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The Mass of the Universe

Abstract

ONE of the comparatively few points of similarity in current cosmological theories is the occurrence in each of a parameter of mass of the order of 1055 gm., equivalent to about 1079 protons. In Eddington's cosmology this parameter is fundamental; and in Milne's, although he assumes that the world is infinite, there appears a similar constant1 which he calls the ‘fictitious mass of the universe’. This common feature in theories otherwise so different suggests that there may be a less sophisticated method of derivation, possibly within the framework of classical mechanics, the far-reaching cosmological applications of which were first pointed out by Milne2 and McCrea3 and have since been emphasized by Heckmann4.

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References

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WHITROW, G. The Mass of the Universe. Nature 158, 165–166 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/158165b0

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