Steady State

Theory
Ms. Charry Cervantes
Maximo Estrella Senior High School
• The steady state theory suggests that the
universe has always been here and will
always be present.
• The universe has no beginning and no
end.
• It also suggests that the universe always
looks the same in any time or space, but
the universe continuously expands while
simultaneously creating matter.
• During expansion, the density of the
universe remains constant; hence, the
name steady state.
• It also explains that the rate of the death
of stars is equal to the rate of birth of stars;
hence, as a whole, the universe is not
evolving over time.
Fig.1 The expansion of the universe while maintaining
constant density according to the steady state theory
• The steady state theory was proposed by
Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred
Hoyle in 1948.
• These three men were all physicists
from Cambridge who submitted two
papers to Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society, one from Bondi
and Gold and the other one from
Hoyle.
 How did Bondi and
Gold come up with
the idea of the steady
state theory?
• The steady state idea of Bondi and Gold
may have started when they watched a
movie together late 1940s.

• It was a horror movie which started and

ended in the same way. The circular plot of
the movie inspired them to suggest that
probably the universe was dynamic but
unchanging.
• The steady state theory was so simple that it
was widely accepted even before the
proposal of the big bang theory.

• However, other astronomers did not favor

this theory since it did not follow the law of
conservation of energy and mass.
The Rejection of
the Steady State
Theory
• The discovery of the cosmic microwave
background radiation significantly supported
the explanations given by the big bang theory
and led many scientists to reject the steady
state theory in 1965.

• The steady state theory explained that the

cosmic radiation was a result of a supernova.
However, after thorough research, it was proven
that the radiation is equal in any direction of the
universe and could not be a result of many
supernovae.
 Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society

• A peer-reviewed scientific journal

covering research in astronomy and
astrophysics.