id like an interesting but easy read

[ALecras234]

hi im thinking of doing the open university s177 course. ive read a sample of the course and there are bits i dont understand, the 2nd one down in the contents called scale of the universe is one thing that i dont understand. heres the link http://openlearn.ope...w.php?id=407772 is there a book on the origin of the universe that isnt too complicated and easy to understand please? i have looked at the origin of the universe for dummies but everything is jumbled around, one bit talks about being a child in school, it isnt straight to the point about cosmology.

im after some background so when i come to atoms or light years or the cosmic magnetic radiation when im doing the course ill know what it is.

[TheNorthernMonkey]

What is it that you don't understand in that section? I admit that section doesn't read very well, but it is introducing a scientific notation for writing either very large or very small measurements, in a roundabout way.

In response to your question, however, I'm currently reading through 'Universe', which is the recommended text book for the UCLan Course. I'm only one hundred or so pages in, but it is written in as non-mathematical way as possible for the subject matter.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Universe-Roger-Freedman/dp/142923153X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342982066&sr=8-1

[Capricorn]

All that extract is saying is that there are different sizes to be considered.. Atoms are small, very small, a lightyear is big, intergalactic distances (lengths) being bigger again. You have to be aware of all of them.

Noticed that it asks you to calculate the number of meters in a light year, has a reveal option but then says that 9467 280 000 000 000 is a large number to write down each time.

As to the start of the universe, you will get the big bang theory these days.

Even that has a few questions about it that don't quite fit.

No idea where you live but find a decent book shop and go through a few of the astronomy books and try to find one that makes sense to you. That last bit is not always easy.

[ollypenrice]

I agree that Universe is a superb book. I followed a good number of UCLAN courses with that. However, 'easy' and 'cosmology' go together like 'cheap' and 'apochromatic refractor' so be prepared to rethink what always seemed like common sense. 'We do not do these things because they are easy...' to take JFK slightly out of context.

Olly

[TheNorthernMonkey]

So, in order to answer that question, you need to know the speed of light in meters per second (900,000,000) and the number of seconds in a year (60x60x24x365). When you multiply these together, you get the answer given, 9467 280 000 000 000

However, this number is a pain to write down, and it is possible to make errors in counting the zeros each time you work with it.

So we count how many numbers are behind the leading 9 (called the most significant number) and the answer is 15. You can therefore re-write 9467 280 000 000 000 as 9.467 x 10^15, this is frequently seen as 10 with an uppercase 15, or sometimes (especially on your calculator) 9.467 E 15

[alexog]

scale of the universe

It could be a trick question. If you answer correctly the assessor might steal your answer and win a gold clock.

Sounds like quoting the correct amount of zero's would be OK. The size of an atom vs. the distance to the sun vs. the distance to a red shifted galaxy vs. a walk around the block should keep them happy.

Good luck, I've never been good at real maths. Understanding and saying "to the power" is what they're after.

Sorry I can't recommend a book, ones like that make me sleepy.