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--- courses:ast100:infographics [2026/02/01 08:31] – asad
+++ courses:ast100:infographics [2026/02/01 09:31] (current) – [1. Seven ages of the universe] asad
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 ===== - Seven ages of the universe =====
+**Part 1: The Symbolic Geography of Time:** Begin your infographic by sketching the timeline not as a straight line, but as the "symbolic geography" of the Brahmaputra river system. This visual metaphor is essential for illustrating that cosmic history is a directional flow that gains volume, stability, and complexity as it moves from its origin toward the present. You must draw the river starting from a narrow, high-energy mountain source and widening as it carves through the landscape, eventually forming a complex delta. This structure represents how the past is a defined, solid sequence of events, distinct from the vast "ocean" of the future.
+**Part 2: Mapping the Seven Ages:** Explicitly label the Seven Ages of the Universe along specific segments of your river map. Mark the headwaters (Angsi and Tsangpo rivers) as the Particle Age (0–300,000 years) and Galactic Age (300,000 years–4 billion years), representing the chaotic formation of atoms and structures. Transition through the violent Stellar Age (Siang river) and into the stable plains of the Planetary Age (Brahmaputra river), where solar systems formed between 9 and 11 billion years ago. Conclude by labeling the Chemical and Biological Ages (Jamuna and Padma rivers) where organic synthesis occurred, ending with the Cultural Age (Meghna river) at the delta, representing the last 300,000 years of human emergence.
+**Part 3: Visualizing Energy and Complexity:** Overlay your river map with a visual representation of how complexity has increased over 14 billion years. Your graphic must depict the "cosmic paradox": while the universe expands and global disorder (entropy) increases, gravity and energy flows create local "islands of structure" where complexity (order) rises. Highlight that although stars (Stellar Age) possess immense total energy, living organisms (Biological Age) and modern human society (Cultural Age) maintain a significantly higher density of energy flow per unit of mass (energy rate density). Mark these transitions as "Goldilocks circumstances," where environmental conditions were perfectly balanced to sustain these intricate structures against the tide of entropy.
 ===== - The first three ages of the universe =====