Abstract
ONE of the most important problems of present-day astronomy is that of the age of the universe, and one of the most important pieces of evidence is provided by the orbits of binary stars. The ages which need to be seriously considered fall into two groups; the first is that of the so-called long time scale, which is of the order of 1013 years, the time the stars would need to have reached their present condition by annihilation of their substance; the second is that of the short time scale—which is of the order of 1010 or 1011 years, the time needed for the universe to have expanded from small beginnings to its present size. The motions of the stars ought to provide a means of deciding between the two. For dynamical discussion shows that with the long time scale both the linear motions of single stars and the orbital motions of visual binaries ought to show a reasonably good approximation to equipartition of energy; the short time scale, on the other hand, gives nothing like enough time for such an approximation to be established. Thus if the motions of the stars are found to show any marked approximation to equipartition of energy, it is exceedingly difficult to do other than decide in favour of the long time scale.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
JEANS, J. The Age of the Universe. Nature 136, 432 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136432a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136432a0
This article is cited by
-
Unstable objects in the galaxy and the star-formation process
Astrophysics (1995)
-
Age of the Universe
Nature (1935)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.