Abstract
This paper discusses how Hawking succeeds in introducing the average layperson to the physical principles of the material universe. It offers examples from the book to further qualify and express this point.

From the Paper
"Hawking also tries to make his theories funny and relevant to every day life today, as well as introduce speculations of what will happen to the universe, long after his text's first readership has passed into eternity. Hawking even mentions the effect of airline food on human life expectancy, a sobering thing to reflect upon for one who engages in as much air travel as Hawking! But there are also more serious, vital references to how understanding physics can impact human life on earth in the relative short term as well as in space and far into the future. Hawking describes how statistical evidence points to the physical limits of population growth and electricity being reached on earth by the year 2600. But by applying the same statistical principles to knowledge as to population growth, to take a more comforting view of things, predicted human knowledge of how to preserve energy reserves could potentially carry the human race forward, faster to possibly attain solutions to this problem of geometric physical expansion."

Tags:physics, principles, introduction, literature

Abstract
This paper discusses what the universe is made up of, its age, how stars are formed and what is the future of our solar system. It discusses the history of the exploration of the universe. The author explains how In this century large telescopes are set up, far away from city lights and traffic to gather the best data for studying the skies. A brief overview of the theories on the origin of the universe is also given. The author concludes that although new theories are constantly being proposed and science is constantly to answer the question "Where did we come from?" , until now, no answer has satisfied everyone.

From the Paper
"Man's fascination with the heavens is as old as recorded history itself. Astronomers from all civilizations medieval to the present times carefully observed the stars and their relative position in the night sky. Even in the medieval times, astronomers universally observed two features: that stars tended to drift westward with each passing night; and, despite this apparent movement, stars were always in a fixed position relative to each other. Anything that man could not explain, ending up fascinating him as did the stars. It has been stated that when man loses his desire to explore the unknown, the human race will have sounded its own death knell."

Tags:universe, astronomy, stars, westward, observations, fixed, position

Abstract
This paper looks at the Newtonian Universe, laws of gravity, the development of calculus, the laws of motion and the idea of the clockwork universe.

From the Paper
"Sir Isaac Newton was considered by many the most important figure in the development of modern science, and his accomplishments covered a broad scope, from fundamental contributions to physics and astronomy, to the invention in parallel with Liebnitz of the mathematical field of calculus and Newtonian mechanics which came to be regarded as the ultimate explanatory science. Sir Isaac Newton changed the understanding of the universe with his three laws of motion."

Tags:gravity, clockwork universe, calculus, laws of motion

Abstract
This paper answers questions about the universe: the significance of the Hubble Law, the truth and fallacies of the Big Bang theory, how we can look back by looking into space, and whether the universe will expand forever.

From the Paper
"The significance of Hubble's Law is that it allowed the calculation of an estimate of the value of the expansion of the universe. The Hubble Constant is not entirely accurate but is generally accepted to be the rate of expansion, and demonstrates that the dominant motion in the universe can be fit to an equation."

Tags:Big Bang, expanding universe

Abstract
This paper examines an article by Oliver Sacks and one by Charles Darwin, comparing and contrasting their ideas regarding the universe and organisms.

From the Paper
"The process of natural selection as advanced by Charles Darwin and the concept of evolution as defined by Oliver Sacks have something foundational in common both are admittedly theories not intended to be scientific fact but to stimulate scientific thought and research. Other than this broad similarity however the two articles are not readily comparable given that Sacks' article discusses the origin of life which would have been comparable to another of Darwin's works, Origin of Species, while Darwin's article talks ..."

Tags:universe, organism, Sacks, Darwin, natural selection

Abstract
This paper looks at how the question of the origins of the universe has concerned humanity for centuries and how understanding the origins of the universe also implies an understanding of creation and leads to insight into humanities place in the universe. The central scientific theory on this subject, known as the Big Bang theory, is compared to two modern theories that have become popular alternatives to the Big Bang theory. The two other theories are ekpyrotic theory and the split universe theory. The central thesis that is explored in this paper is that the Big Bang theory does not provide a comprehensive and satisfying explanation of the origins of the universe and that the other theories provide a more comprehensive and fitting explanation.

