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.