Abstract
THE two time-scales, one 'dynamical' and the other 'cosmological', introduced by Prof. E. A. Milne into his theory of the structure of the universe, have certain curious biological consequences pointed out in Nature by Prof. J. B. S. Haldane1. Another time-scale has just been put forward by Sir Arthur Eddington2 on the basis of his unification of general relativity and quantum theory. It is therefore an opportune moment to attempt a general survey of cosmological investigations and, in particular, to direct attention to the very special assumptions on which the results of such inquiries depend. I do not believe that it is possible to give an accurate account of cosmological theory without expressing oneself to some extent in mathematical terms, and I trust that the reader will forgive this necessary evil—if evil it is.
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References
Haldane, J. B. S., Nature, 153, 155 (May 6, 1944).
Eddington, A. S., "The Combination of Relativity Theory and Quantum Theory",Dublin Inst. Adv. Studies, A, No. 2 (1943). A summary of the astronomical implications of the theory appeared in the Observatory, 65, 209 (August 1944).
Robertson, H. P., Rev. Mod. Phys., 5, 22 (1933).
Hubble, E., Astrophys. J., 84, 517 (1936).
McVittie, G. C., Proc. Phys. Soc., 51, 529 (1939).
Milne, E. A., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 158, 324 (1939); 159, 171 (1939).
McVittie, G. C., Z. Astrophys., 14, 312 (1937); 16, 21 (1938).
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McVITTIE, G. Models of the Universe and Cosmological Time-Scales. Nature 154, 477–481 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/154477a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/154477a0
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