Optional Extra Credit Assignments

"Treasures"

treasure chest
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green-Treasure-Chest.png

Due in Canvas: December 10, 5pm.

The Task

Locate an item in the publicly available media that is relevant to one of the lectures. In appropriate sections of the Canvas assignment page, submit:

1. The source of the treasure.

2. The lecture to which it is relevant.

3. The idea in the lecture to which the treasure is relevant. (Up to 250 words)

4. A description of the relevance of the treasure to the lecture. (Up to 250 words)

Paragraphs 3 and 4 should be written IN YOUR OWN WORDS and describe the treasure's relevance to the lecture. Do not merely copy and paste a description of the lecture content or the treasure from your source.

If you use artificial intelligence aids in preparing your submission, you must disclose their use, the extent to which they contributed to the final project and your original contribution. Your grade is given on the basis of your novel contribution to the project beyond the aids. As the named author of the paper, you are responsible for the accuracy of the material reported, including all references.

Example:

1. Source:
"Einstein’s letter to a 12-year-old boy from LA up for auction"
https://www.timesofisrael.com/einsteins-letter-to-a-12-year-old-boy-from-la-up-for-auction/

2. Lecture:
"Relativistic Cosmology"

3. Relevant portion of lecture:
According to Mach's principle, discussed in the lecture, spacetime arises from the matter present in the universe. ... [more as needed]

4. Relevance:
In a letter of 1928 answering queries about relativity from a 12 year old, Einstein responds to the possibility of a space with just one mass in it. Einstein doubts whether such there would even be a space in such a case. This reflects Einstein's attachment to Mach's principle. A single mass would not be enough to create our familiar spacetime if this principle applies. ... [more as needed]

Example:

1. Source:
"Astronomers discover Milky Way’s biggest stellar black hole – 33 times mass of sun"
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/16/astronomers-discover-milky-way-biggest-stellar-black-hole-bh3-33-times-size-of-sun

2. Lecture:
"Black Holes"

3. Relevant portion of lecture:
Black holes can form when stellar matter undergoes gravitational collapse. The star has to be several times as massive as our sun in order to form a black hole. One of the difficulties in finding black holes is that they are black, so we do not see them directly. Einstein argued that they could not exist because they involve singularities. Until recently, their existence was conjectured but not clearly established. More recent investigations have found considerable evidence for black holes. ... [more as needed]

4. Relevance:
This recent discovery of a massive black hole near us is just one of the many investigations establishing the existence of black holes. That it is only 33 solar masses does not make it so impressive. The black hole at the center of our galaxy is much, much bigger. It is several million times as massive as our sun. This recently discovered black hole, however, is distinctive in being quite close to us. 2,000 light years sounds far away. Any light we see traveling from its vicinity would have been propagating for 2,000 years, which means that it started is journal several centuries before the fall of the Roman empire. The center of the galaxy is much farther away. It is at 26,000 light years. Astronomers were able to identify this nearby black hole, not by seeing it directly, but by observing the motion of a companion star that is trapped by the black hole's gravitational pull. ... [more as needed]