Abstract
The unorthodox idea that the gravitational constant G varies slowly in time arose in the late 1930s in the context of a cosmological theory proposed by the English physicist Paul Dirac. The idea was received coolly, not only because it led to a much too small age of the universe but also because it contradicted the general theory of relativity and, on the top of that, was thought to be untestable. However, Dirac’s idea was taken up and further developed by Pascual Jordan in Germany and after World War II it slowly began to attract attention among physicists and astronomers. In 1948 the hypothesis of varying gravity made its first connection to the earth sciences in the form of an attempt, made by Edward Teller, to test the hypothesis by means of a paleoclimatic argument. The test was inconclusive and was initially ignored by the earth scientists.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
On pre-relativistic conceptions of the gravitational law and its associated constant, see Will (1987), Ducheyne (2011), and Uzan and Lehoucq (2005), pp. 253–261. A detailed account of experiments on gravitation until the 1890s is given in Mackenzie (1900). References to the literature can be found in these sources.
- 2.
For details on Cavendish and his experiment, see Jungnickel and McCormmach (1999), pp. 440–460.
- 3.
Boys (1894), p. 330.
- 4.
- 5.
Davis (1904). For Zöllner’s number, see Kragh (2012). Weyl first discussed the number 1040 in 1919 and Eddington in 1923.
- 6.
Poynting (1920), p. 643. See also Ducheyne (2011), p. 2011.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
Dirac (1938) referred to the “Fundamental Principle.” He first spoke of the Large Numbers Hypothesis in a talk given in 1972. See Dirac (1973a), p. 46. Pascual Jordan always referred to “Dirac’s principle.” For more details on the history of the principle and Dirac’s cosmology, see Kragh (1990), pp. 223–246 and also Barrow and Tipler (1986). Many of Dirac’s arguments concerning the nature and use of the LNH were questionable and based on somewhat arbitrary assumptions. See, for example, Klee (2002) for an interesting critical review. However, from the point of view of the present book this is less relevant.
- 10.
Dirac (1939), p. 128.
- 11.
Dirac (1938), p. 204.
- 12.
Sambursky (1937).
- 13.
Gamow to the American geophysicist Philip H. Abelson, 1 September 1967, reproduced in Gamow (1967b), p. 767. On 2 January 1937 Dirac married Margit Wigner Balasz, the sister of the Hungarian-American physicist Eugene Wigner.
- 14.
The leading geophysicist Harold Jeffreys was aware of Dirac’s hypothesis as early as June 1937, when he commented on the hypothetical-deductive methodology of Dirac, Milne and Eddington (see Nature 141: 1004–1006). However, neither at this nor at later occasions did he mention the G(t) hypothesis and its possible geological consequences.
- 15.
- 16.
Eddington (1939), p. 234.
- 17.
- 18.
Kothari (1938).
- 19.
Zwicky (1939), p. 733.
- 20.
Smith (1978).
- 21.
Solomon (1938). Solomon, a Jew and a communist, was active in the French resistance movement during the early years of World War II. He was executed by the Germans in 1942.
- 22.
Goldberg (1992), p. 95. Goldberg was a leading physicist in the Aeronautical Research Laboratories (ARL) established in 1955 by the U.S. Air Force. For Jordan and ARL, see Sect. 2.6. Jordan was not invited to participate in the 1958 Solvay Congress on gravitation and cosmology. One may speculate that one of the reasons was that his past as a Nazi was not easily forgotten in formerly occupied Belgium.
- 23.
Jordan (1952), p. 137.
- 24.
Jordan (1961b), p. 2.
- 25.
- 26.
- 27.
- 28.
As expressed by Singh (1970), p. 233, in Jordan’s theory stars came “literally out of the blue like Athena leaping forth from Zeus’s brain mature and in complete armour.” On the request of his former professor Max Born, Jordan wrote a summary article in English of his work in cosmology and astrophysics. See Jordan (1949) and also the critical review of Jordan’s theory in North (1965), pp. 205–208.
- 29.
Bondi (1952), p. 164.
- 30.
Jordan (1944), p. 190.
- 31.
“The construction erected by Pascual Jordan is of undeniable elegance, and at any rate suggests a simple and brilliant interpretation of the expansion.” Couderc (1952), p. 225.
- 32.
Haas (1936). Arthur Erich Haas was at the time professor of physics at Notre Dame University in Indiana. An account of his work in speculative cosmology can be found in Kragh (2004), pp. 189–194.
- 33.
- 34.
Teller (1972), Tryon (1973), Carey (1978), Sciama (1953).
- 35.
ten Bruggencate (1948), which originally appeared in the proceedings of the Göttingen Academy in 1945.
