Above photographs were all taken in my backyard. A total solar eclipse (July 11, 1991). A "close" alignment of Venus (on top) and Jupiter (several hundred million miles farther away). Moments before a total lunar eclipse, the moon looking like a cue-ball suspended in space. Below: star trails, a relatively short exposure.

Science is immeasurably more fascinating than science fiction. Following are selected fragments from the common terminologies of quantum and mathematical physics, astronomy, and cosmology. In trying to keep this 'short and sweet' I haven't included descriptions of quanta of elemental particles (with a few exceptions)... Newton's laws of motion, Einstein's relativity, Planck's constant, Schrödinger's wave equation, Guth's inflation -- we might say that these are just theories, and while this is true, they are theories that work very well [which cannot be said of certain other theories]. These ideas help us to understand how the universe seems to work. Has science then explained away the great cosmic mysteries? No, it has directed our questionings toward still deeper mysteries... _

. __ Something from nothing: Cosmology, we must remember, is a most unique science. It is concerned with a singular, distant, non-reproducible event. An event which itself can never be truely understood within the rules, and with the tools, of our best science. Leon Lederman, Nobel Prize-winning quantum physicist, recently described this mystery with these words: "In the very beginning, there was a void, a curious form of vacuum, a nothingness containing no space, no time, no matter, no light, no sound. ... We don't know anything about the universe until it reaches the mature age of a billionth of a trillionth of a second. That is, some very short time after creation in the big bang. When you read or hear anything about the birth of the universe, someone is making it up -- we are in the realm of philosophy. Only God knows what happened at the very beginning."

anthropic principle: Were our universe different, we would not exist. (The calculable probability of our universe existing as it does is such that one of two explanations for our existence is inferred; either our universe was created by a willful, intelligent agency intending the existence of order, life, and intelligent beings such as ourselves, or; there are infinite universes, thus allowing, in theory, for a universe [ours] that is so improbable as to be impossible by any reasonable application of mathematical probability [the idea asks that all possible universes do exist]. The former explanation leads to the question -- "what is the identity of this intelligent and willful agency?" The latter explanation isn't really an explanation, it is an infinite set of [non-addressable] questions -- "how and why are there infinite universes?" There can be nothing to imply that were answers to these questions possible they would not bring us still to consider the intelligent agency of the former explanation. The appeal to infinite universes flies in the face of the scientific precept of Occam's Razor -- to avoid the [far less convoluted] Design explanation, it introduces literally infinite problems, an infinite measure of the unknowable. The 'infinite universes' idea is called the strong anthropic principle [SAP]. There are a few rival "anthropic principles," each attempting to explain the improbability of our universe, none succeed). see also big bang, flatness problem, inflation, initial conditions, and Omega

antiparticle / antimatter: Elemental particles of matter have corresponding antiparticles. When a particle and its antiparticle collide, both annihilate, leaving only energy. Any action by which energy produces matter must produce symmetrical quanta of antimatter [Dirac's symmetrical conversion principle].

baryon: Any strongly interacting particle of "ordinary" matter which is the bound state of three quarks, such as we find in the nucleons (protons, neutrons), and the far less stable hyperons (lambda, xi particles, etc.). see also strong nuclear force

