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Fritz Zwicky’s Largely Ignored “Tired Light” Proposal of 1929 May Actually Be Right After All

Posted by Guy Pirro 09/18/2024 12:57AM

Fritz Zwicky’s Largely Ignored “Tired Light” Proposal of 1929 May Actually Be Right After All

Fritz Zwicky was not a shy person – He called them like he saw them. And he was very outspoken about his views. He, for example, was the first astrophysicist to come up with the concept of Dark Matter in 1933. He also had very strong views about redshift. Zwicky's contention was that the redshift observed from Earth was not because the galaxies were moving faster and faster away from us, but because the light photons were being shifted toward the red side of the spectrum as they lost energy while traveling long distances through space. Zwicky proposed that the longer the light traveled, the more energy it lost, leading to an illusion that galaxies that were more distant from Earth were also moving faster. His “Tired Light Theory” was largely ignored and neglected at the time (and even today), as astronomers adopted the more popular Big Bang Theory as the consensus model of the Universe. Now, new peer-reviewed research from Kansas State University shows that Fritz Zwicky may actually have been right, putting the whole narrative supporting the Big Bang Theory into question.


Comments:

  • lwbehney [Laurence Behney]
  • 09/19/2024 08:25PM
Thanks Mr. Pirro. I did a calculation and found that if I presume that there is a loss of energy from the electromagnetic waves originating from distant galaxies, that it would of course necessitate a lengthening of the wavelength. Furthermore, the wavelength of more energetic light would be shifted by a smaller amount than would the wavelengths of less energetic (redder light). This occurs presupposing an equal percentage loss of energy at all light frequencies. As a consequence of that feature, two galaxies at a greater distance than a closer pair would have a greater absolute 𝜟R assuming an equal difference in synchronous vs opposite galactic rotation rates. This would not be seen if the redshift is caused only by recessional velocity. Per the paper in your link, the empirical findings of an increasing 𝜟R support the tired light theory.
Further support for tired light comes from a paper written by theoretical physicist Lior Gupta who suggests light loses energy over time based upon some equations from Paul Dirac.

  • mgosar [Matthew Gosar]
  • 09/21/2024 05:50AM
The tired light theory and your argument suppose suggests that photons lose energy due to interactions with matter or other particles over vast distances. However, no physical mechanism has been found that could cause photons to lose energy in this way without also scattering them, which would blur images of distant galaxies. Observations show that distant objects remain sharp, which is inconsistent with the predictions of tired light.

Furthermore, please explain how this incomplete and very simply contrarian theory explains the well documented time dilation of distant supernovae. Observations of distant Type Ia supernovae show that their light curves are stretched in time, consistent with the expansion of space. If tired light were responsible for redshift, this time dilation effect would not occur.

These are just two very practical and easy to understand examples that discredit the tired light theory. I won't even bother to get into how it can't predict the CMB or how it doesn't work with general relativity because it doesn't have a foundation in fundamental physics.

  • donbarry [Donald Barry]
  • 09/23/2024 10:43PM
Let's put some context out there. This paper is published in a journal owned by a rapidly-expanding corporation that was listed on a list prepared by librarians of "predatory open access publishing" companies. To call it "peer reviewed" is a rather extreme stretch. The author is not an astronomer nor even a physical scientist. It's a single-author paper, which is rare in today's era of large collaborations but common among those who think they have a new sudden insight from outside the field and are annoyed that they are not immediately recognized for their genius by people working within it.

Within the field, we call this phenomenon "adult-onset cosmology." It's depressingly common. I can't think of a single case in the last half century in which it has ever contributed something positive to the field, but it does produce lots of clickbait.

  • lwbehney [Laurence Behney]
  • 09/24/2024 01:24PM
I thought it was rather ingenious of professor Shamir to use this method to find a support for "tired light". Occasionally it is the person outside the field who makes a contribution.