Wolfgang Priester forsaw Big Bounce cosmology

In summary, Wolfgang Priester was a versatile and influential astrophysicist who made significant contributions to various fields, including radio astronomy, space physics, and cosmology. He is most remembered for his work on quasars, his promotion of the idea of a nonsingular "big bounce" at the beginning of the universe's current expansion, and his recognition of the importance of dark energy before it became widely accepted. His approach to science was described as intuitive and driven by a passion and love for the subject.
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marcus
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http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0608644
Wolfgang Priester: from the big bounce to the Lambda-dominated universe
James Overduin, Hans-Joachim Blome, Josef Hoell
12 pages, 7 figures, optimized for A4 paper. Partly biographical, partly historical review of subjects to which Priester contributed (quasars, nonsingular cosmology, dark energy). Preprint version only; published version to appear in Naturwissenschaften

"Wolfgang Priester was one of Germany's most versatile and quixotic astrophysicists, re-inventing himself successively as a radio astronomer, space physicist and cosmologist, and making a lasting impact on each field. We focus in this personal account on his contributions to cosmology, where he will be most remembered for his association with quasars, his promotion of the idea of a nonsingular "big bounce" at the beginning of the current expansionary phase, and his recognition of the importance of dark energy (Einstein's cosmological constant Lambda) well before this became the standard paradigm in cosmology."

just to show a little respect for the guy
he seems to have been a bit ahead of his time and that can be a trouble
 
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things are quiet in this subforum, so I will take a moment just to quote something Einstein said in 1918. The authors of that article about Wolfgang Priester recalled it to me. It was something they think Wolfgang would have understood.

"...we can do no better than borrow from Albert Einstein, who wrote in 1918: “The supreme task of the physicist is to arrive at those universal elementary laws from which the cosmos can be built up by pure deduction. There is no logical path to these laws; only intuition, resting on sympathetic understanding, can lead to them ... The state of mind that enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshipper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.”
 

What is Big Bounce cosmology?

Big Bounce cosmology is a theoretical model that suggests the universe goes through cycles of expansion and contraction, with each cycle starting from a singularity or "bounce". This is in contrast to the more widely accepted theory of the Big Bang, which proposes that the universe began with a single massive explosion.

Who is Wolfgang Priester?

Wolfgang Priester was a German physicist and astronomer who proposed the concept of Big Bounce cosmology in the 1990s. He was a professor at the University of Konstanz and made significant contributions to the fields of cosmology and astrophysics.

How did Wolfgang Priester foresee Big Bounce cosmology?

Wolfgang Priester developed the concept of Big Bounce cosmology by combining elements of general relativity with quantum mechanics. He also drew inspiration from the cyclic universe model proposed by physicist Paul Steinhardt and astronomer Neil Turok.

What evidence supports Big Bounce cosmology?

Currently, there is no direct evidence to support the idea of a Big Bounce cosmology. The concept is still a theoretical model and has not been confirmed through observational data. However, some scientists believe that future advancements in technology and research may provide evidence for this theory.

How does Big Bounce cosmology differ from other cosmological models?

Big Bounce cosmology differs from the widely accepted Big Bang model in that it suggests the universe has no beginning and no end, but rather goes through cycles of expansion and contraction. It also incorporates elements of quantum mechanics, which is not present in the Big Bang theory. Other theories, such as the steady-state model, also propose an eternal universe but do not involve the concept of a "bounce".

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