Foundations of Modern Cosmology

Written by: John F. Hawley (University of Virginia)

He is the Associate Dean for the Sciences at the University of Virginia. John F. Hawley teaches the course Introduction to Cosmology which is a “survey of modern cosmology intended for both science and non-science majors.” The course uses his own textbook Foundations in Modern Cosmology which he generously offers his own students and cosmology students everywhere.

The material is presented in such a way that I am not entirely sure that what is offered online is the complete text. When visiting the chapter pages, it mentions in the left margin a “chapter summary.” Even if this is only a summarized version of a larger text, it contains diagrams, drawings and illustrations. There are also questions, with answers. What might be the most helpful for students is the glossary of key cosmology terms. The definitions include figures and illustrations to aid understanding.

Table of Contents for Foundations of Modern Cosmology Online Textbook

Part I: History
1. In the Beginning
2. Cosmology Becomes a Science
3. Newton’s Machine
Part II: Background
4. Lighting the Worlds
5. The Lives of the Stars
6. Infinite Space and Absolute Time
7. The Special Theory of Relativity
8. The General Theory of Relativity
9. Black Holes
Part III: The Big Bang
10. The Expanding Universe
11. Modeling the Universe
12. The Early Universe
13. Testing the Models
14. A Message from the Big Bang
Part V: The Continuing Quest
15. Dark Matter and Large-Scale Structure
16. The Inflationary Universe
17. The Edge of Time
   

View this Free Online Material at the source:
 
Foundations of Modern Cosmology

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