Conflict In The Cosmos: Fred Hoyle's Life in Science.

CONFLICT IN THE COSMOS: Fred Hoyle's Life in Science SIMON MITTON

Astronomer Fred Hoyle is remembered for his staunch opposition to the Big Bang theory, which, ironically, he named. According to Mitton, Hoyle's controversial theorizing also spurred the development of the theory he disdained. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hoyle was the most famous astronomer in the world. Credited with popularizing astronomy through his extremely popular BBC radio broadcasts and easily understandable books, he also wrote scripts for science fiction television programs. These public activities piqued the interest of many young people who would later study astronomy and cosmology. But Hoyle's most profound contribution to astronomy was his discovery of how elements heavier than carbon can be created within massive stars. By 1957, he and his collaborators had shown how the periodic table of the elements was built by nuclear reactions within stars. His now-discredited "steady state theory" proposed that the universe has existed forever, will exist forever, and can spontaneously create matter out of nothing. Mitton suggests that the very preposterousness of these ideas encouraged other scientists to refine the competing Big Bang theory. This book is a biography of one of the most important figures in modern astronomy. Joseph Henry Press, 2005, 401 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $27.95.