-
nounthe branch of astrophysics that studies the origin and evolution and structure of the universetype of:
-
nounthe metaphysical study of the origin and nature of the universetype of:
Definition that contains cosmology
- string (cosmology) a hypothetical one-dimensional subatomic particle having a concentration of energy and the dynamic properties of a flexible loop
- yang the bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
- element one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe
- yin the dark negative feminine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
- inflation (cosmology) a brief exponential expansion of the universe (faster than the speed of light) postulated to have occurred shortly after the big bang
- hoyle an English astrophysicist and advocate of the steady state theory of cosmology; described processes of nucleosynthesis inside stars (1915-2001)
- cbr (cosmology) the cooled remnant of the hot big bang that fills the entire universe and can be observed today with an average temperature of about 2.725 kelvin
- dark matter (cosmology) a hypothetical form of matter that is believed to make up 90 percent of the universe; it is invisible (does not absorb or emit light) and does not collide with atomic particles but exerts gravitational force
- big bang theory (cosmology) the theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature
- hubble's constant (cosmology) the ratio of the speed of recession of a galaxy (due to the expansion of the universe) to its distance from the observer; the Hubble constant is not actually a constant, but is regarded as measuring the expansion rate today