big bang: Widely accepted theory of the cosmic creation event; the 'singularity' in which the stuff of the elemental quanta of matter, the mysterious forces requisite to matter, space itself (inflationary theory), and in some descriptions the "laws"* of nature were created instantaneously, at the beginning of the universe [matter, energy, and space-time]. The big bang cannot be explained by the laws with which science understands the universe, the explanation lies beyond space-time, matter, and the application of 'laws' to them, but is indicated by evidence prescribing a singular beginning for the universe we observe. Classical Greek science had prescribed a "steady state" universe which had existed indefinitely in a static condition, an idea that appealed to many scientists until about 1930 when measurements began to indicate that 'time' and all elemental matter traced back to a common origin 'event'. Mathematically, as we look back in time, we can determine that the laws of nature completely break down at 10 to the minus 43rd power of a second (Planck time) after the creation event. By definition anything preceding that moment [notably the Cause of the big bang] is "supernatural", that is -- beyond the conditions of space-time and matter (i.e., "nature"). Some popular accounts describe the universe as having begun as material condensed to 'the size of a bowling ball' or of a baseball. These popular characterizations are not correct. Current and plausible theory of quantum cosmology instructs that neither 'matter,' nor seemingly the forces to compress matter, existed before the 'bang' of creation. In truth, fundamentals of quantum mechanics and relativity theory require that the universe arose from 'something' infinitesimally small, so small that physicists are generally compelled to describe it as a curious "nothing". As such, how could a perfectly balanced universe arise from it? What could be the cause of such a perfectly precise bang? What could be the source of such a narrowly specified 'information packet' of seemingly spontaneous energy? These questions lead us to consider the idea of an intelligent Causer, what Einstein called the "Super Intelligence". (*Note: Some physicists suggest that as the laws appear to be an 'intelligent' specification, that they could have an existence independent of space-time and matter, just as computer software has a real and independent existence even though it has no physical properties [it is an "intellectual property"]. The software's existence is demonstrable to us only through a separate creation, the computer hardware. Thus it is suggested that the laws might have existed 'before' the big bang. Other physicists tend to think that a pre-existing 'independence' of the laws is speculative, is in fact beyond the purvey of science, and describe the laws as having been initiated at the time of the bang, perhaps prescribed by some mysterious aspect of the so-called "superforce" of Grand Unification Theory. Either way: why are the laws so precisely "tuned"?). Another model has been proposed, trying to rid the big bang of its "creation from nothing" aspect. The idea being that the universe expands, then contracts and re-bangs, or "bounces" in an eternally repeating cycle. This idea has at least two fatal problems and is almost universally rejected by mathematical physicists and cosmologists. An interesting codicil: The [then acceptable] description of "big bang theory" that appears in my 1975 dictionary is so completely outdated that any "knowledgeable" person reading it 10 years later would have marveled at its naivete. This is an example of the nature of the "knowledge" we claim [particularly of what has been called historical science]. see also ex nihilo, inflation, initial conditions, matter and graceful exit problem

black hole: A region of space-time in which matter has 'collapsed' resulting in such strong gravity (extreme curvature of space-time), that [it is believed] nothing, including light, can escape once it has entered its 'horizon'.

causality: The principle that cause precedes effect. It might be argued that the conditions described by Einstein in his theory of special relativity could refute this precept, but this would not be true (although such conditions might make it difficult for an observer to perceive the correct 'direction' causation had taken). The cause-effect relationship must always 'move' in one direction, from cause to effect, and this holds true even when we imagine the very different kinds of effects that might be caused in 'worlds' with different laws and either fewer or more dimensions. The idea that cause-effect relationships might be discontinuous does not alter the principle that cause precedes effect. The cosmologist retraces the path of causation to the origin of the universe. To the denizens of our universe, the big bang creation event is an effect of the ultimate cause, which, by definition, lies beyond the reach of scientific knowledge.
This is not a comprehensive definition of causality. There are many, and many of these are disputed. see also special relativity

conservation of energy: The principle that the total energy of the universe is constant. This is known as the "first law of thermodynamics."

cosmology: The study of the universe as a whole, its origin and structure, combining particle physics and astrophysics.

dark matter / dark energy: Perhaps more than 99% of the matter in the universe is the so-called dark matter, it cannot be observed directly but can be detected by its gravitational effect. One of the great mysteries of cosmology, it is believed that much of this matter is non-baryonic ("exotic"). This matter is "known" to exist through calculations of mathematical physics, however ideas regarding the quantity and nature of this matter are largely imposed by the axiomatic suppositions of one cosmological model or another. In a model which has gained some acceptance since about 1998, approximately 70% of the earlier model's mass/energy is replaced by what is described as "dark energy." The so-called dark energy is an anti-gravitational force and is even more of a mystery than is dark matter. Dark energy is also referred to as antigravity, the cosmological constant, and lambda. The word "dark" in these descriptions instructs that this material is not visible but might also be understood as acknowledgement of the degree to which these mass/energies are unknown and arguable.

