June 24th marks the passing of Fred Hoyle. Hoyle was an English astronomer who was an outspoken defender of the "Steady State" theory of cosmology. This theory was one of the two main theories of the expansion of the universe. The Steady State model held that the universe is constantly adding new matter as it spreads out and maintains a constant density. The other theory was proposed by Georges Lemaître who suggested the universe started with a finite amount of matter collected into a "primeval atom". Hoyle felt this theory was all wrong and jokingly called it "The Big Bang theory".
Steady State was a popular theory until the detection of background microwave radiation in space in the late 60's. This radiation was predicted by the Big Bang theory and could not be explained by Steady State. Overall, both are theories which no one can really prove. Theories change as new facts come to light. What will be the next theory to explain the cosmos?
Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
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Steady State was a popular theory until the detection of background microwave radiation in space in the late 60's. This radiation was predicted by the Big Bang theory and could not be explained by Steady State. Overall, both are theories which no one can really prove. Theories change as new facts come to light. What will be the next theory to explain the cosmos?
Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
Follow About.com Chemistry on Facebook or Twitter.
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