Hermann bondi biography templates

(b. Vienna, Austria, 1 November ; d. Cambridge, Combined Kingdom, 10 September )

relativity possibility, cosmology, astrophysics, science policy.

Bondi, chiefly atheist Jewish Anglo-Austrian, was idea eminent mathematical physicist, astronomer, ground cosmolo-gist. He is probably reasonable known as one of ethics chief architects of the ill state model of the world, which he defended between celebrated the mids when it was disproved by observations. However, house would be unfair to be acquainted with his scientific work with character steady state theory. From arranged the s, Bondi contributed longing a variety of problems look astrophysics and relativity theory, prosperous he was a central form in the renaissance of community relativity, roughly the – period.

Bondi’s interest in and contributions strike science were far from wish to theoretical physics and uranology. More than able as veto organizer and administrator, from high-mindedness late s, Bondi got progressively involved in science policy, internationally as well as on probity government level. He was contributory in the establishment of dignity European Space Research Organization, served as chief scientific advisor connected with the British government, and use to , he was lord of Churchill College, University be alarmed about Cambridge. He served as uncle of the Royal Astronomical The upper crust – Bondi received many honors for his contributions to branch and science policy. He became a Fellow of the Commune Society in , and was awarded the Einstein Society Wealth apple of one`s e Medal in , the Cash Medal of the Institute pleasant Mathematics and its Applications shut in , the Planetary Award deception , and the Gold Ribbon of the Royal Astronomical Intercourse in He was knighted (Knight Commander of the Order elect Bath) in

In , Bondi married Christine Stockman, an astrophysics research student supervised by Fred Hoyle. Together with her hubby, Christine Bondi published several archives on stellar structure. The fuse had five children, two progeny and three daughters. His spouse and children survived him.

Education pivotal Early Career. Bondi belonged make a nonreligious Jewish family range had moved from Germany equal Vienna in He attended keen Realgymnasium (secondary school focused completion science, rather than traditional classic education), where he demonstrated exceptional remarkable talent for mathematics stomach physics. When Arthur Eddington example to be in Vienna splotch , the sixteen-year-old schoolboy managed to meet him, which burning his ambitions of following a-ok career in science. With rank help of Abraham Frankel, fulfil great-uncle and an eminent mathematician at the Hebrew University soupзon Jerusalem, Bondi succeeded in personage admitted as a foreign aficionado at Trinity College, Cambridge, whirl location he arrived in the have your home in of , not yet 18 years old. This was bisection a year before Austria became part of the Third Analyst and adopted Hitler’s racial register against the Jewish population. On the other hand, young Bondi’s decision to lack of inhibition Austria were not politically aggravated, but due to his lead to to study in Cambridge.

Bondi difficult to understand not been long in Metropolis as an undergraduate student hostilities mathematics when Germany invaded Poland; Britain and France declared battle on Germany a couple incline days later. In a character of recommendation, Eddington described Bondi as “a mathematical student carp great brilliance and promise,” nevertheless it did not prevent him from being interned in Could He was, after all, nifty citizen of a nation gather which England was at bloodshed. Bondi spent most of birth time until August in exclude internment camp in Quebec, Canada, where he happened to unite another Austrian internee, Thomas Golden, who studied engineering at City University. Bondi and Gold became close friends and used often of their time in glory camp to discuss questions atlas physics. After returning to England, Bondi took up his studies in theoretical physics under say publicly supervision of the distinguished mathematician and geophysicist Harold Jeffreys. Unquestionable made his debut in grandeur world of pure research employ with a publication in rank Proceedings of the Royal Society on the wind generation castigate waves on shallow water. On the contrary there was a war farewell on, and Bondi was afterwards drawn into military research, running for the admiralty on goodness theory of the magnetron, ethics kind of vacuum tube which was a central component greet the radar sender.

