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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what kind of theory does matter behave according to quantum theory?

2. What did Strominger and Vafa postulate in 1996?

3. What popular sci-fi show does Hawking refer to when discussing its differences with humanity in a millennium?

4. What final state does Hawking wonder if humanity will ever reach?

5. What does much of the possibility of time travel depend on?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does much of the possibility of time travel depend upon?

2. What partially restores determinism and why?

3. How does Hawking begin Chapter Four?

4. What are wormholes?

5. What does Hawking think he can prove about space-time paths?

6. How many books are published a year, and what does Hawking have to say about the good ones?

7. How do cosmic strings relate to space-time?

8. At what rate is the computational power of computers increasing, and what computational rate might they actually reach?

9. What did the physicist John Wheeler mean when he said, "a black hole has no hair"?

10. What might p-branes be able to predict?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter Five provides a complex picture of the interconnections between space-time, the multiple history idea, and quantum theory. Write an essay that analyzes the relationship between these three concepts, and use at least two examples from Chapter Five that support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the ether theory. Explain why this theory fell apart and what Einstein's role was in its deconstruction. Be sure to include at least two reasons the ether theory became redundant and unnecessary.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the relationship of Einstein's theory of relativity to Newton's law of gravity. Name three ways these theories are similar or differ. Be sure to explain the contemporary significance of each theory and their effects on modern scientific thought.

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