- 36.
Jordan (1938). As mentioned, in the same year Solomon suggested a similar idea.
- 37.
Pauli (1936), p. 76; see also Jordan (1944), p. 186.
- 38.
Houtermans and Jordan (1946), Jordan (1947a), p. 20. Together with the British physicist Robert Atkinson, in 1929 Houtermans pioneered quantum-mechanical nuclear astrophysics. See Kragh (1996), pp. 85–87. After World War II he specialized in geophysics and meteoritics, including radiometric dating methods. In 1953 he estimated the age of the Earth to be 4.5 billion years. For Houtermans’ work and eventful life, see Amaldi (2012).
- 39.
Hönl (1949). See also Dehm (1949).
- 40.
Jordan (1969b), pp. 254–255. See also Jordan et al. (1964), p. 505.
- 41.
See Aldrich et al. (1958). This was possibly the first scientific conference ever specifically devoted to the relationship between cosmology and geology.
- 42.
Kanasewich and Savage (1963).
- 43.
- 44.
According to Nye (2004), p. 17. See also Jordan (1955), pp. 271–272.
- 45.
Blackett (1939).
- 46.
Blackett (1941), p. 213.
- 47.
Jordan (1944).
- 48.
- 49.
Milne (1938).
- 50.
- 51.
Online as http://www.fdavidpeat.com/interviews/dirac.htm.The interview is published in Buckley and Peat (1979).
- 52.
Dirac (1978c), p. 8.
- 53.
- 54.
Haldane (1945b), p. 140.
- 55.
Page (1948), p. 23.
- 56.
Haldane’s theory was critically reviewed by Lemaître and also by the philosopher Robert Cohen. See references in Kragh (2004), p. 225. See also Stanley-Jones (1949). Today the theory is forgotten, and perhaps justly so. It is briefly mentioned in Brush (2001), p. 164.
- 57.
- 58.
Martin Schwarzschild (1912–1997) was the son of the famous German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild (1873–1916). After studies in mathematics and astronomy in Göttingen and Berlin, in 1937 he moved to the United States where he obtained a position at Columbia University and in 1942 became a U.S. citizen. In 1947 he accepted a position at Princeton University.
- 59.
Teller (1948).
- 60.
In his extensive memoirs Teller did not even mention his 1948 excursion into cosmology and paleoclimatology. See Teller and Shoolery (2001).
- 61.
Couderc (1952), p. 98.
- 62.
E.g., Gamow (1949), p. 21, and Omer (1949), p. 166. See also Schatzmann (1966), p. 219, originally published 1957 as Origine et Évolution des Mondes.
- 63.
ter Haar (1950), p. 131.
- 64.
Jordan (1955), p. 235.
- 65.
Jordan (1962b), p. 285. See also Dyson (1972), according to whom S ~ G 9.7 or S ~ t −9.7. As mentioned in Sect. 2.3, ten Bruggencate (1948) was probably the first to consider the effect of the G(t) hypothesis on the Sun’s luminosity.
- 66.
Jordan (1964), p. 114.
- 67.
On the change in the cosmic time scale, see Kragh (1996), pp. 271–276.
- 68.
- 69.
Sandage (1958), p. 525.
- 70.
Pochoda and Schwarzschild (1964), p. 587.
- 71.
- 72.
Gamow (1967c). Other problems in solar nucleosynthesis based on a decreasing gravitational constant were pointed out in Ezer and Cameron (1966).
- 73.
See also Dicke (1962a), which refers to Öpik’s paper of 1961 as “privately circulated.” Fairbridge was at the time a supporter of the hypothesis of a slowly expanding Earth, which was sometimes justified in terms of a decreasing gravitational constant. However, Fairbridge did not accept the Dirac–Jordan hypothesis of G(t). We shall return to Fairbridge in Sect. 3.6.
- 74.
Öpik (1965), p. 292.
- 75.
- 76.
According to Peebles et al. (2009), p. 38.
- 77.
- 78.
- 79.
- 80.
Gamow (1967a), p. 759. It should be noted that the geological periods and the times in the past associated with them have changed considerably during the twentieth century. For example, the “Cambrian” did not have a fixed meaning across the century. Gamow apparently associated the Cambrian with Teller’s period 200–300 million years ago, but according to Holmes’ revised time scale of 1960 the Cambrian ended about 500 million years ago. The presently accepted time for the end of the Cambrian period and the beginning of the Ordovician is 485 million years ago.
- 81.
- 82.
- 83.
Dirac (1982), p. 88.
- 84.
Teller (1972).
- 85.
- 86.
- 87.
Dyson (1972).
- 88.
