Geoffrey Burbidge facts for kids

Geoffrey Burbidge (born in Chipping Norton, England, on September 24, 1925; died in La Jolla, California, on January 26, 2010) was an English astrophysicist. For many years, he was a professor at the University of California, San Diego. In 1957, he published a very important paper with three other scientists about how elements are made. Later in his life, many scientists disagreed with his ideas because he did not believe in the Big Bang theory.

Early Life and Studies

Geoffrey Burbidge first started studying history at the University of Bristol. But he soon changed to physics. This was during World War II, and the government needed scientists, so they offered financial help for science students.

He moved to London and earned a special degree called a doctorate from University College London in 1951. While studying, he met an astronomer named Margaret Peachey. He became very interested in astronomy and married her in 1948. From then on, they always worked together.

Working Together

Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge worked at several famous universities. These included Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Cambridge University.

Later, Margaret got a job at the California Institute of Technology. At the same time, Geoffrey worked at the Mount Wilson Observatory and Palomar Observatory. In 1962, they both got jobs at the University of California, San Diego.

The Famous B2FH Paper

In 1957, Geoffrey and his wife, along with William Fowler and Fred Hoyle, wrote a very long paper. It was 104 pages long and was about how stars create elements. This process is called stellar nucleosynthesis.

The paper became known as B2FH. This name came from the first letters of their last names. It explained how nuclear reactions inside stars can break apart matter and then put it back together in new ways. This idea was similar to what Charles Darwin wrote about 100 years earlier in his book "Origin of Species," which described how living things evolved. Many scientists saw the B2FH paper as one of the most important papers ever written in astrophysics.

Later Ideas and Legacy

Later in his career, Burbidge did not agree with the Big Bang theory. This theory explains how the universe began.

Quasars are very bright objects that have a high redshift. Scientists who support the Big Bang theory believe quasars are very far away in the universe. But Burbidge thought that quasars were closer to us. He believed their high redshift was because they were moving very fast, almost at the speed of light. He also thought that quasars created new matter as old matter was destroyed.

Even though many scientists disagreed with Burbidge's later ideas, he is still seen as a very important scientist. He received many awards for his work. In 2005, he and his wife were given the Gold Medal from the British Royal Astronomical Society.

See also

In Spanish: Geoffrey Burbidge para niños