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Arthur Eddington

Arthur Eddington

December 28, 1882 –November 22, 1944

Astronomer, Astrophysicist, Philosopher, Physicist, Mathematician

Lived 61 years

Born in
Kendal
Passed away in
Cambridge

Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astrophysicist and mathematician. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, or the radiation generated by accretion onto a compact object, is named in his honour.

Around 1920, he foreshadowed the discovery and mechanism of nuclear fusion processes in stars in his paper "The Internal Constitution of the Stars". At that time, the source of stellar energy was a complete mystery; Eddington was the first to correctly speculate that the source was fusion of hydrogen into helium.

Eddington wrote a number of articles that announced and explained Einstein's theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. World War I had severed many lines of scientific communication, and new developments in German science were not well known in England. He also conducted an expedition to observe the solar eclipse of 29 May 1919 on the Island of Príncipe that provided one of the earliest confirmations of general relativity. As a populariser of science, he became known for his popular expositions and interpretations of Einstein's theory. As a philosopher of science, Eddington speculated on the implications of quantum mechanics on mind and matter.

Notable works: general relativity, Eddington luminosity, Eddington number, arrow of time, Eddington experiment, Κ mechanism, Eddington–Finkelstein coordinates, radiation zone Awards: Fellow of the Royal Society, Prix Jules Janssen, Royal Medal, Bruce Medal, Henry Draper Medal, Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Royal Society Bakerian Medal, Messenger Lectures, Smith's Prize, honorary doctor of the University of Calcutta Education: Trinity College, Victoria University of Manchester, University of Cambridge

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Eddington