- 89.
The first scalar–tensor gravitational theory was published in 1941 by the Swiss mathematician Willy Scherrer at the University of Bern. For the origins and early development of scalar–tensor theories, see Goenner (2012).
- 90.
- 91.
- 92.
Ellis (2009), p. 2180.
- 93.
Schücking (2000), p. vi.
- 94.
The ARL reports are listed in Goldberg (1992). One of Jordan’s reports contained a detailed review of geophysical and astronomical aspects related to Dirac’s hypothesis. See Jordan (1961b), a copy of which is located at the Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen.
- 95.
Jordan (1948). “Kaluza–Klein” refers to the German mathematician Theodor Kaluza and the Swedish physicist Oskar Klein. While Kaluza’s unification comprised gravitation and electrodynamics, Klein’s theory also included the quantum domain.
- 96.
Bergmann (1948), p. 255. The title of Jordan’s unpublished paper was “Gravitationstheorie mit veränderlicher Gravitationszahl” (Gravitation theory with variable gravitational constant). Bergmann was sceptical with regard to Jordan’s theory because the extra scalar variable caused an embarrass de richesse, as he expressed it.
- 97.
Jordan’s enduring interest in geophysics and other aspects of the earth sciences is documented by his many publications on the subject. See the bibliography of Jordan’s articles and books in Beiglböck (2007).
- 98.
Jordan (1971), p. 2.
- 99.
Jordan (1959a), p. 113.
- 100.
- 101.
Fierz (1956), Goenner (2012). For a lucid summary of Jordan’s cosmological theory as developed in the late 1950s, see Heckmann and Schücking (1959). Other aspects of Jordan’s theory were dealt with in Brill (1962) and O’Hanlon and Tam (1970).
- 102.
Just (1955). On Just’s early work on Jordan’s theory, see Goenner (2012). Just later moved to the United States to become professor of physics at the University of Arizona, Tuczon.
- 103.
- 104.
- 105.
- 106.
Jordan (1969b), p. 253.
- 107.
Brans and Dicke (1961).
- 108.
Kaiser (1998).
- 109.
Brans (1961). See also Brans (1999, 2010) for personal and historical comments on the paper and on scalar–tensor theories in general. Kaiser (1998, 2007) compares the Brans–Dicke theory to the theory of the Higgs field proposed a few years later. Both theories related to the origin of mass, but they belonged to two widely different research traditions.
- 110.
Dicke (1959a).
- 111.
Jordan (1955), p. 138.
- 112.
E.g. Dicke (1964a). Mach’s principle has given rise to a very extensive literature, both philosophical and scientific. For a contemporaneous and critical discussion of its use in and relevance for cosmology and theories of gravitation, see for example Reinhardt (1973).
- 113.
Dicke (1959c), p. 621.
- 114.
Brans and Dicke (1961), Dicke (1962a).
- 115.
Dicke (1962a), p. 657.
- 116.
- 117.
Dicke (1961b), p. 100.
- 118.
On Dicke’s life and work, see Peebles (2008). Interviews with Dicke include Lightman and Brawer (1990), pp. 201–213, and three interviews conducted by the American Institute of Physics between 1975 and 1988. The interviews can be found online as http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/transcripts.html. Dicke reprinted most of his early papers on relativity, cosmology and geophysics in a book-length chapter on “Experimental Relativity” in DeWitt and DeWitt (1964), pp. 165–316. For a review of Dicke’s work in geophysics, see Kragh (2015c).
- 119.
See Kaiser (1998) for aspects of the renaissance.
- 120.
Interview of 18 June 1985. See http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4572.html
- 121.
For the background of the Chapel Hill conference 18–23 January 1957, see DeWitt and Rickles (2011), which includes the reports and discussions of the conference. There were interesting links between the Chapel Hill conference and the Gravity Research Foundation (GRF) to be mentioned in Sect. 3.1. Bryce DeWitt won the first prize in the 1953 competition and was instrumental in lifting the scientific respectability of the GRF.
- 122.
Bergmann (1957). On the other hand, another of Einstein’s former German-American collaborators, Valentine Bargmann at Princeton University, covered in the same volume of Reviews of Modern Physics Jordan’s theory in a review article on the theory of relativity. Bargmann evidently found the possibility that G might vary in space and time to be interesting and worthwhile to test experimentally. See Bargmann (1957).
- 123.
Mercier and Kervaire (1956). Yet another important event in the renaissance of general relativity (including cosmology) was the 1958 Solvay Congress on “Astrophysics, Gravitation, and the Structure of the Universe,” which included addresses by Bondi, Hoyle, Wheeler, Lemaître, and Klein. Two years later the International Committee on General Relativity and Gravitation was established.