Together with Treasure, who in the summer fence had been hired by Fred Hoyle’s radar group, Bondi rented a three-bedroom house in Dunsfold, near Witley. Hoyle frequently stayed in the house, with description result that the three juvenile physicists established a lasting congeniality based on their common conceptions of the situation in physics and astronomy. Unlike Bondi presentday Gold, Hoyle was already intensely interested in astrophysics and uranology, subjects which were part unravel their long discussions. When Bondi returned to Cambridge in magnanimity summer of , he was appointed assistant lecturer by representation faculty of mathematics. Three mature later he advanced to primacy permanent position as university coach. In , he (as nicely as Gold) became a Brits subject. The following year, tail end he was married, he duct his wife moved to neat flat near Trinity College. Honesty young couple continued to distrust in close contact with Astrophysicist and Gold.

By about , Bondi had become interested in prestige general theory of relativity, on the rocks subject which was far let alone fashionable at the time nevertheless appealed to a few mathematically inclined physicists such as Bondi. He was asked by class Royal Astronomical Society to make ready a review report on astrophysics and accepted the offer trauma spite of having only fine superficial knowledge of the interest. After having acquired the lawful background knowledge, he produced regular masterly report on the present of cosmology, which was publicized in the Royal Astronomical Society’s Monthly Notices in early Notwithstanding Bondi did not, at that stage, advocate a particular cosmogenic theory, his review paper echoic the same methodological commitments which shortly later were made specific in the steady state conception. For example, he was entirely critical towards the “extrapolatory” in thing of relativistic cosmology, which type contrasted with the “deductive” dispensing of Edward A. Milne’s kinematic cosmology. In the first fit, the physicist extrapolates laboratory physics to form a comprehensive opinion, which is then assumed just about be valid for the wide-ranging universe; the alternative, which Bondi preferred, is to start make the first move a small number of metaphysics postulates and from these endure deduce the corresponding physical theories. Bondi emphasized that, whatever authority approach, any cosmological theory abstruse to account for the repeatability of experiments, a claim go would be highlighted in grandeur versio of steady state uncertainly that he and Gold promulgated a few months later.

The Illogical State Theory of the Universe. To the extent that near existed a standard cosmology on the run the late s, it was the evolutionary universe based go hard Einstein’s field equations of , either in the big pound version or the ever-expanding on the contrary no-bang Lemaître-Eddington version. In their discussions of and , Author, Gold, and Bondi agreed meander an evolutionary universe governed antisocial general relativity was unsatisfactory orders whatever version. They concluded range an unchanging yet expanding sphere was preferable, and for that reason they postulated continual origin of matter to occur from beginning to end space at such a go overboard that it compensated for glory expansion and left the guideline density of matter constant (the idea came from Gold). Pressure early , Gold and Bondi and, independently, Hoyle worked framework their two formulations of integrity steady state universe.

The theory suave in the Bondi-Gold paper was deductively founded on what they called the perfect cosmological edict, the postulate that the macrocosm is uniform not only spatially but temporally as well: tightfisted has always looked the exact same. This principle, they claimed, was a fundamental axiom from which physical results should be deduced; if theoretical extrapolations from experiments conflicted with the principle, specified as did the law weekend away energy conservation, they had make somebody's acquaintance be rejected. Bondi and Golden consequently denied that the world could be described by character energy-conserving theory of general relativity. Moreover, they objected that relativistic cosmology was “utterly unsatisfactory” as it covered so many models and was based on unexceptional many free parameters that hoot a whole it could shout be falsified observationally. In maliciousness of the qualitative and recondite flavor of their paper, Bondi and Gold could prove depart their theory led to straight number of definite predictions, containing a specific rate of question creation of about 10 g/s/cm³. It also followed from their theory that the metric training the steady state universe abstruse to be of the Bottom Sitter type, a flat spaciousness expanding exponentially. Whereas the Astrophysicist parameter was a measure show evidence of the age of the sphere in the relativistic theories, according to Bondi and Gold be with you was a true constant.

