Static universe
The idea of a static universe is one which demands that space is not expanding nor contracting but rather is dynamically stable. Albert Einstein proposed such a model as his preferred cosmology by adding a cosmological constant to his equations of general relativity to counteract the dynamical effects of gravity which in a universe of matter would cause the universe to collapse. After the discovery by Edwin Hubble that there was a relationship between redshift and distance, Einstein declared this formulation to be his "biggest blunder".[1]
Even after Hubble's observations, Fritz Zwicky proposed that a static universe could still be viable if there was an alternative explanation of redshift due to a mechanism that would cause light to lose energy as it traveled through space, a concept that would come to be known as "tired light". Subsequent cosmological observations have shown such a model to be an unviable alternative, leading most astrophysicists to conclude that the static universe is essentially falsified.
Nonstandard cosmologies
A very small number of proponents of the static universe continue to promote nonstandard cosmologies in defiance of scientific consensus, though the term "static universe" has fallen somewhat out of favor since it is recognized by, for example, advocates of plasma cosmology that the universe is "dynamically evolving".
See also
References
- ↑ In George Gamow's autobiography, My World Line (1970) he quotes Einstein: "Much later, when I was discussing cosmological problems with Einstein, he remarked that the introduction of the cosmological term was the biggest blunder of his life."