The Universe, Multiverse and Fine-Tuning (Lecture 1)

Описание: The first of four one-hour lectures on the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life. Delivered at the 2011 St. Thomas Summer Seminar in Philosophy of Religion.

(A thousand apologies for the sound - if you cut the treble a bit, its not so bad. Please leave a comment if you want me to clarify anything.)

The first and second lectures outline the laws and constants of nature, and give an overview of the history of the universe from its earliest stages to galaxy, star and planet formation.

The third lecture considers what would happen if we changed the laws of nature. In particular, we find that in many cases, the universe would not be able to evolve and sustain complex, intelligent life.

The fourth lecture discusses the multiverse - the idea that the universe that we observe is just one of many, each different. I discuss the most popular multiverse today - the inflationary multiverse - and the challenges that the multiverse faces.

For more information on my research, and links to more of my talks, visit my webpage:
http://lukebarnes.info/

Also, a blog that I contribute to:
http://letterstonature.wordpress.com/

This presentation is the intellectual property of Dr Luke Barnes and is not an endorsement from the institution at which the presentation was made.