- 124.
DeWitt (2009), p. 414. According to DeWitt, Wheeler succeeded in persuading Goudsmit not to keep general relativity out of Physical Review.
- 125.
Dicke (1961c), p. 797.
- 126.
Dicke (2011), p. 58. The possibility of parity non-conservation in weak interactions had been inferred on theoretical grounds by Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang in 1956 and was verified experimentally in early 1957. The discovery was announced at a meeting of the American Physical Society in January 1957, just in time for the physicists at the Chapel Hill conference to know about it.
- 127.
Dicke (2011), p. 53.
- 128.
Issue no. 3 of the 1957 volume of Reviews of Modern Physics contained papers prepared in connection with the Chapel Hill conference. Most of the papers, including Dicke (1957b), had not been presented at the conference but may have been informally discussed. The other paper by Dicke (1957a) followed his presentation at Chapel Hill. The issue of Reviews of Modern Physics also included Hugh Everett’s doctoral dissertation on the “relative state” formulation of quantum mechanics which in Bryce DeWitt’s later formulation became known as the many-worlds interpretation. Although Everett did not attend the Chapel Hill conference, his ideas were mentioned in the discussions.
- 129.
Dicke (1957b). On this topic, see also Sect. 4.1, footnote 1.
- 130.
Dicke (1959a), p. 29.
- 131.
Dicke (1959b). See also Peebles and Dicke (1962b). Solomon’s suggestion of 1938 resulted in a decay constant varying as t −n with n = 2/3 (see Sect. 2.2).
- 132.
- 133.
- 134.
- 135.
Bondi (1952), pp. 59–62, 159–164.
- 136.
Carter (1989), p. 190. Dyson (1972) mentioned Carter’s “principle of cognizability” in relation to Dirac’s G(t) hypothesis. The anthropic principle was introduced in Carter (1973), where Carter stated it as the opposite of the Dirac–Jordan varying-G hypothesis.
- 137.
Dicke (1962a). See Sect. 3.6 for a version of Dicke’s temperature-time graph.
- 138.
Dicke (1957a), p. 358.
- 139.
- 140.
Wigley (1981).
- 141.
Dicke (1964b), p. 160.
References
L.T. Aldrich et al., (eds.), Cosmological and Geological Implications of Isotope Ratio Variations. Nuclear Science Series, Report 23. (National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1958)
E. Amaldi, The Adventurous Life of Friedrich Georg Houtermans, Physicist (1903–1996) (Springer, Berlin, 2012)
F.L. Arnot, Cosmological theory. Nature 141, 1142–1143 (1938)
F.L. Arnot, Time and the Universe (Australasian Medical Publishing, Sydney, 1941)
V. Bargmann, Relativity. Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 161–174 (1957)
J.D. Barrow, From Alpha to Omega: The Constants of Nature (Jonathan Cape, London, 2002)
J.D. Barrow, F.J. Tipler, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986)
W.D. Beiglböck, Pascual Jordan: Schriftenverzeichnis. in Pascual Jordan (1902–1980). Mainzer Symposium zum 100. Geburtstag, (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, 2007), pp. 47–68, Preprint no. 329. http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/en/resources/preprints.html
P.G. Bergmann, Unified field theory with fifteen field variables. Ann. Math. 49, 255–264 (1948)
P.G. Bergmann, Summary of the Chapel Hill conference. Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 352–354 (1957)
P.M.S. Blackett, Instability of the mesotron and the gravitational constant. Nature 144, 30 (1939)
P.M.S. Blackett, Cosmic rays: recent developments. Proc. Phys. Soc. 53, 203–213 (1941)
H. Bondi, Cosmology (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1952)
C.V. Boys, On the Newtonian constant of gravitation. Nature 50, 330–334 (1894)
C.H. Brans, Gravity and the tenacious scalar field, in On Einstein’s Path: Essays in Honor of Engelbert Schucking, ed. by A. Harvey (Springer, New York, 1999), pp. 121–138
C.H. Brans, R.H. Dicke, Mach’s principle and a relativistic theory of gravitation. Phys. Rev. 124, 925–935 (1961)
C.H. Brans, Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory. Scholarpedia 9 (4), 31358 (2014). http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Jordan-Brans-Dicke_Theory
C.H. Brans, Varying Newton’s constant: a personal history of scalar-tensor theories, in Einstein Online 04, 1002 (2010). http://www.einstein-online.info/spotlights/scalar-tensor/?searchterm=Brans
