Ralph Alpher
Ralph Asher Alpher (born February 3, 1921 in Washington, DC , † August 12, 2007 in Austin , Texas ) was an American physicist and cosmologist .
Life
In 1948 he wrote his dissertation on the Big Bang theory, in which he provided an explanation for the formation of elementary particles and the light elements hydrogen and helium during the cooling phase shortly after the Big Bang, as well as predicting the cosmic background radiation . The work was published as the Alpher-Bethe-Gamow theory based on the first three letters of the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma) , including the names of his professor George Gamow and Hans Bethes , who was actually uninvolved .
Although the work contained groundbreaking new insights, the positive responses were muted. It was not until 1964 that Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson succeeded in proving his theory through radio astronomical studies with the discovery of background radiation. This finding was honored with the Nobel Prize, but the award went only to the researchers who provided practical evidence of the theory, which Alpher long felt was an injustice.
Alpher was Professor at Union College in Schenectady and Director at Dudley Observatory , both in New York State , from 1987 to 2004 .
In 1986 Alpher was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1975 he was awarded the Magellanic Premium together with Robert Herman and in 2005 the National Medal of Science .
Web links
- LA Times: “Ralph Alpher, 86; pioneering physicist in cosmic research overlooked for a Nobel Prize ” , August 15, 2007
Individual evidence
- ^ The Magellanic Premium of the American Philosophical Society , website of the APS . Retrieved October 29, 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Alpher, Ralph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Alpher, Ralph Asher (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American physicist and cosmologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 3, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Washington, DC |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 12, 2007 |
| Place of death | Austin , Texas |