Oskar Klein Memorial Lectures, The (Volume 2)

This volume presents two lectures given by Hans Bethe in October 1990 and Alan H. Guth in June 1991 under the series of Oskar Klein Memorial Lectures. An expert on the theory of neutrinos, Hans Bothe's lecture dealt with two themes: the astrophysical importance of neutrinos in supernova outbursts and a theoretical account of neutrinos through observations of the neutrino flux from the centre of the sun. Anyone interested in understanding the processes involved in the collapse and explosion of a large star should find this lecture enlightening. Alan H. Guth's lecture dealt with the various aspects of the origin of the universe. The originator of the inflation scenario for the Big Bang theory, Guth has included his latest observations on the COBE satellite and their theoretical interpretation in this lecture. Anyone, expert or otherwise, wishing to grasp the essentials of these ideas, should find in Guth's lecture a wealth of knowledge. This volume also presents for the first time in English a derivative account of the Compton scattering formula and an account of the "Klein paradox". Some translated autobiographic texts have also been included to acquaint the reader with Klein's intereset in cosmology and his attempts to find the driving force behind the expanding system of galaxies - what Klein termed the "meta-galaxy".