C.H. Brans, Mach’s Principle and a Varying Gravitational Constant. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University, 1961, http://loyno.edu/~brans/theses/PHD-thesis-brans-1961.pdf
D.R. Brill, Review of Jordan’s extended theory of gravitation, in Evidence for Gravitational Theories, ed. by C. Møller (Academic Press, New York, 1962), pp. 50–68
S.G. Brush, Is the Earth too old? The impact of geochronology on cosmology, 1929–1952, in The Age of the Earth: From 4004 BC to AD 2002, ed. by C.L. Lewis, S.J. Knell (Geological Society, London, 2001), pp. 157–175
P. Buckley, F. David Peat, A Question of Physics: Conversations in Physics and Biology (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1979)
K.E. Bullen, Compressibility-pressure hypothesis and the Earth’s inner core. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 5, 355–368 (1949)
S.W. Carey, Theories of the Earth and Universe: A History of Dogma in the Earth Sciences (Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 1988)
B. Carter, The anthropic principle: self-selection as an adjunct to natural selection, in Cosmic Perspectives, ed. by S.K. Biswas, D.C.V. Mallik, C.V. Vishveshwara (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989), pp. 185–206
S. Chandrasekhar, The cosmological constants. Nature 139, 757–758 (1937)
C.-W. Chin, R. Stothers, Solar test of Dirac’s large numbers hypothesis. Nature 254, 206–207 (1975)
M.A. Cook, A.J. Eardley, Energy requirement in terrestrial expansion. J. Geophys. Res. 66, 3907–3912 (1961)
A.V. Cox, Plate Tectonics and Geomagnetic Reversals (Freeman, San Francisco, 1973)
V. De Sabatta, P. Rizzati, A relation between the periodicity of earthquakes and the variation of gravitational constant. Lettere al Nuovo Cimento 20, 117–120 (1977)
R. Dehm, Geologisches Erdalter und astrophysikalisches Weltalter. Naturwissenschaften 36, 166–171 (1949)
H. Dehnen, H. Hönl, Informationen über das Universum aus antipodisch beobachteten Radioquellen. Die Naturwissenschaften 55, 413–415 (1968)
H. Dehnen, H. Hönl, Astrophysical consequences of Dirac’s hypothesis of a variable gravitational number. Astrophys. J. 155, L35–L42 (1969)
C.M. DeWitt, B. DeWitt (eds.), Relativity, Groups and Topology (Blackie and Son, London, 1964)
C.M. DeWitt, D. Rickles (eds.), The Role of Gravitation in Physics: Report from the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference. (Edition Open Access, Berlin, 2011). http://edition-open-access.de/sources/5/index.html
R.H. Dicke, Principle of equivalence and the weak interactions. Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 355–362 (1957a)
R.H. Dicke, Gravitation without a principle of equivalence. Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 363–376 (1957b)
R.H. Dicke, Gravitation—An enigma. Am. Sci. 47, 25–40 (1959a)
R.H. Dicke, Dirac’s cosmology and the dating of meteorites. Nature 183, 170–171 (1959b)
R.H. Dicke, New research on old gravitation. Science 129, 621–624 (1959c)
R.H. Dicke, The nature of gravitation, in Science in Space, ed. by L.V. Berkner, H. Odishaw (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1961a), pp. 91–120
R.H. Dicke, The Earth and cosmology. Science 138, 653–664 (1962a)
R.H. Dicke, Implications for cosmology of stellar and galactic evolution rates. Rev. Mod. Phys. 34, 110–122 (1962b)
R.H. Dicke, The many faces of Mach, in Gravitation and Relativity, ed. by H.-Y. Chiu, W.F. Hoffmann (W. A. Benjamin, New York, 1964a), pp. 121–141
R.H. Dicke, The significance for the solar system of time-varying gravitation, in Gravitation and Relativity, ed. by H.-Y. Chiu, W.F. Hoffmann (W. A. Benjamin, New York, 1964b), pp. 142–174
R.H. Dicke, Possible effects on the solar system of φ waves if they exist, in Gravitation and Relativity, ed. by H.-Y. Chiu, W.F. Hoffmann (W. A. Benjamin, New York, 1964c), pp. 241–257
R.H. Dicke, The secular acceleration of the Earth’s rotation and cosmology, in The Earth-Moon System, ed. by B.G. Marsden, A.G.W. Cameron (Plenum Press, New York, 1966), pp. 98–164
R.H. Dicke, The experimental basis of Einstein’s theory, in The Role of Gravitation in Physics: Report from the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference, eds. by C.M. DeWitt, D. Rickles, (Edition Open Access, Berlin, 2011), pp. 51–60. http://edition-open-access.de/sources/5/index.html
