Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Early relativistic cosmology; 3. The observational revolution; 4. The observational trail 1931, the determination of H0 and the age dilemma; 5. Changing times 1945–1965: New techniques and new people; 6. The extension of the redshift apparent magnitude diagram to faint galaxies 1956–1995; 7. The classical steady state cosmological model and its observational tests; 8. The cosmic microwave background, an historical account; 9. The origin of the light elements; 10. A new primordial calculation of Y and D/H; 11. The new observational evidence and its interpretation: (a) quasi-stellar objects and redshifts; 12. The new observational evidence and its interpretation: (b) ejection phenomena and energetics; 13. Modern Friedmann cosmology; 14. Standard cosmology; 15. New cosmological models; 16. The observational evidence explained in terms of the quasi-steady state model; 17. The intrinsic redshift problem; 18. Creation centers and black holes; 19. Modern observations of faint galaxies and related objects; 20. Large scale distribution of matter; 21. A brief account of the radiation fields in the universe: the observations and their interpretation; 22. Summary; 23. Some unsolved problems.
Highly controversial book in which three distinguished cosmologists argue that the model which most cosmology research uses is incorrect.
'Professor Sir Fred Hoyle, Britain's greatest living astrophysicist
… launches his most comprehensive attack against the Big Bang
theory, in a book with the archly subversive title A Different
Approach to Cosmology. … when Hoyle makes a cosmic pronouncement,
it is invariably worth hearing … Together with two other respected
astrophysicists, Hoyle systematically reviews the evidence for the
Big Bang theory, and gives it a good kicking … it's hard not to be
impressed by the audacity of the demolition job. The supposedly
impressive evidence for galaxies being more crowded together in the
past, they argue, emerged from woefully incomplete surveys of the
night sky. Now the surveys are complete, the results tally nicely
with the Steady State theory. As for the cooking of hydrogen into
other elements, Hoyle and his colleagues show that ordinary stars
are quite capable of doing this. And when they do, moreover, they
fill the universe with a feeble amount of heat - just as observed.
… I can only hope that I possess one-thousandth of Hoyles' fighting
spirit when I, like him, have reached my 85th year.' Robert
Matthews, The Sunday Telegraph
'Throughout the last few decades, Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Burbidge and
Jayant Narlikar have done the cosmology community a great service
by developing and defending a serious alternative to Big bang
models of cosmic origins. A Different Approach to Cosmology is a
summary of their work … by elucidating one of the hot Big Bang's
competitors, the authors provide a good educational exercise for
any graduate student interested in fundamental cosmology.' David W.
Hogg and Matias Zaldarriaga, Science
'… this book … will help [younger cosmologists] to understand how
Hoyle and others started to consider some bold and relevant
cosmological ideas long before anyone else and to give credit where
it is due.' Roger Blandford, The Times Higher Education
Supplement
'Fred Hoyle is one of the most famous living astronomers in
Britain. This is not only because he wrote excellent popular books
and gave inspirational radio broadcasts, but also because of a
wilful determination to court controversy, pronouncing on viruses
from space, or airing allegations about faked fossils. But it is
astrophysics and cosmology for which he was first known. He made
fundamental contributions to astrophysics … Hoyle also played a
prominent role in the development of the steady state theory … he
has teamed up with two erstwhile colleagues to review the field in
which he cut his scientific teeth.' New Scientist
'This tome is the book of the year. The three very well-known
authors, three who have stuck together through many a stiff
cosmological controversy, put their case for a 'different' type of
cosmological interpretation of observational 'facts'. Their
concluding chapter is realism indeed.' Irish Astronomical
Journal
'… there is much in here to enthral and fascinate.' Stuart Clark,
Journal of the British Astronomical Association
'… I recommend this book highly not only to beginners, but even
more so to the experts. if we were not willing to listen to Hoyle,
Burbidge, and Narlikar, whom else should we trust?' Wolfgang Kundt,
General Relativity and Gravitation
'… one of the clearest accounts I have yet encountered of the
history of mainstream modern cosmology … this is a fascinating
book, expressing the views of three scientists who choose to go
against the conventional cosmological wisdom. It is extremely
important for such skepticism to exist and for such books to be
written.' Mario Livio, Physics Today
'[I] warmly recommend it to anyone with a deep interest in
cosmology.' Neil English, Astronomy Now
'Writing from the heart, with passion and punch, these three
cosmologists make a powerful case for viewing the universe in a
different light.' Europe & Astronomy
'The book is a mix of history, polemic, and thought-provoking
questioning. It outlines a critique of the currently accepted
cosmology.' David Southwood, EOS
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