Outline:
Outline
Introduction
Major Theories
The Big Bang Theory of the Origins of the Universe
Ekpyrotic Theory
The Split Universe Theory
Analysis and Argument
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Another theory that has become popular is the theory that the universe is in fact split into two. This is also based on quantum string theory. According to this view, the universe was at one point ten-dimensional but this was unstable structure. As a result it split into two universes - one with six dimension and one with four dimensions. We exist in the four-dimensional universe. Therefore, according to this theory, the Big Bang was in fact the breakdown of the ten dimensional universe into two parts ( Theories on the Existence and Origin of the Universe).
"This theory was put forward by, among others, Cumrun Vafa, a professor at Harvard University. He has determined that "...the six-dimensional universe is in the shape of an orbifold. The simplest example of an orbifold is a cone, but in this case the universe is a 'twisted torus' - a doughnut shape" ( Theories on the Existence and Origin of the Universe)."

Tags:quantum, string, Ekpyrotic

Abstract
The purpose of the universe has been seen from many angles in human history. The scientific view of the purpose of the universe has fluctuated together with various epochs and the philosophies connected with these epochs. Various philosophies of the purpose of the universe, and whether indeed the universe does have a purpose, are discussed.

From the Paper
"Cosmology, or the study of the universe, originated in Mesopotamia. The philosophy of the time was that the earth was the center of the universe. Main philosophers of the time were Aristotle and Ptolemy. Because of Aristotle's power, this view of the world remained relatively uncontested until 1543. This philosophy also made the idea of the purpose of the universe fairly simple. The universe existed for human beings, who were created at the center of it. The understanding of the world, being simple, was therefore unproblematic. It therefore might be not only Aristotle's power but also the basic human need to feel that there is a purpose to things that perpetuated this view."

Tags:cosmology, science, aristotle

Abstract
This paper discusses how the creation of the universe has been a controversial topic since its inception and how scientists now accept the 'big bang theory' as the most likely origin of the universe. It also looks at how there are other theories, such as the steady state theory,
that also endeavor to explain our existence. The paper attempts to show that although both theories share certain bases such as the violation of the first law of thermodynamics, the big bang theory is the more probable theory as to how the universe formed.

From the Paper
"The Big Bang is believed to have happened 13.7 billion years ago, marking the beginning of space and time. It suggested that the universe violently exploded into existence, and it continued to expand and cool, condensing and growing in both size and temperature, eventually forming the universe we know today. To this day, the universe continues to expand. The Big Bang theory has quite a bit of evidence backing it up, such as Hubble's Law- suggesting that the universe is constantly expanding and compacting through time. Or the discovery of Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, both radio-astronomers, that 2.735 Kelvin CMB radiation can be found in the universe, a leftover of the Big Bang. Also, the sheer amount of large 'light elements' such as hydrogen and helium in combination to form deuterium, which is believed to be created at the Big Bang. This evidence led scientists to accept the Big Bang theory as the most probable origin of the universe.
"

Tags:perfect cosmological principle First Law of Thermodynamics energy spectrum

Abstract
This paper explores the fate of the universe. The writer looks back to the origins of the universe to see how it all started and what has been happening since then. In this article the writer explores some of the predictions for the future, the main one of which is that the universe will go on expanding forever.

From the Paper
"Before one can speculate on the fate of the universe, one must first look back to how it began. The modern version of the 'Big Bang' theory is that a massive explosion created all the mass and energy in the universe and also the fabric of time-space, which inflated rapidly after the big bang but then slowed down and the universe cooled down. The temperature dropped within minutes and free-roaming quarks formed protons and neutrons, some of which coalesced into the nuclei of simple elements."

Tags:Big Bang, Big Splat, Big Rip, cosmological constant, neutrinos, gravity

Abstract
This paper discusses the origins of the universe using the theory of the inflationary model. It discusses the concept of the fine tuning of the universe and defines and explains the anthropic principle. It discusses how the anthropic principle does provide a useful explanation of the universe, despite the fact that it appears to be a weak concept initially.

From the Paper
"So many strong coincidences on the universal level can hardly be explained by random chance. For example, it may be possible for a player to get a royal flush once, but when it happens repeatedly, it becomes clear that there are unaccounted factors, such as cheating. Similarly, to call the perfection of these various quantities coincidence is quite a stretch. It can only be convincingly explained as a tailoring towards life. On the more terrestrial level, it is the exact opposite; there is virtually no evident fine-tuning for life as far as we know. Together, these result in an overall moderate tailoring of the universe towards life. This fine-tuning logically leads to the weak anthropic principle, which offers an explanation for the basic, "first principles" of the universe, providing us with the answer to "why" instead of "how," purpose rather than method."

Tags:random, coincidence, expansion