124
R. N. Mohapatra
Lemaitre in 1927, to explain the observed redshirts of the spiral nebulae. He
also derived the law of expansion, which was later given by Edwin Hubble and
goes by the name Hubble expansion. The second is the steady state theory,
which was proposed by Herman Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle in
1948. In fact, it is ironic that the proponent of the steady state theory, Fred
Hoyle, in a tone of sarcasm, gave the name “Big Bang theory” to the rival
theory proposed by Lemaitre. In the Big Bang theory, the universe started
from an extremely hot beginning (we will call that the beginning of time,
although we do not know for sure if that really is) and then kept expanding, as
it is doing now, with the rate of expansion steadily slowing down. The rate is
determined by the energy density, and energy density in the universe is steadily
going down.
In the steady state theory, on the other hand, the universe is in a steady
state of expansion (hence the name) and supposed to look the same at all
times. Both time and space played a symmetric role in this theory. The
constancy of the density of energy responsible for the steady expansion of
the universe was understood by postulating that matter was being constantly
created. This was called the perfect cosmological principle since space and time
played a symmetrical role. The perfect cosmological principle was indeed a
beautiful concept. In fact, in the beginning, the steady state theory was a very
popular theory, widely believed to be the correct theory among cosmologists
in England and America.
Estimates of the age of the universe in the early days using the Big Bang
theory predicted an age of about few billion years, which was far too short,
compared to what people believed to be the age then. It was indeed found to
be shorter than the age of the sun, which was an argument against the Big Bang
theory. This, no doubt, helped the popularity of the steady state theory. In fact,
Hoyle was so confident that the steady state theory was correct that he made
statements like: “The Big Bang is an irrational process that cannot be described
in scientific terms [nor] challenged by an appeal to observation.” Even the
Church got into the debate between the Big Bang and steady state theory and
came out in favor of the Big Bang theory. Pope Pious XII announced in 1952
that Big Bang cosmology affirmed the notion of a transcendental creator and
was in harmony with Christian dogma, rather than the steady state theory,
which denies any special place for a moment in time when creation began.
The fact that all moments of the universe and all points in space are similar
seemed atheistic to the Pope.
Gradually, the tide of scientific evidence started turning in favor of the Big
Bang theory. The steady state theory predicted that the old and new stars
would be equally distributed throughout the universe, whereas the Big Bang
R. N. Mohapatra
Lemaitre in 1927, to explain the observed redshirts of the spiral nebulae. He
also derived the law of expansion, which was later given by Edwin Hubble and
goes by the name Hubble expansion. The second is the steady state theory,
which was proposed by Herman Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle in
1948. In fact, it is ironic that the proponent of the steady state theory, Fred
Hoyle, in a tone of sarcasm, gave the name “Big Bang theory” to the rival
theory proposed by Lemaitre. In the Big Bang theory, the universe started
from an extremely hot beginning (we will call that the beginning of time,
although we do not know for sure if that really is) and then kept expanding, as
it is doing now, with the rate of expansion steadily slowing down. The rate is
determined by the energy density, and energy density in the universe is steadily
going down.
In the steady state theory, on the other hand, the universe is in a steady
state of expansion (hence the name) and supposed to look the same at all
times. Both time and space played a symmetric role in this theory. The
constancy of the density of energy responsible for the steady expansion of
the universe was understood by postulating that matter was being constantly
created. This was called the perfect cosmological principle since space and time
played a symmetrical role. The perfect cosmological principle was indeed a
beautiful concept. In fact, in the beginning, the steady state theory was a very
popular theory, widely believed to be the correct theory among cosmologists
in England and America.
Estimates of the age of the universe in the early days using the Big Bang
theory predicted an age of about few billion years, which was far too short,
compared to what people believed to be the age then. It was indeed found to
be shorter than the age of the sun, which was an argument against the Big Bang
theory. This, no doubt, helped the popularity of the steady state theory. In fact,
Hoyle was so confident that the steady state theory was correct that he made
statements like: “The Big Bang is an irrational process that cannot be described
in scientific terms [nor] challenged by an appeal to observation.” Even the
Church got into the debate between the Big Bang and steady state theory and
came out in favor of the Big Bang theory. Pope Pious XII announced in 1952
that Big Bang cosmology affirmed the notion of a transcendental creator and
was in harmony with Christian dogma, rather than the steady state theory,
which denies any special place for a moment in time when creation began.
The fact that all moments of the universe and all points in space are similar
seemed atheistic to the Pope.
Gradually, the tide of scientific evidence started turning in favor of the Big
Bang theory. The steady state theory predicted that the old and new stars
would be equally distributed throughout the universe, whereas the Big Bang