dimension: Spatial or temporal attribute which is mathematically represented by points producing a coordinate line. Physical existence, as we experience it, requires four large dimensions, and while our universe may contain others*, the kinds of additional dimensions often envisioned by science fiction writers are not possible within our universe. For example, an observable (and large enough to be usable) fourth spatial dimension is precluded by observed fundamental constants of nature like Newton's inverse square law of gravitation. Surprisingly, simple geometry does indicate that additional spatial dimensions are not precluded if they are "curled up" into extremely small "strings". As to possible dimensions external to our universe, for example additional temporal dimensions, that is beyond the reach of science. Sorry sci-fi buffs. *see also string theory

Doppler effect: Describes the relationship between apparent wave distortion and motion.

electromagnetic force: The force that arises between electrically charged particles.

electron: Negatively charged particle, which orbits the nucleus of an atom.

energy-momentum four-vector: The mathematical description of "mass" derived from special relativity. see also mass

entropy: A mathematical expression by which physicists measure the degree to which matter disarranges itself with the passage of time. The "arrow of time" is itself determined by the process of a system of relatively low entropy (higher order) becoming a system of increasing entropy (relative disorder). This is known as the "second law of thermodynamics."

event: A point in space-time, which can be specified by coordinates.

event horizon: The boundary of a black hole.

ex nihilo: The centuries-old Christian precept of "Creation from nothing"; in principle this has become essentially modern science's understanding of the big-bang creation event.

exoplanet: A planet that is part of another stellar system, [that is] orbiting a star other than our sun.

flatness problem: The "flatness problem" specifically addresses the geometry of the universe as defined by the "Omega" ratio. The apparent [large scale] geometry of the universe as a whole; a "problem" because of its seemingly extreme improbability, the universe we observe being possible because of the unimaginable precision of the events at the inception of the universe -- what is understood to be a "bang" with a precision measurable to at least sixty decimal places. (In terms of specificity and probability, think of it this way: of all the electrons in our universe -- a number greater than 10 to the 50th power -- not a single specific electron could likely be the 'right' one. In a probabilistic sense, we would need many millions of such universes to produce the specific, "special" electron which could correlate to the specified precision of the "big bang" -- a mind-bending degree of specificity! A degree of precision truthfully beyond our imagination.) Some have suggested that the big bang may have been precipitated by a quantum fluctuation within a "quantum void" -- but a random 'unpredictable disturbance' of such a staggeringly precise nature? This proposal has obvious difficulties, beginning with the fact that science can never [even theoretically] examine the "quantum void" in which our understanding of the so-called quantum fluctuation might have occurred before the existence of space-time. Space is the result of the creation event (as described by inflation theory), not it's context. And one must wonder: why/how could an incredibly temporary and unstable quantum state so perfectly not only enter but also exit the inflationary state, and why/how the incredibly specific, precise imbalance in the initial matter/antimatter ratio? And, why/how do our physical 'laws' exist, making order and a rational universe possible? (If quantum and gravitational laws did not exist precisely as they do, these questions would be mute, our universe would not exist.) In terms of the specificity necessary, the universe appears to be nothing less than miraculous. see also graceful exit problem, inflation, initial conditions and Omega

gamma ray: Electromagnetic radiation which is produced in annihilation events and has more energy (shorter wave length) than x-rays.

general relativity: Einstein's gravitation theory which modified Newtonian physics by describing gravity in terms of the effect of mass on the curvature of four-dimensional space-time.

gluon force: The strongest known "force of nature," operating only within an extremely small range, binding quarks into nucleons (protons and neutrons). The gluon force seems to be programmed to an almost inconceivable precision, were it any weaker, matter as we know it could not exist; were its range greater, the universe might quickly vanish into a singularity. Also called the color force. see also strong nuclear force

graceful exit problem: If the theory of cosmic inflation can answer many questions of how the universe gained large-scale uniformity, it leaves us wondering how it was able to sustain this uniformity as dissociate regions moved into phase transition -- converting from a state ruled by inflation (antigravity) to the universe that is ruled by gravity. String theory is now seen as providing a solution to the graceful exit problem, but this solution demands a highly "exotic" equation and thus again introduces "fine tuning" to the early universe.

gravity: The weakest (by far) of the fundamental forces of nature, it is the force most apparent in the universe at large. Newton described how to make accurate predictions concerning it, Einstein provided an explanation for it, yet [in a quantum sense] exactly what it is, and why it is what it is, remains a mystery. see also GUT and matter

GUT: Grand Unification Theory. Like string/M theory, this is a candidate for the so-called Theory of Everything (TOE) moniker. The most typical formulation describes the strong, electro-weak, and gravitational forces as having separated, at precise thermal values, from a primeval "superforce" introduced at the creation event/big bang.