P.A.M. Dirac, The cosmological constants. Nature 139, 323 (1937)
P.A.M. Dirac, A new basis for cosmology. Proc. R. Soc. A 165, 199–208 (1938)
P.A.M. Dirac, The relation between mathematics and physics. Proc. R. Soc. (Edinburgh) 59, 122–129 (1939)
P.A.M. Dirac, The variability of the gravitational constant, in Cosmology, Fusion, and Other Matters: George Gamow Memorial Volume, ed. by F. Reines (Adam Hilger, London, 1972), pp. 56–59
P.A.M. Dirac, Fundamental constants and their development in time, in The Physicist’s Conception of Nature, ed. by J. Mehra (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1973a), pp. 45–59
P.A.M. Dirac, Long range forces and broken symmetries. Proc. R. Soc. A 333, 403–418 (1973b)
P.A.M. Dirac, Cosmological models and the Large Number hypothesis. Proc. R. Soc. A 338, 439–446 (1974)
P.A.M. Dirac, The Large Numbers Hypothesis and the Einstein theory of gravitation. Proc. R. Soc. A 365, 19–30 (1979)
R.E. Doel, Solar System Astronomy in America: Communities, Patronage, and Interdisciplinary Research, 1920–1960 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996)
F. Dyson, Variation of constants, in Current Trends in the Theory of Fields, ed. by J.E. Lannutti, P.K. Williams (AIP Conference Proceedings, New York, 1978), pp. 163–168
F. Dyson, The fundamental constants and their time variation, in Aspects of Quantum Theory, eds. by A. Salam, E. P. Wigner, (1972), pp. 213–236
A.S. Eddington, The cosmological controversy. Sci. Prog. 34, 225–236 (1939)
W.M. Elsasser, Sea-flooor spreading as thermal convection. J. Geophys. Res. 76, 1101–1112 (1971)
R.W. Fairbridge, Thoughts about an expanding globe, in Advancing Frontiers in Geology and Geophysics, ed. by A.P. Subramanian, S. Balakrishna (Indian Geophysical Union, Hyderabad, 1964), pp. 59–88
J.R. Fleming, T. C. Chamberlin, climate change, and cosmogony. Stud. Hist. Philos. Mod. Phys. 31, 293–308 (2000)
H.R. Frankel, The continental drift controversy, in Introduction of Seafloor Spreading, vol. 3, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2012c)
G. Gamow, Gravity: Classic and Modern Views (Heinemann, London, 1962)
G. Gamow, Electricity, gravity and cosmology. Phys. Rev. Lett. 19, 759–761 (1967a)
G. Gamow, History of the universe. Science 158, 766–769 (1967b)
G. Gamow, Does gravity change with time? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 57, 187–193 (1967c)
G. Gamow, E. Teller, On the origin of great nebulae. Phys. Rev. 55, 654–657 (1939)
H. Gerstenkorn, Veränderungen der Erde-Monde-System durch Gezeitenreibung in der Vergangenheit bei zeitabhängiger Gravitationskonstante. Z. Astrophys. 42, 137–155 (1957)
C. Gilbert, The general theory of relativity and Newton’s law of gravitation. Nature 179, 270 (1957)
C. Gilbert, Dirac’s cosmology. Nature 192, 57 (1961)
G.T. Gillies, The Newtonian gravitational constant: recent measurements and related studies. Rep. Prog. Phys. 60, 151–225 (1997)
T. Gold, Instability of the Earth’s axis of rotation. Nature 175, 526–529 (1955)
J. Greenberg, The Problem of the Earth’s Shape from Newton to Clairaut (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995)
J.B.S. Haldane, A quantum theory of the origin of the solar system. Nature 155, 133–135 (1945a)
J.B.S. Haldane, A new theory of the past. Am. Sci. 33, 129–145 (1945b)
A. Hallam, Re-evaluation of the palaeogeographic argument for an expanding Earth. Nature 232, 180–182 (1971)
B.C. Heezen, The rift in the ocean floor. Sci. Am. 203(October), 98–110 (1960)
A. Holmes, The Age of the Earth (Harper & Brothers, London, 1913)
A. Holmes, Radioactivity and Earth history. Geogr. J. 65, 528–532 (1925)
F.G. Houtermans, P. Jordan, Über die Annahme der zeitlichen Veränderlichkeit des β-Zerfalls und die Möglichkeiten ihrer experimentellen Prüfung. Z. Naturforsch. 1, 125–130 (1946)
P. Jordan, Die Physik des 20 Jahrhhunderts (Vieweg, Braunschweig, 1936)
P. Jordan, Die physikalischen Weltkonstanten. Die Naturwissenschaften 25, 513–517 (1937)
P. Jordan, Zur empirischen Kosmologie. Die Naturwissenschaften 26, 417–421 (1938)
P. Jordan, Bemerkungen zur Kosmologie. Ann. Phys. 32, 64–70 (1939)
P. Jordan, Über die Entstehung der Sterne. Physikalische Zeitschrift 45(183–190), 233–244 (1944)
