimals

• planetisimals nagbumper cars dahil sa G → naging protoplanetary cores

  • Volatile gases (water, methane, ammonia) → vapor form 

  • Rocky and metallic  materials → turn into Earth and Mars 

  • Ice compounds freeze solid → cores grow very big! → G pulls in hydrogen and helium → makes gas gians like Jupiter and Saturn

What is the frost or the snow line

• too hot for ice to survive

• distance from young stars in a disk → cold enough for compounds like water, ammonia, and methane to freeze into solid ice grains

what are exoplanets

• planet outside solar system

• orbit other stars or none at all (rogue planets)

• puede sila maging hot jupiters or supernearths and mini neptunes