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle: The principle that one cannot be certain about both the position and the momentum of a particle because the more accurately he knows one, the less accurately he can know the other. The mechanisms of measuring one quantity will randomize the value of the other. This precept is said to have ended philosophical determinism in science and established, at the quantum level, the existence of the unknowable to science. see also quantum mechanics

inflation (e.g. cosmic inflation): What is believed to be "the big bang within the big bang". Alan Guth's inflation theory suggests that the era of inflation ended at 10 to the minus 34th second after the creation event, yet in this miniscule portion of an eye blink, space expanded more than it has in all time since by an order of magnitude of roughly 100. This appears to be a strong theory in that it could help to solve several of cosmology's great puzzles, including the "flatness" of the universe and the rarity of certain particles. Inflation theory is also important in that it describes how "space" instantly became so very large, providing a universe expanding at light-speed something to expand into. In other words, space itself was created in something less than an eye blink. It is sometimes claimed that inflation can account for the observed uniformity of the universe, but this isn't exactly correct. Inflation solves many problems but creates another -- the problem of the large-scale precision of the phase transition which inflation ultimately requires. This has been called the "graceful exit" problem.

initial conditions: The seemingly perfect state of low entropy in which the universe was created. Parameters which can be described, but not actually explained (except as they are partially explained by inflation), within the known laws of physics. One of these parameters being an incredibly specific imbalance in the matter--antimatter ratio which arose from it. Not only does such an imbalance appear to be difficult to explain within what is known about the conversion of energy to matter, but the absolute precision of the ratio of the imbalance is so shocking that the term perfection may be more accurate than the term precision. Like the Laws of nature, this "perfect" state appears to have been imposed by a transcendent reality beyond the physical universe* (as there is no other plausible theory). Together, the laws and the initial conditions make possible all of our sciences, yet their cause/explanation/origin lies beyond the reach of Science. (* Those familiar with mathematical ideas will recognize the concept of 'initial conditions' as representing a posited -- a specified -- condition, which proceeds to specific derivatives. The clear inference, whether one likes it or not, is the necessary existence of an intelligent Specifier.) see also Omega

light-year: Distance that light travels in one Earth year. About 5,880,000,000,000 statute miles or ten thousand billion kilometers. A unit of measure used in describing stellar and galactic distances.

MACHOs: Massive compact halo objects, theorized constituent baryonic dark matter. Proposed objects of various size beyond the visible matter of galaxies.

mass: Quantity of matter that a body contains. Not dependent on gravity, mass is different from weight but is proportional to it. But this description only begs the question, what is "matter"? Surprisingly, this question is still as much one of metaphysics as of physics (see the description of "matter" that follows). The concept of mass is inseparable from the concept of energy and today the classical term "mass" is, for the sake of greater accuracy, replaced with the mathematical description of the "energy-momentum four-vector".

matter: A "frozen" state of energy, as is described in Einstein's famous equation, E (E being energy) is equal to m (m being mass) times c (c being the constant speed of light in a vacuum) squared. Matter is hardly the stuff we are likely to think it is if we haven't studied quantum physics. The solidity of iron, for example, is actually 99.9999999999999 percent surprisingly vacuous space that we perceive as being solid primarily because of the presence of the strong force. The strong force and the quarks with which it interacts are reducible to mathematical constructs. In other words, matter is energy and energy is information. Like gravity, matter remains a somewhat ethereal mystery.

microwave background radiation: Radiation, throughout the universe, understood to be an artifact of the big bang creation event.

neutron star: Small, dense, 'cold' star supported by the exclusion principle repulsion between neutrons.

nuclear fusion: The process by which the nuclei of two atoms collide and form a single, heavier nucleus.