P. Jordan, Die Herkunft der Sterne (Hirzel, Stuttgart, 1947a)
P. Jordan, Das Bild der modernen Physik (Stromverlag Hamburg, Bergedorf, 1947b)
P. Jordan, Fünfdimensionale Kosmologie. Astronomische Nachrichten 276, 193–208 (1948)
P. Jordan, Formation of the stars and development of the universe. Nature 164, 637–640 (1949)
P. Jordan, Schwerkraft und Weltall: Grundlagen der theoretischen Kosmologie (Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig, 1952)
P. Jordan, Zum gegenwärtigen Stand der Diracschen kosmologischen Hypothesen. Z. Phys. 157, 112–121 (1959)
P. Jordan, Zum Problem der Erdexpansion. Die Naturwissenschaften 48, 417–425 (1961)
P. Jordan, Remarks about Ambarzumian’s conception of pre-stellar matter, in Recent Developments in General Relativity (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1962c), pp. 289–292
P. Jordan, Four lectures about problems of cosmology, in Cosmological Models, ed. by A. Giáo (Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciêcia, Lisbon, 1964), pp. 101–136
P. Jordan, Die Expansion der Erde: Folgerungen aus der Diracschen Gravitationshypothese (Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig, 1966)
P. Jordan, Bemerkungen zu der Arbeit von H. Hönl und H. Dehnen. Z. Astrophys. 68, 201–203 (1968)
P. Jordan, The Expanding Earth: Some Consequences of Dirac’s Gravitation Hypothesis (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1971)
P. Jordan, The theory of a variable ‘constant’ of gravitation. Unpublished essay to the Gravity Research Foundation (1954). http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/pdf/awarded/1954/jordan.pdf
P. Jordan, Die Bedeutung der Diracschen Hypothese für die Geophysik. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse, 9, 771–795, (1959b)
P. Jordan, J. Ehlers, W. Kundt, Quantitatives zur Diracschen Schwerkraft-Hypothese. Z. Phys. 178, 501–518 (1964)
C. Jungnickel, R. McCormmach, Cavendish: The Experimental Life (Bucknell University Press, Cranbury, NJ, 1999)
K. Just, Zur Kosmologie mit veränderlicher Gravitationszahl. Z. Phys. 140, 648–655 (1955)
D. Kaiser, Is ψ just a ψ? Pedagogy, practice, and the reconstitution of general relativity, 1942–1975. Stud. Hist. Philos. Mod. Phys. 29, 321–338 (1998)
D. Kaiser, When fields collide. Sci. Am. 350(June), 62–69 (2007)
E.R. Kanasewich, J.C. Savage, Dirac’s cosmology and radioactive dating. Can. J. Phys. 41, 1911–1922 (1963)
R. Klee, The revenge of Pythagoras: how a mathematical sharp practice undermines the contemporary design argument in astrophysical cosmology. Br. J. Philos. Sci. 53, 331–354 (2002)
D.S. Kothari, Cosmological and atomic constants. Nature 142, 354–355 (1938)
H. Kragh, Dirac: A Scientific Biography (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990)
H. Kragh, Cosmonumerology and empiricism: the Dirac-Gamow dialogue. Astron. Q. 8, 109–126 (1991)
H. Kragh, Cosmology and Controversy: The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1996)
H. Kragh, Matter and Spirit in the Universe: Scientific and Religious Preludes to Modern Cosmology (Imperial College Press, London, 2004)
H. Kragh, Higher Speculations: Grand Theories and Failed Revolutions in Physics and Cosmology (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011)
H. Kragh, Zöllner’s universe. Phys. Perspect. 14, 392–420 (2012)
H. Kragh, Expanding Earth and declining gravity: a chapter in the recent history of geophysics. Hist. Geo- Space Sci. 6, 45–55 (2015b)
H. Kragh, Gravitation and the Earth sciences: the contributions of Robert Dicke. (2015c), Arxiv:1501.04293 [physics. hist-ph]
Y. Kramarovskii, V. Chechev, Does the charge of the electron vary with the age of the universe? Soviet Physics Uspekhi 13, 628–631 (1971)
A. Lightman, R. Brawer, Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990)
A.S. Mackenzie, The Laws of Gravitation (American Book Company, New York, 1900)
A. Mercier, M. Kervaire (eds.), Fünfzig Jahre Relativitätstheorie (Birkhäuser, Basel, 1956)
E.A. Milne, Relativity, Gravitation and World-Structure (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1935)
J. North, The Measure of the Universe: A History of Modern Cosmology (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1965)
H. Nussbaumer, L. Bieri, Discovering the Expanding Universe (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009)
