Georges Lemaître
He proposed the theory of the expanding universe and the 'primeval atom' hypothesis, later known as the Big Bang.
Most quoted
"If the world has begun with a single quantum, the notions of space and time would not have any meaning at the beginning; they would only begin to have a sensible meaning when the original quantum had been divided into a sufficient number of quanta. If this suggestion is correct, the beginning of the world happened a little before the beginning of space and time."
— from Nature, 'The Beginning of the World from the Point of View of Quantum Theory', 1931
"If the world has begun with a single quantum, the notions of space and time would not have any meaning at the beginning; they would only begin to have a sensible meaning when the original quantum had been divided into a sufficient number of quanta. If this is so, the beginning of the world happened a little before the beginning of space and time."
— from Nature, 1931
"If the world has begun with a single quantum, the notions of space and time would not have any meaning at the beginning; they would only begin to have a meaning when the original quantum had been divided into a sufficient number of quanta. If this is so, the beginning of the world happened a little before the beginning of space and time."
— from Nature, 'The Beginning of the World from the Point of View of Quantum Theory', 1931
All quotes by Georges Lemaître (411)
The redshift of the nebulae is a Doppler effect due to this expansion.
The initial quantum could only vanish by a process of radioactive disintegration.
The present universe is the ashes and smoke of bright but very rapid fireworks.
The universe is not eternal in the past.
The notion of time loses its meaning when we approach the origin.
The creation is not an event in time; it is the origin of time.
The scientist should be the first to recognize the limits of his science.
The grandeur of the universe confirms the belief in a Supreme Being.
The more we understand the universe, the more we find it is not absurd.
The primeval atom is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis which explains many things.
The story of the universe is written in the light of the stars.
Contemporaries of Georges Lemaître
Other Cosmologys born within 50 years of Georges Lemaître (1894–1966).