Science: Unbalanced Universe

Ever since Astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered in 1928 that the great galaxies, thinly scattered through space, are fleeing from one another, scientists have tried to explain the expanding universe, or to explain it away. The most consistent theories postulate some strange, long-range force that operates only at enormous distances, pushing the galaxies apart in spite of the attraction of gravitation. But no one has measured this force or given a good reason why it should exist.

Last week cosmologists were arguing a new theory, originated by Mathematical Physicist Raymond A. Lyttleton of Cambridge University and elaborated with the help of Mathematician Hermann Bondi of the University of London.

Two Parts in 1 Billion Billion. Lyttleton and Bondi belong to the British school of cosmology, which holds that matter is being created continuously in the form of hydrogen atoms appearing in empty space. Each hydrogen atom consists of one electron and one proton, and physicists have generally assumed that the positive electrical charge of the proton is exactly equal to the negative charge of the electron. Lyttleton and Bondi point out that this is only an assumption.

What will follow, they ask, if the charges differ by an infinitesimal amount, too small to measure with today’s best laboratory instruments? One result, they answer, will be the expansion of the universe. If the difference is only two parts in 1 billion billion, the galaxies will be forced to flee from one another.

In a 33-page paper, Lyttleton and Bondi suggest that it is the protons that have the bigger charges. In a “smoothed-out” universe of newly created hydrogen, the atoms will all be slightly positive, and they will repel one another by electrostatic force, as all objects do when they have the same kind of electric charge. Thus the smoothed-out universe of hydrogen must expand as fast as it is created.

Peaceful Condensation. The real universe is not a smoothed-out gas. It contains condensations: galaxies and clusters of galaxies, each made of billions of stars and surrounded by clouds of gas. Inside these units, say Lyttleton and Bondi, there is no electrostatic repulsion. Instead, some of the hydrogen atoms between the stars are ionized (i.e., separated into a proton and an electron) by light and other radiation. These ions form a kind of electrical conductor: free protons move to the outside of the unit until they have carried away enough positive electricity to make the interior electrically neutral.

In the peaceful depths of the unit, ordinary gravitation prevails. Stars are born, grow old, and die, and planets revolve around them. But the galactic units themselves must flee from one another. They were formed out of matter that was fleeing, and they must continue to flee. They are like jigsaw puzzles put together on a moving train. They must move in the same way that their unassembled pieces were moving.

Lyttleton and Bondi believe that cosmic rays are the protons that were expelled from galactic units to make their interiors electrostatically neutral. Those expelled from big units have the highest energy, perhaps many billion billion volts. They cross intergalactic space at close to the speed of light. They are not bothered much by the thin hydrogen gas between the units; they can travel through it for trillions of years without encountering anything that will check their progress.

Lyttleton and Bondi challenge physicists to devise experiments that can measure the charges of protons and electrons with new precision. If the charges prove to differ, the difference will explain both the expanding universe and cosmic rays.