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
