Internet Education Week, seven days of making you lot less dumb. This series will probably span a little over a decade at the rate I'm posting. Since we started this thing though, we might as well drag it out to the painful finish. Today's topic is my current absolute favourite thing in the world, second only to Queen and Sam Smith, astrophysics!!! (With no less than three exclamation marks. I'm excited, as you can see.)
Astrophysics is an incredible, incredible thing. Just saying the word makes you sound instantly smarter.
(Blind date)
Melissa: Oh, yeah, my type is totally, like, clever guys you know. I mean, I want the IQ points.
Aditya: Really? That's nice, because - ASTROPHYSICS - girls nowadays are generally so superficial.
Melissa: Take me now!
Astrophysics is a long process of realization of the smallness and unimportant-ness of man. We are balls of dust, sitting on a drop of water, orbiting a little star, in a universe filled with wonder. Take a look at this. Know what this is?
Yup, there we are. Not exactly the centre of the universe anymore, are you? But, there's more.
All those bright shiny things? They're all galaxies. Every single one. Among them is the Milky Way. In the Milky Way there is a little star, of moderate size and temperature. An atom of dirty water flies around this star. You're sitting on it.
So, we're not that big. And from the laws of probability, we're not the only ones either. In the words of Stephen Hawking, "I believe alien life is quite common in the universe, although intelligent life is less so. Some say it has yet to appear on planet Earth." But, as the case stands at this point, we have found no evidence to the contrary that we are not alone.
If we are indeed the only somewhat intelligent life in the universe, a huge responsibility has been entrusted to us. We become, then, the only way for the cosmos to know itself. That's why we study the universe. That's why I study astrophysics.
And also, of course, for stuff like this:
LOOK. THEY'RE DANCING.
Astrophysics is an incredible, incredible thing. Just saying the word makes you sound instantly smarter.
(Blind date)
Melissa: Oh, yeah, my type is totally, like, clever guys you know. I mean, I want the IQ points.
Aditya: Really? That's nice, because - ASTROPHYSICS - girls nowadays are generally so superficial.
Melissa: Take me now!
Astrophysics is a long process of realization of the smallness and unimportant-ness of man. We are balls of dust, sitting on a drop of water, orbiting a little star, in a universe filled with wonder. Take a look at this. Know what this is?
That's the Milky Way. Our galaxy. A barred spiral galaxy, composed of stars and dust and hot air. The cloud-like region you see is gas, something like the atmosphere of the earth, illuminated by the light of thousands of suns. See our solar system anywhere?
All those bright shiny things? They're all galaxies. Every single one. Among them is the Milky Way. In the Milky Way there is a little star, of moderate size and temperature. An atom of dirty water flies around this star. You're sitting on it.
So, we're not that big. And from the laws of probability, we're not the only ones either. In the words of Stephen Hawking, "I believe alien life is quite common in the universe, although intelligent life is less so. Some say it has yet to appear on planet Earth." But, as the case stands at this point, we have found no evidence to the contrary that we are not alone.
If we are indeed the only somewhat intelligent life in the universe, a huge responsibility has been entrusted to us. We become, then, the only way for the cosmos to know itself. That's why we study the universe. That's why I study astrophysics.
And also, of course, for stuff like this:
LOOK. THEY'RE DANCING.
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