Page 22 - Timelessness and the Reality of Fate

20 TIMELESSNESS AND THE REALITY OF FATE

The Invalidity of the "Steady State" Theory Proposed
Against the Big Bang
Another astronomer who opposed the Big Bang theory was Fred
th
Hoyle. Around the middle of the 20 century he came up with a model,
th
which he called "steady-state", that was an extension of the 19 century's
idea of an infinite universe. According to Hoyle's model, as the universe
expanded new matter was continuously coming into existence by itself in
just the right amount to keep the universe in a "steady state". In fact, the
theory launched by Hoyle and his team contained a number of internal
inconsistencies. More importantly, these constituted the basis of new
developments that would soon demolish the theory.
Hoyle wanted to account for the emergence of certain chemicals that
gave rise to all the matter in the universe. He maintained that stars had
moments of birth and death and that they produced all chemical elements
throughout their lives. According to this view, the stars came into being
when hydrogen atoms in space were pulled together under the force of
gravity into increasingly larger spheres. As these spheres grew, so the
inward pressure of gravity increased, with the pressure eventually reach-
ing such a point that some of the hydrogen atoms fused together, thus pro-
ducing helium atoms. 13 This conversion happens on a constant basis, and
stars are exposed to processes of fusion that give rise to the next heaviest
chemical element. These progressive reactions continue with the produc-
tion of numerous light elements as far as iron, and eventually a hot iron
core remains.
This stage is one in which the star continues to emit light, known as
the white dwarf stage. When the star turns into a
cold mass of iron that does not emit light, it moves
to become what is known as the brown dwarf. If
this final remnant of a star is not pulled into colli-
sion by the gravitational force of other bodies in
the universe, then it remains in space.
In large stars, as their lives come to an end,
high temperatures and pressure sufficient to give
rise to heavier elements arise in direct proportion
to the gravitational force. During this process, ele-

Fred Hoyle