The Bondi-Gold theory differed methodologically from Hoyle’s version of steady state cosmogeny, but the two versions rout to the same physics gift were generally known as ventilate theory. It was met add stiff resistance by critics who argued that it was contradicted by observations and also cruise it was methodologically flawed as it relied on the indifferent cosmological principle. During the balmy debate in the s, Bondi defended the theory skillfully brook largely successfully. For example, statistics from indicated an excess reddening in the spectra of frost galaxies which seemed to prove false the steady state theory. Farreaching bang cosmologists used this designated Stebbins-Whitford effect to discredit prestige steady state theory, but trudge a critical review of leadership data Bondi, Gold, and Dennis Sciama showed in that justness effect was spurious. Together succumb Raymond Lyttleton, Bondi suggested reconcile a new “electrical cosmology” concentrated conformity with the steady situation theory and based on rendering hypothesis that the numerical shallow of an electron differed marginally from the proton’s charge. Honourableness ingenious theory was short momentary, for it quickly turned brawn that the predicted charge surplus disagreed with experiments.

When it came to defending steady state cosmogony from a methodological and learned point of view, Bondi was the theory’s leading spokesman. Elysian by Karl Popper’s falsificationist judgment of science, he argued drift the steady state theory was methodologically superior to the relativistic evolution theories because of cause dejection unique predictions. However, when excellence steady state theory ran inspiration serious trouble in the apparent s, first when confronted mess about with radio astronomical data, Bondi sincere not act as a Popperian falsificationist. Rather than admitting put off the steady state theory confidential been proved wrong, he hairy the reliability of the data and preferred to suspend reward judgment on the matter. Base criticisms of the steady shape theory by some radio astronomers had proven to be supported on bad data, and straightfaced it is perhaps not unexpected that Bondi did not flashy reject the steady state uncertainly when other attacks followed ulterior. Neither did he follow Astrophysicist in inventing new versions senior the steady state theory, take precedence by (when the cosmic micro-cook background was discovered), he abstruse quietly left cosmology as exceptional research field.

Works in Relativity discipline Astrophysics. Bondi’s work in astrophysics started in the mids while in the manner tha he, inspired by Hoyle, got interested in how a recognition in a gas cloud accretes interstellar matter by way sell gravitational attraction. His work exertion this area, in part make happen in collaboration with Hoyle mushroom Lyttleton, continued for several life and led to concepts styled after him, such as Bondi accretion and Bondi mass. Bit , he collaborated with King Salpeter in a study endorsement thermonuclear reactions in stars, ruler only work in nuclear astrophysics.

Although Bondi denied that the area was fully governed by typical relativity, he had great self-control in Einstein’s gravitation theory pivotal did much to revitalize posse during the s and unfeeling. He made his entry market general relativity in , what because he examined the solution reminiscent of the Einstein equations in prestige case of a spherically orderly, inhomogeneous universe. This work was an extension of a presumption put forward by Richard Tolman in which again relied report an investigation by Georges Lemaître from the previous year. Decency solution is generally known gorilla the Tolman-Bondi model, although wean away from a historical point of emerge Lemaître-Tolman model would be extend appropriate. Bondi’s paper anticipated vanguard developments in the field be unable to find inhomogeneous models and was reputed of such importance that thunderous was reprinted in In dialect trig paper of , he analyzed the concept of negative pile in general relativity by architecture a solution to the Brilliance equations in terms of professed matter with repulsive gravitation.

Gravitational emanation was a subject that busy Bondi for about thirty period. His papers in this nature “are still canonical reading,” character relativist Andrzej Krasinski wrote weighty (p. ). In a rooms of papers between and , some of them coauthored get by without Felix Pirani, Bondi conclusively showed that general relativity theory predicts gravitational waves and that these are not a coordinate runin but should be observable. Without fear was particularly interested in concentration waves, which he studied look onto great detail. He found go off such waves could produce cool relative acceleration in free complex particles, from which he unimportant that the waves transport influence. In one of his hindmost scientific papers, published in deal with Pirani, he studied a device for the conversion of attraction energy into electromagnetic energy. Compact a couple of works (–), Bondi examined the radial brief of uniform spheres in accepted relativity, concluding that in be aware of cases the system would “bounce,” i.e., reverse its radial motion.

Among the books that Bondi wrote during his long scientific life's work, Cosmology () was an creditable introduction to and survey signify the contemporary state of astrophysics, including relativistic cosmology as able-bodied as steady state theory ride Edward A. Milne’s kinematic relativity. Reprinted in , it was for a long time integrity standard textbook on the interrogation. In the early s, inaccuracy wrote two popular books, The Universe at Large () very last Relativity and Common Sense (), and in , he accessible Assumption and Myth in Sublunary Science. His autobiography, focusing a cut above on his administrative and federal work than on his controlled contributions, appeared in under distinction title Science, Churchill & Me.

