Geo Vocab 1

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Astronomy

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The branch of science that deals with the Universe and the various objects, like stars, planets, and galaxies, that we find within it. Cosmology and astrophysics are closely related to astronomy, and the words are sometimes used interchangeably. Cosmology focuses on the Universe’s largest scales in space and time, and astrophysics focuses on the properties and interactions of astronomical objects.

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Astrophysics

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The study of the properties and interactions of planets, stars, galaxies, and other astronomical objects.

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Atom

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A small unit of matter composed of protons, electrons, and usually neutrons. Atoms are basic building blocks of the matter we see in the Universe and on Earth. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines which chemical element it is.

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Authority

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A respectable or credible source; an expert.

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Big Bang

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A theory, first articulated in the 1920s, proposing that the Universe started out extremely hot and dense and gradually cooled off as it expanded.

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Big History

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A unified account of the entire history of the Universe that uses evidence and ideas from many disciplines to create a broad context for understanding humanity; a modern scientific origin story.

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Cepheid

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A star that fluctuates in brightness and provides astronomers with a reference they can use to measure great distances in the Universe. It was the identification of Cepheids in nearby galaxies that first proved that the Universe consists of more than one galaxy.

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Claim

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An assertion that something is true.

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Claim Testing

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The use of strategies to decide whether a story or concept should or should not be trusted. The four strategies for claim testing that we use in Big History are intuition, authority, logic, and evidence.

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Collective Learning

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The ability to share, preserve, and build upon ideas over time.

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Complexity

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A quality of an object or system that has diverse components precisely arranged in connection with one another (so that new properties emerge which did not exist in the components alone).

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Cosmic Microwave Background

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or Cosmic Background Radiation (CBR) — Low-energy radiation pervading the entire Universe, released about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. At this point, the Universe had cooled sufficiently for atoms to form and allow radiation and matter to separate.

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Cosmology

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The study of the Universe on its largest scales, including its origin.
emergent properties — Properties of a complex system that are not present within its parts but that emerge only when those parts are combined.

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Doppler Effect

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The apparent stretching out or contraction of waves because of the relative movementof two bodies. The Doppler effect explains why an ambulance siren seems higher when the ambulance is traveling toward you than when it is moving away. It also helps astronomers identify whether objects such as stars or galaxies are moving toward us or away from us.

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Electromagnetism

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One of the four fundamental forces or interactions, along with gravity, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force. Among other things, electromagnetism is responsible for the interaction between electrically charged particles, including holding electrons and protons together to form atoms. Electromagnetism is also responsible for essentially all molecular interactions.

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Electron

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A negatively charged subatomic particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom.energy — The capacity to do work, associated with matter and radiation. Includes kinetic energy, potential energy, and chemical energy, among others.

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Entropy (law of it)

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The natural tendency of all things to move from order to disorder. (Note: Although often called the law of entropy, it is more accurate to refer to it as the second law of thermodynamics.)

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Evidence

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Concrete, verifiable information that either supports or disproves a claim.

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Goldilocks Conditions

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Specific set of conditions necessary to enable greater complexity. The reference is to the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears, in which Goldilocks looks for the porridge, chair, and bed that are “just right.”

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Gravity

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The fundamental force of attraction between any two objects that have mass.

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Helium

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The second simplest of all chemical elements, helium has two protons and (almost always) two neutrons. Helium was produced soon after the Big Bang.

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History

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The study of past events.
ingredients — Components that are put together to form something new and more complex.

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Hydrogen

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The simplest of all chemical elements, hydrogen has one proton. Hydrogen was the first element produced after the Big Bang and is the most common element in the Universe.

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Inflation

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The idea that space and time (space-time) underwent an expansion at a rate much faster than the speed of light during the first 10-36 seconds after the Big Bang.

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Interdisciplinary Approach

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An approach to a subject that uses the viewpoints of many different kinds of scholars about the same topic. For instance, Big History relies on information from cosmologists, astrophysicists, geologists, chemists, paleontologists, biologists, anthropologists, and historians, as well as experts in other disciplines, to learn about the past.

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Intuition

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A “gut feeling” that is not necessarily based on logic or evidence.

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Light-year

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A measure of distance in space; the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. It is equal to roughly 9.5 trillion kilometers, or 5.9 trillion miles.

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Logic

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The application of systematic reasoning to arrive at a conclusion.

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Matter

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The physical material of the Universe, including subatomic particles, atoms, and the substances that are built out of them.

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Neutron

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An electrically neutral subatomic particle present in the nuclei of most atoms. Unlike protons, the number of neutrons in a given element can vary, giving rise to different isotopes of an element.

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Nucleus

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The extremely dense and positively-charged region at the center of an atom that consists of protons and neutrons.

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Origin Story

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A narrative about the beginning of the Universe and humanity.
religion — A set of beliefs and practices that concern humanity’s relationship with the spiritual, the supernatural, and reality.

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Parallax

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The change in the apparent position of an object caused by movement of the observer.

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Proton

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A subatomic particle with a positive electric charge. The number of protons in an atom (the atomic number) determines which element it is: For example, carbon atoms always have 6 protons, while iron atoms always have 26 protons

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Redshift

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The phenomenon in which light waves from distant galaxies are “stretched out,” which for visible light means a shift toward the red side of the spectrum. Redshift provides scientists with strong evidence that the Universe is expanding, since the expansion of space explains the stretching of the light waves.

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Scale

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Degrees of magnification, or perspective, used to measure time, space, and size.


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Science

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An approach to discovering knowledge about the natural world that relies on testing ideas through observation or experiment.

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Scientific Method

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The process of gathering evidence to test and refine scientific theories.

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Scientific Notation

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A method of expressing very large and very small numbers to avoid using the many zeros that would be required otherwise.

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Space-time

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The unification of space and time into a single four-dimensional continuum or “fabric.” Space makes up three of the dimensions, while time makes up the fourth, and cannot be fully separated from space. Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity holds that all objects with mass interact with space-time by bending it much like a person standing on a trampoline bends the trampoline.

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Telescope

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An instrument used for viewing distant objects, including planets, stars, and galaxies.

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Thermodynamics (the law of)

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One form of the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy may change forms but cannot be created or destroyed.

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thresholds of increasing complexity

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Moments in the history of the Universe when specific ingredients under the right “Goldilocks Conditions” come together to create something new and more complex.

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Universe

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All the matter and energy in existence, as well as the space that contains it.