Sir Fred Hoyle

Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001), English astrophysicist who helped explain how chemical elements are formed in stars by nucleosynthesis. He also developed the steady-state model of the universe and rejected the now widely accepted big bang theory.

Frederick Hoyle was born at Bingley, in Yorkshire, England, on June 24, 1915. He studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, and graduated in 1936. Hoyle became a Fellow of St. John’s College at Cambridge in 1939, but never completed his work towards a doctorate. After work in radar during World War II (1939-1945), he returned to Cambridge in 1946.

Over the next ten years he was the leading developer of the theory of how elements are manufactured inside stars by the process of nucleosynthesis. His work culminated in a seminal 1957 paper, co-written by Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge and William Fowler. The paper is known as “B2FH,” after its authors. However, Fowler alone received the Nobel Prize for their work in 1983.

In addition to his work in astrophysics, Hoyle was a founder of the steady-state theory of cosmology. Along with Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold, Hoyle argued that the universe has always existed in much the same form. According to this theory new matter is continuously created from nothing as the universe expands and the galaxies rush apart. The hydrogen atoms that are spawned in intergalactic space condense to form new galaxies and then stars. New, heavier elements are built up in the cores of the stars by nucleosynthesis. Hoyle coined the term “big bang” as a term of derision for the rival theory that the universe had a definite beginning, which he regarded as “about as elegant as a party girl jumping out of a cake.”

The big bang theory is now generally accepted, especially following the discovery of the cosmic background radiation. However, nucleosynthesis in stars as described by Hoyle and his co-workers is also accepted as the main origin of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. In the 1960s Hoyle, along with Jayant Narlikar, developed a highly modified version of the steady-state theory that is mathematically identical to the modern inflationary theory (the idea that the universe underwent a rapid expansion near its beginning). Also in the 1960s, Hoyle, along with Fowler and Robert Waggoner, explained how the lightest elements (hydrogen, deuterium, and helium) were manufactured in the big bang, providing a cornerstone of the big bang model he had derided.

Hoyle became Director of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Cambridge in 1967, and was knighted in 1972. However, he resigned all his Cambridge posts in 1973 in protest at the conduct of astronomical research in Britain, and from then on worked as an independent researcher.

After leaving Cambridge, he worked with Chandra Wickramasinghe on the idea that complex molecules essential to life exist in interstellar clouds. Although regarded as controversial in the 1970s, many of these ideas later proved correct, and amino acid molecules were even detected in space. However, their idea that some epidemics might be triggered by viruses reaching Earth from comets has never been widely accepted. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe later proposed that viruses from space also sparked genetic storms that caused fits and starts in evolution. They raised scientific hackles when they claimed that fossils of the earliest known bird Archaeopteryx had been forged by adding feather impressions. A team of paleontologists thoroughly refuted their proposed evidence and proved the fossils were genuine.

Hoyle is also noted for his computations of the ages and temperatures of stars, and the prediction of the existence of quasi-stellar objects (quasars), which were later found. In addition, he investigated the astronomical significance of Stonehenge and developed a theory of ice ages. A prolific author, he wrote popular books of astronomy and science fiction, as well as an autobiography.