Omega: The ratio of the actual total mass of the universe to the mass of 'critical density', critical density being that precise mass at which the expanding universe might be 'balanced' (1:1) so as to resist succumbing to either a 'cold' or a 'hot' death on a very large time-scale. An Omega of 1 (one) might be understood as describing a physically perfect* universe -- dynamic, complex, and incredibly stable. Increasingly it appears that our universe does indeed have an Omega of 1, although varying theories of "dark" mass/energies may demonstrate that this is not knowable. (something to think about: The mathematician/philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz famously claimed that the universe was/is, in a physical sense, the best possible world, i.e., the best possible balance of variation and order. The dramatist/philosopher Francois Voltaire famously mocked the claim as ridiculous, citing human pain and suffering. It appears that Voltaire misconstrued Leibniz, thus defeated a straw man, and that modern cosmology has, on this issue, sided ever more closely with Leibniz. * The most massive, dynamic, and ancient object that science can consider -- the whole of the universe, bristling with unimaginable energies and quantum uncertainty and answering ever to the forces of gravitation, expansion [anti-gravity], and of entropy -- is the most stable physical system that the human mind can imagine, balanced far more perfectly than specifying the exact number of butterflies to counterweight the Milky Way galaxy! There is no mechanistic explanation as to why this should be the case, in fact it is the most physically unlikely circumstance we can imagine.)

particle / wave duality: Particles are classically held to be units of "matter", waves to be units of energy, yet both matter and energy behave as both waves and particles. Newton proposed that light is a stream of particles, but because the wave behavior of light was more easily demonstrated experimentally, the idea was a point of disagreement for centuries, until the quantum theory was developed early in the twentieth century. Newton's particles of light are today called photons. The wave properties of matter are probabilistic, similar to the wave properties of energy only in the mathematical treatment, they are not at all physically similar.

photon: A quantum of light, moves at light-speed, carries the electromagnetic force between electrically charged particles. Throughout the universe, on average, there are more than a billion photons for each baryon. Although associated with energy, the photon behaves as a [massless] particle. refer to particle / wave duality

Planck's quantum principle: The idea that waves of radiation [such as light] are emitted and absorbed in discrete quanta. This expression was the first of the quantum theories.

Planck time: Ten to the minus 43rd power of a second, the point at which time becomes quantized (irreducible), and cannot function as time because it is discontinuous.

plasma: In astrophysics, "plasma" consists of free electrons and ions (atoms which have had electrons stripped off). This is matter in its most hot, "excited" and unstable state. Stars are made of plasma -- largely ionized hydrogen; lightning is plasma, and so are auroras like the so-called northern lights. While we are most familiar with three states of matter -- i.e., solid, liquid, gas -- in our normal terrestrial experience, most of the universe's matter is believed to be of this fourth state.

positron: Positively charged antiparticle of the electron.

pulsar: Rotating neutron star that emits regular pulses of radio waves.

quantum chromodynamics: The quantum field theory of quarks and gluons.

quantum fluctuation: Describes the idea that an unpredictable disturbance might be caused by the temporary adoption of energy from the vacuum of space.

quantum mechanics: Theory of the mechanics of irreducible physical units known as quanta, describing the 'laws' of radiation (waves, i.e., field-oscillations), elementary particles, and forces; combining the theorems of Planck, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Bohr, and Dirac. An interesting result of quantum theory is the extent to which it calls into question the certainty of observation as being adequate to describe reality. One interpretation claims that observation is requisite to truth, many physicist disagree as it is an idea which seems incredible and could never be proved. Some poorly reasoned philosophers have cited quantum mechanics as evidence that truth is whatever one might be willing to imagine it to be [or want it to be]. A somewhat better interpretation is simply an affirmation of Platonist philosophy -- that whatever we may believe we "know" about the material world is uncertain, the ontological mystery stands nearby.

quark: Any of a group of six elementary particles; protons and neutrons are each composed of three quarks, mesons are the bound state of a quark and an antiquark.

quasar: Extremely energetic nuclei of very distant galaxies. These are the brightest 'objects' in the universe, so bright that they mask their galaxies.

