KnowraCosmologyCosmologyCosmology studies the universe as a whole: its origin, evolution, large-scale structure, and possible ultimate fate.BriefConnectFriedmann equations: Equations in general relativity that describe how the universe's expansion changes with its contents and curvature. They translate cosmic matter, radiation, and dark energy into expansion histories.General relativity: Einstein's theory in which gravity arises from the curvature of spacetime. It supplies the gravitational framework used to model cosmic evolution.Alexander Friedmann: A Russian mathematician who derived expanding-universe solutions to Einstein's equations in the 1920s. His solutions showed that general relativity allowed a changing universe.Hubble tension: A discrepancy between early-universe and late-universe measurements of the present expansion rate. It may expose measurement systematics or a limit of the standard cosmological model.Cosmic inflation: A proposed brief period of extremely rapid expansion in the very early universe. Inflation offers an account of the universe's large-scale uniformity and primordial fluctuations.Hubble's law: The observed relation that more distant galaxies generally recede faster from the Milky Way. Its discovery established that the universe is expanding.Georges Lemaître: A Belgian priest and physicist who proposed an expanding universe and an early dense state. He connected relativistic expansion with a physical account of cosmic beginnings.Dark matter detection: Experimental efforts to identify dark matter through its possible non-gravitational interactions. Cosmology infers dark matter's gravity but has not established its particle identity.Big Bang nucleosynthesis: The formation of light atomic nuclei during the first minutes after the Big Bang. Its predicted element abundances test the universe's early expansion and particle content.Redshift: An increase in the wavelength of light, often caused by a source receding from an observer. Cosmologists use galaxy redshifts to measure cosmic expansion and distance.Show all 21Linked from 37 pagesAstronomyBroader topic: Cosmology uses astronomical observations to test models of the universe as a whole.Non-Euclidean geometryRelated: Spatial curvature helps describe possible large-scale geometries of the universe.HeliocentrismNarrower topic: Heliocentrism helped displace Earth from the privileged center of cosmological models.MythCompared with: Scientific cosmology explains cosmic origins through testable models rather than sacred narrative.AstrophysicsBroader topic: It is the large-scale domain where astrophysical models address the universe's overall history.Theoretical physicsRelated: Theoretical models interpret observations of cosmic expansion and the early universe.Natural philosophyNarrower topic: Questions about the heavens linked investigations of earthly nature to the structure of the universe.Origin mythCompared with: It addresses cosmic beginnings through observation and physical theory, not inherited narrative.Show all 37