The Atom of the Universe. The Life and Work of Georges Lemaître (E-book) Kraków

This book takes us from the early childhood to the last days of George Lemaîitre, the man behind the theory of the primeval atom, now better known as Big Bang theory. But who was George Lemaître? A clergyman, a genius astronomer, an audacious cosmologist, a computer enthusiast ahead of his time, a professor with his head in the clouds, a bon vivant mathematician and gourmand? Dominique Lambert's book peels away these layers, chapter by chapter, from the adventures of a boy from Charleroi (Belgium) who became Monseigneur Lemaître as well as his impact on contemporary cosmology. The reader will follow Lemaitre’s works through the course of his life, discovering along the way his involvement with the Chinese student community, his complex relationship with the Vatican, his deep devotion to the University of Louvain, his friendship with figures such as Einstein and Eddington, his adventures through the two World Wars, his travels in America, his curious interest in Molière and his deep faith lived through the ‘Amis de Jésus’. The resulting picture is of a remarkable figure who was sensitive, creative, meticulous and, paradoxically, both discreet and exuberant while also being a man of exceptional integrity who reconciled his science with his faith. More than a book on one person, this biography of Lemaître offers the key to a better understanding of the profound changes which took place in the fields of science, faith and academic life in the last century. Preface by P.J.E. PeeblesThis book takes us from the early childhood to the last days of George Lemaîitre, the man behind the theory of the primeval atom, now better known as Big Bang theory. But who was George Lemaître? A clergyman, a genius astronomer, an audacious cosmologist, a computer enthusiast ahead of his time, a professor with his head in the clouds, a bon vivant mathematician and gourmand? Dominique Lambert's book peels away these layers, chapter by chapter, from the adventures of a boy from Charleroi (Belgium) who became Monseigneur Lemaître as well as his impact on contemporary cosmology. The reader will follow Lemaitre’s works through the course of his life, discovering along the way his involvement with the Chinese student community, his complex relationship with the Vatican, his deep devotion to the University of Louvain, his friendship with figures such as Einstein and Eddington, his adventures through the two World Wars, his travels in America, his curious interest in Molière and his deep faith lived through the ‘Amis de Jésus’. The resulting picture is of a remarkable figure who was sensitive, creative, meticulous and, paradoxically, both discreet and exuberant while also being a man of exceptional integrity who reconciled his science with his faith. More than a book on one person, this biography of Lemaître offers the key to a better understanding of the profound changes which took place in the fields of science, faith and academic life in the last century. Preface by P.J.E. Peebles Spis treści: Preface ..... 9 Acknowledgments ..... 15 Chapter I From Louvain to Namur ..... 21 1. The reed and the Universe ..... 21 2. Sources ..... 23 3. Guide to this work ..... 31 Chapter II The early years: the Jesuits, mathematics and the mines (1894–1914) ..... 33 1. A Son from the Pays Noir ..... 33 2. At the Jesuit school ..... 41 3. The mines: a blind tunnel? ..... 45 Chapter III The Great War: from student to artilleryman (1914–1919) ..... 53 1. The long walk to the Yser Front ..... 53 2. Back to the University: a new direction ..... 60 Chapter IV The seminarian and relativity (1920–1923) ..... 67 1. The Saint-Rombaut house ..... 67 2. Lemaître, Theology and the Amis de Jesus’ ..... 69 3. Einstein’s physics viewed from Saint Rombaut ..... 75 4. Toward a new life ..... 84 Chapter V The mathematician who became an astronomer ..... 87 1. A Clergyman at Eddington’s house ..... 