Steady State theory

The Big Bang theory was not always as popular as it is today. In the 1940s Sir Fred Hoyle and others developed
an alternative mathematical model of the Universe that did not start in a massive expansion.
They said that matter is continuously created at a rate that keeps the average density of the Universe the same as
it expands. Though the Steady State theorists' ideas are largely discredited today, their research pushed the Big
Bang supporters to back up their theory with evidence. Interestingly, it was Hoyle who coined the term Big
Bang in an attempt to put down the idea that the Universe had a beginning.
Einstein also held this assumption about a static universe, so he introduced a term into his general relativity
field equations called the cosmological constant (The cosmological constant is a constant term in field equations
of general relativity, represented by the Greek symbol Lambda, which allowed for a static universe. It is the
value of the energy density of the vacuum of space.), which served the purpose of holding the universe in a
static state. However, when Edwin Hubble discovered evidence that distant galaxies were in fact expanding
away from the Earth in all directions, scientists (including Einstein) realized that the universe didn't seem to be
static and the term was removed.
Steady state theory was first proposed by Sir James Jeans in the 1920's, but it really got a boost in 1948, when it
was reformulated by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, and Hermann Bondi. (There is an apocryphal story that they
came up with the theory after watching the film Dead of Night, which ends exactly as it began.) Hoyle
particularly became a major proponent of the theory, especially in opposition to the big bang theory. In fact, in a
British radio broadcast, Hoyle coined the term "big bang" somewhat derisively to explain the opposing theory.
The steady-state theory is a view that the universe is always expanding but maintaining a constant average
density, matter being continuously created to form new stars and galaxies at the same rate that old ones become
unobservable as a consequence of their increasing distance and velocity of recession. A steady-state universe
has no beginning or end in time; and from any point within it the view on the grand scale--i.e., the average
density and arrangement of galaxies--is the same. Galaxies of all possible ages are intermingled.
A theory in which the universe is assumed to have average properties that are constant in space and time so that
new matter must be continuously and spontaneously created to maintain average densities as the universe
expands.
The term 'steady state' means a stable condition that does not change over time or in which change in one
direction is continually balanced by change in another. The Steady State Theory of the origin of the universe is
also referred to as the infinite universe theory or continuous creation. This theory was proposed by Hermann
Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Sir Fred Hoyle.
In the diagram above I have taken a small region of space and marked two galaxies with a red dot and a green
dot to allow them to be identified. All the other galaxies are marked with a white dot. Then the upper part of the
diagram shows the Big Bang theory where the distance between all the galaxies increases as the Universe
expands. In the Steady State theory, shown in the lower part of the diagram, the distance between the red and
the green galaxies increases but extra galaxies are created so the average distance between galaxies
doesnt change. Indeed if the Steady State theory were true then an observer would measure the same values of:

the average density of the Universe,

average distance between galaxies,

average brightness of galaxies

how the speed that galaxies are moving away varies with their distance

At all points in the Universe whether the observations refer to 10 trillion years in the past, now, or 10 trillion
years in the future.
An early rival to the Big Bang theory, Steady State posits continuous creation of matter throughout the universe
to explain its apparent expansion. This type f universe would be infinite, with no beginning or end. However, a
mountain of evidence found since the mid 1960s indicates that this theory is not correct.
When a new class of astronomical objects called quasars was discovered. These are incredibly bright
objects which can be up to 1,000 times the brightness of the Milky Way, but are very small when compared to
size of a galaxy. Quasars are only found at great distances from us, meaning that the light from them was
emitted billions of light years ago. The fact that quasars are only found in the early Universe provides strong
evidence that the Universe has changed over time.