On a chaotic early universe
pp. 131-139
in: Wolfgang Yourgrau, Allen D. Breck (eds), Cosmology, history, and theology, Berlin, Springer, 1977Abstract
Man's concept of the Universe has changed with the development of observational apparatus. Its content has expanded from a system of the earth and the heavens to the solar system, our Galaxy, the local group of galaxies, and regions including many clusters of galaxies. The global isotropy and homogeneity of the spatial distribution of galaxies and their clusters has become a characteristic of the Universe. Moreover, the discovery of the velocity-distance law by Hubble revealed the nonstatic aspect of the Universe: Evolution has become an essential part of our concept of it. The evolution of the Universe appears not only as that of the whole system, but also as changes in the state of the materials and astronomical objects that comprise it. With the expansion of the Universe, the chemical composition of materials changes and various objects are born, interact with each other, and die.