Schrödinger's wave form equation: Describes quantum systems as deterministic, but of course this is only 'half' of the story. Given the celebrated measurement problem, quantum events can be predicted only in terms of their probabilities.

special relativity: Einstein's theory resolving absurdities in Newtonian mechanics by referencing the speed of light, the constant "c" in his most famous equation (all electromagnetic radiation moves at this speed which is approximately 300,000 kilometers per second), as a constituent in defining both energy and mass. "C" becomes the "cosmic speed limit" without which massive bodies could achieve infinite speeds -- which would be an absurd violation of various physical principles and symmetries. Without such a "speed limit" we also find that it would be possible for an "effect" to actually temporally precede its "cause". Special relativity is thus perhaps the most superb and necessary physical theory that we have.

space-time: The large, four-dimensional space (three spatial dimensions, one temporal dimension) within which coordinates can locate events.

string theory: The idea that what we perceive as "matter" [rather than being considered to be 'points' and aggregates of points] might be understood as 'cosmic strings' having length but no other dimension. Vibrations of extremely small strings would create the properties that we perceive as point particles. This has been proposed as a theory unifying the forces of physics and resolving the seeming conflict between relativity theory and quantum theory, with an interesting outcome -- the universe would have to have at least ten dimensions. Unlike the four dimensions which we can observe directly, the 'extra' six (or more) could only be known mathematically as they must be curved into infinitesimal smallness. These are not the extra dimensions imagined by science fiction writers as a means of time travel, or of space travel beyond the speed of light. The Starship Enterprise and her crew must be crushed into something almost infinitely smaller than a dust speck to 'boldly go" into these dimensions. While the mathematical construct of cosmic superstrings introduces intriguing ideas concerning "hidden" dimensions and unified forces, it is an extremely complex group of theories whose greatest appeal is its ability to merge relativity and quantum mechanics. There are several string theories and the attempt to meld them is known as M Theory. Some proponents view it as the "theory of everything". see also matter and TOE

strong nuclear force: The extremely powerful but extremely short range force which operates only within the nucleus of an atom, holding the nucleus together in spite of the tendency of the positive electric charge of the protons in the nucleus to blow it apart. The strong nuclear force is roughly 100 times stronger than the electromagnetic force and is understood to be an extension of the gluon force which binds quarks. Also called the color force because of the figurative use of color to describe types of quarks. see also GUT and matter

supernova: Phenomena associated with the cataclysmic demise of a star. It is thought that supernovae may at times result in neutron stars and black holes.

TOE: The ever elusive "Theory of Everything", the "holy grail" of late twentieth-century physical theory. Some physicists believe that a concise and complete description of the physical universe is "the end of physics" and "the ultimate triumph of the human intellect" and that such a description is possible, even near. While the conflict between general relativity and quantum theory does require a broader and more fundamental theory, some physicists, philosophers, logicians, and other skeptics tend to regard the enchantment with a physical theory of everything as a happy delusion, even a monument to the vanity of the human intellect. (Suggestion to the individual wondering which view is correct: consider Godel's incompleteness theorem... should theorists arrive at what they believe to be a mechanistic TOE, it will always retain profound caveats -- not the least of which will be the question of why it itself should exist. In this regard, Stephen Hawking, a prominent proponent of the TOE, wonders about that which "breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe.")

virtual particle: A particle which, although its existence has measurable effects, cannot be directly detected in any way.

WIMPs: Weakly interacting massive particles. Theorized constituent non-baryonic dark matter. Proposed exotic matter having gravitational properties but no electromagnetism.

wormhole: Theorized thin tube of space-time connecting distant regions of the universe. These have been suggested as a conduit of a kind of 'time travel'. Interesting to imagine, but also problematic, the idea doesn't work in many cosmological models.

x-ray: Electromagnetic radiation with higher energy (shorter wavelength) than visible light. Particularly useful to science for its capacity to penetrate solids and to produce images of objects that are too small or too hot to be observed in the visible light spectrum.

San Diego State Uiniversity Mt Laguna observatory