| steady-state theory |
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One of two rival theories of cosmology of the mid-twentieth century, the other being the Big Bang theory. The steady-state theory assumes that the universe is the same everywhere for all observers at all times. It accommodates the observed expansion of the universe by postulating that new matter is continuously created to fill the voids left as the already existing galaxies move apart. The discovery of cosmic background radiation in 1963 was a major setback for the theory at a time when it had already been shown to be inconsistent with radio source counts. A significant achievement was the boost it gave to the theory of nucleosynthesis in stars. In the absence of a Big Bang, the heavy elements had to be made in exploding stars. That feature of the research, which is independent of what cosmological model is chosen, survives intact. See also: perfect cosmological principle. |