87 2. The time to sow: from Canada to M.I.T. ..... 93 3. In the Right Place at the Right Time ..... 114 Chapter VI From the expanding universe to the primeval atom hypothesis (1927–1931) ..... 121 1. An expanding universe with no beginning or end ..... 121 2. From Einstein’s blame to Eddington’s mea culpa ..... 132 3. The hypothesis of the Primeval Atom ..... 145 Chapter VII The Chinese connection (1927–1950…) ..... 165 1. A disciple of Father Lebbe: From cosmology to the Chinese residence ..... 165 2. Florescit et lucet ..... 169 3. “Servir” ..... 173 4. Lemaitre’s Chinese Disciple: Tchang Yong-Li ..... 174 Chapter VIII Arrival on the world scene? (1931–1939) ..... 179 1. Travels and Accolades ..... 179 2. Towards a theory of large-scale structures: the Lemaître-Tolman model ..... 184 3. A peek inside the black hole ..... 192 4. The defence of the “little lamb” ..... 199 Chapter IX Science and faith: the theory of the two paths (1924–1936) ..... 207 1. The origin of the “two paths”: A tripartite influence ..... 207 2. The Congress of Melechen ..... 215 3. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences ..... 217 Chapter X An astronomer starstruck by algebra(1931–1957) ..... 221 1. The Dirac equation redux (1931) ..... 221 2. The Projektive Relativitätstheorie (1933–1935) and Relativistic Theory of Protons and Electrons (1937) ..... 227 3. The Fundamental Theory and the spinors of Cartan (1948) ..... 234 4. The spinors: from the quantum field theory to history (1955–1957) ..... 236 Chapter XI From cosmology to calculation: the Størmer problem ..... 241 1. The problem of the origin and nature of cosmic rays ..... 241 2. The determination of the orbits of cosmic rays: the Størmer problem ..... 244 3. The first “Lemaître’s School”: 1933–1945 ..... 254 4. The Størmer problem after 1945 ..... 259 Chapter XII A time of war (1940–1944) ..... 263 1. Exodus ..... 263 2. A time for solidarity ..... 266 3. The time of isolation and reading ..... 270 4. A time of reprimand and trials ..... 277 5. Back to science ..... 281 Chapter XIII Lemaitre the master. A portrait of his pedagogy (1940–1944) ..... 285 1. Teaching and research, a seamless cloth ..... 285 2. Attending a class and passing exams with the Canon ..... 292 Chapter XIV From mechanics to calculators and back again (1940–1944) ..... 301 1. Mechanics and cosmology: the nebulae and their clusters ..... 301 2. Numerical calculation ..... 309 3. Mesmerized by machines ..... 315 4. The apotheosis: the three-body problem ..... 322 Chapter XV Faith and science: the Un’ora problem (1951–1952) ..... 331 1. From Deus Absconditus to the natural beginning of the universe ..... 331 2. The Un’Ora discourse ..... 337 3. Lemaître’s reaction ..... 340 4. A Small Detour to Rome: the intervention of 1952 ..... 347 Chapter XVI Monsignor Lemaitre (1956–1964) ..... 353 1. A little out of breath ..... 353 2. The Presidency of the Pontifical Academy ..... 355 3. A mathematician in the spirit of Vatican II ..... 362 Chapter XVII Mundus est fabula. The philosophy of a cosmologist ..... 367 1. Lemaître and the philosophers ..... 367 2. Lemaître: philosophy teacher ..... 373 3. An intelligible, non-deterministic and strange universe ..... 375 4. Teilhard listening to Lemaître ..... 381 Chapter XVIII A “pair of Molière” and the “Nim-Pythagoras” fight ..... 389 1. A double star: Molière ..... 389 2. Let us calculate without pain! ..... 393 Chapter XIX The last years (1962–1966) ..... 405 1. Last works ..... 405 2. To oppose “The sin against the Holy Spirit”: the ACAPSUL ..... 411 3. At the end of the “Two paths ..... 414 Chapter XX Msgr Georges Lemaître: a star that was without a double (1962–1966) ..... 419 1. Unity of life ..... 420 2. Unity of work ..... 422 Postscript ATV-5, the Georges Lemaître ..... 429 Afterword When Should One Stop Doing Cosmology and Turn to Calculations? ..... 431 Bibliography of Msgr. Georges Lemaître ..... 437 Index of Persons ..... 459 Photos ..... 465