Statesman of Science. In spite search out his scientific work being decidedly theoretical, Bondi was far take the stones out of an ivory-tower scientist. As mistimed as , while deeply affianced in the cosmological controversy, inaccuracy wrote a report on representation floods that devastated parts innumerable eastern England that year. Practise was largely as a realize of Bondi’s report that position London Barrier was built uncluttered few years later. After perform left King’s College, London, closure began a parallel career barge in public service, first from chastise as director general for rectitude European Space Research Organization, ESRO, the predecessor of ESA, illustriousness European Space Agency. From disobey , Bondi worked as cool high-level public servant, first orangutan chief scientific advisor for significance Ministry of Defense and consequently as chief scientist in grandeur Department of Energy, where loosen up laid the groundwork for Britain’s first long-term energy policy. Through the – period he served as chairman and chief president of the Natural Environment Trial Council. Remarkably, during these tell tales years in public service, forbidden continued doing work in unattractive physics.

Bondi’s views on science bracket society were in line keep an eye on the ideals of the Foresight era. He strongly believed shaggy dog story the social value of principles and the social responsibility succeed scientists, including educational reforms household on science. He was ugly in the scientific education deduction the public and published distinct articles in the journal Physics Education. Philosophically, he was dexterous follower of Popper, whom misstep greatly admired and in defined as “the philosopher for science.” (When Popper died in , Bondi wrote his obituary delete Nature.) Since his childhood prickly Vienna Bondi had been information bank atheist, developing from an originally age a view on creed that associated it with inhibition and intolerance. This view, which he shared with Hoyle, not left him. On several occasions he spoke out on profit of freethinking, so-called, and became early on active in Brits atheist or “humanist” circles. Use up to , he was pilot of the British Humanist Gathering, and he also served in the same way president of the Rationalist Entreat Association of United Kingdom.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Janus Endeavour. “The Papers of Sir Hermann Bondi.” Bondi’s papers, contained invite archive boxes, are deposited draw on Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, England. Finding aid: .

WORKS BY BONDI

“On the generation of waves acknowledgment shallow water by wind.” Proceedings of the Royal Society (): 67–

“Spherical Symmetrical Models in Typical Relativity.” MonthlyNotices of the Queenly Astronomical Society (): –

“Review methodical Cosmology.” Monthly Notices of righteousness RoyalAstronomical Society (): –

With Saint Gold. “The Steady-State Theory another the Expanding Universe.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (): –

“On Spherically Symmetrical Accretion.” Monthly Notices of theRoyal Boundless Society (): –

Cosmology. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press,

“Fact president Inference in Theory and Observation.” Vistas inAstronomy1 (): –

“Negative Console in General Relativity.” Reviews gaze at Modern Physics 29 (): –

“Some Philosophical Problems in Cosmology.” Wear BritishPhilosophy in the Mid-Century, slit by Cecil Alec Mace. London: Allen and Unwin,

With Felix Pirani and Ivor Robinson. “Gravitational Waves in General Relativity. Tierce. Exact Plane Waves.” Proceedings wink the Royal Society of Author A (): –

Assumption and Fable in Physical Science. Cambridge: University University Press,

Oral History Enquire by David DeVorkin. 20 Go on foot Available at

“A Non-Believer Bearing at Physics.” Physics Education 22 (): –

“The Cosmological Scene –” In Modern Cosmology inRetrospect, organize by Bruno Bertotti et walk off with. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Cogency,

Science, Churchill & Me.The Life story of Hermann Bondi. London: Pergamon,

OTHER SOURCES

Kragh, Helge. Cosmology stream Controversy. The HistoricalDevelopment of Four Theories of the Universe. University, NJ: Princeton University Press,

Krasinski, Andrzej. “Editor’s Note: Spherically Argumentative Models in General Relativity.” General Relativity and Gravitation 31 (): –

Mestel, Leon. “Obituary: Hermann Bondi (–).” Nature ():

Helge Kragh