M.J. Nye, Blackett: Physics, war, and Politics in the Twentieth Century (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2004)
J. O’Hanlon, K.-K. Tam, Stellar ages and an extended theory of gravitation. Prog. Theor. Phys. 43, 684–688 (1970)
G.C. Omer, A nonhomogeneous cosmological model. Astrophy. J. 109, 164–176 (1949)
E.J. Öpik, The Oscillating Universe (Mentor Book, New York, 1956)
E.J. Öpik, Climatic change in cosmic perspective. Icarus 4, 289–307 (1965)
P.J.E. Peebles, Dicke, Robert Henry, in New Dictionary of Scientific Biography, ed. by N. Koertge (Tomson-Gale, Detroit, 2008), pp. 280–284
P.J.E. Peebles, R.H. Dicke, Cosmology and the radioactive decay ages of terrestrial rocks and meteorites. Phys. Rev. 128, 2006–2011 (1962b)
P.J.E. Peebles, D.T. Wilkinson, The primeval fireball. Sci. Am. 216(June), 28–37 (1967)
P. Pochoda, M. Schwarzschild, Variation of the gravitational constant and the evolution of the sun. Astrophys. J. 139, 587–593 (1964)
J.H. Poynting, Collected Scientific Papers by John Henry Poynting (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1920)
M. Reinhardt, Mach’s principle—A critical review. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung A 28a, 529–539 (1973)
S. Sambursky, Static universe and nebular red shift. Phys. Rev. 52, 335–338 (1937)
A.R. Sandage, Current problems in the extragalactic distance scale. Astrophys. J. 127, 513–526 (1958)
E. Schatzmann, The Origin and Evolution of the Universe (Hutchison & Company, London, 1966). Translation of Origine et Évolution des Mondes, Paris, 1957.
E.L. Schücking, Jürgen Ehlers, in Einstein’s Field Equations and their Physical Implications, ed. by B. G. Schmidt (Springer, Berlin, 2000), pp. v–vi
D. Sciama, On the origin of inertia. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 113, 34–42 (1953)
G. Shahiv, J.N. Bahcall, The effect of the Brans-Dicke cosmology on solar evolution and neutrino fluxes. Astrophys. J. 155, 135–143 (1969)
J. Singh, Great Ideas and Theories of Modern Cosmology (Dover Publications, New York, 1970)
P.J. Smith, The end of the expanding Earth hypothesis? Nature 271, 301 (1978)
J. Solomon, Gravitation et quanta. Journal de Physique et la Radium 9, 479–485 (1938)
D. Stanley-Jones, Cosmical zero, and the origin of radiation and dense matter. Nature 164, 279–280 (1949)
G.J. Stoney, On the physical units of nature. Philos. Mag. 11, 381–390 (1881)
E. Teller, On the change of physical constants. Phys. Rev. 73, 801–802 (1948)
E. Teller, Are the constants constant?”, in Cosmology, Fusion, and other Matters: George Gamow Memorial Volume, ed. by F. Reines (Adam Hilger, London, 1972), pp. 60–66
E. Teller, J. L. Shoolery, Memoirs. A Twentieth-Century Journey in Science and Politics. (Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, 2001)
D. Ter Haar, Cosmogonical problems and stellar energy. Rev. Mod. Phys. 22, 119–152 (1950)
D.C. Tozer, Heat transfer and convection currents. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 258, 252–271 (1965)
J.-P. Uzan, The fundamental constants and their variation: observational status and theoretical motivations. Rev. Mod. Phys. 75, 403–459 (2003)
P.S. Wesson, Cosmology and Geophysics (Adam Hilger, Bristol, 1978)
P.S. Wesson, Gravity, Particles, and Astrophysics (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1980)
T.M.L. Wigley, Climate and paleoclimate: What we can learn about solar luminosity variations. Sol. Phys. 74, 435–471 (1981)
C.M. Will, Experimental gravitation from Newton’s Principia to Einstein’s general relativity, in 300 Years of Gravitation, ed. by S. Hawking, W. Israel (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987), pp. 80–127
F. Zwicky, On the theory and observation of highly collapsed stars. Phys. Rev. 55, 726–743 (1939)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kragh, H. (2016). Varying Gravity. In: Varying Gravity. Science Networks. Historical Studies, vol 54. Birkhäuser, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24379-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24379-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24377-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24379-5
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)