Final Review Flashcards
What is the modern view of space and time?
The curvature of the universe is flat.
Flat means that parallel lines never meet/cross. Closed means the universe is like a sphere and its curved so parallel lines intersect.
What is the “quantum view of matter”?
Electromagnetic waves (including light) are emitted in quantized forms, or discrete energy packets called quanta. Particles have a dual nature. To every particle there is an associated wave proportional to its mass.
What are the three kinds of fundamental particles? What are the four forces of nature? Which force is associated with which particle? What particle gives things mass?
Bosons, leptons, and quarks are the three kinds of fundamental particles.
The four forces of nature are gravity, electromagnetism, weak, and strong.
Strong force is mediated by gluons, weak force is mediated by bosons, electromagnetic force is mediated by photons, and gravity is mediated by gravitons.
The mass of particles are the result of the interaction of those particles with the Higgs field via the Higgs bosons.
What is the Big Bang Theory? What is the evidence for it?
The Universe is becoming cooler and less dense as it expands, therefore the Universe started from a point of extreme density and heat.
Evidence: Expansion of the universe, presence of the cosmic microwave background, the abundance of light elements.
