Fred Hoyle
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Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001)[1] was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory (a term coined by him on BBC Radio) in favor of the "steady-state model", and his promotion of panspermia as the origin of life on Earth.[3][4][5] He spent most of his working life at St John's College, Cambridge and served as the founding director of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Cambridge.
Hoyle also wrote science fiction novels, short stories and radio plays, co-created television serials, and co-authored twelve books with his son, Geoffrey Hoyle.
Biography
Early life
Hoyle was born near Bingley in Gilstead, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.[6] His father Ben Hoyle was a violinist and worked in the wool trade in Bradford, and served as a machine gunner in the First World War.[7] His mother, Mabel Pickard, had studied music at the Royal College of Music in London and later worked as a cinema pianist.[7] Hoyle was educated at Bingley Grammar School and read mathematics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.[8] As a youth, he sang in the choir at the local Anglican church.[9][10]
In 1936, Hoyle shared the Mayhew Prize with George Stanley Rushbrooke.
Career
In late 1940, Hoyle left Cambridge to go to
In 1945, after the war ended, Hoyle returned to Cambridge University as a lecturer at St John's College, Cambridge (where he had been a Fellow since 1939).[13] Hoyle's Cambridge years, 1945–1973, saw him rise to the top of world astrophysics theory, on the basis of a startling originality of ideas covering a wide range of topics. In 1958, Hoyle was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy in Cambridge University. In 1967, he became the founding director of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (subsequently renamed the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge), where his innovative leadership quickly led to this institution becoming one of the premier groups in the world for theoretical astrophysics. In 1971, he was invited to deliver the MacMillan Memorial Lecture to the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. He chose the subject "Astronomical Instruments and their Construction".[14] Hoyle was knighted in 1972.
Although the occupant of two distinguished offices, by 1972 Hoyle had become unhappy with his life in Cambridge. A dispute over election to a professorial chair led to Hoyle resigning as Plumian professor in 1972. The following year he also resigned the directorship of the Institute. Explaining his actions, he later wrote: "I do not see any sense in continuing to skirmish on a battlefield where I can never hope to win. The Cambridge system is effectively designed to prevent one ever establishing a directed policy - key decisions can be upset by ill-informed and politically motivated committees. To be effective in this system one must for ever be watching one's colleagues, almost like a Robespierre spy system. If one does so, then of course little time is left for any real science."[15]
After leaving Cambridge, Hoyle wrote several popular science and science fiction books, as well as presenting lectures around the world, partly to provide a means of support. Hoyle was still a member of the joint policy committee (since 1967), during the planning stage for the 150-inch
Decline and death
After his resignation from Cambridge, Hoyle moved to the
Views and contributions
Origin of nucleosynthesis
Hoyle authored the first two research papers ever published on synthesis of chemical elements heavier than helium by stellar nuclear reactions. The first of these
The second of Hoyle's nucleosynthesis papers also introduced an interesting use of the anthropic principle, which was not then known by that name. In trying to work out the steps of stellar nucleosynthesis, Hoyle calculated that one particular nuclear reaction, the triple-alpha process, which generates carbon from helium, would require the carbon nucleus to have a very specific resonance energy and spin for it to work. The large amount of carbon in the universe, which makes it possible for carbon-based life-forms of any kind to exist, demonstrated to Hoyle that this nuclear reaction must work. Based on this notion, Hoyle therefore predicted the values of the energy, the nuclear spin and the parity of the compound state in the carbon nucleus formed by three alpha particles (helium nuclei), which was later borne out by experiment.[23]
This energy level, while needed to produce carbon in large quantities, was statistically very unlikely to fall where it does in the scheme of carbon energy levels. Hoyle later wrote:
Would you not say to yourself, "Some super-calculating intellect must have designed the properties of the carbon atom, otherwise the chance of my finding such an atom through the blind forces of nature would be utterly minuscule. A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question."
— Fred Hoyle[24]
His co-worker
The concept of nucleosynthesis in stars was first established by Hoyle in 1946. This provided a way to explain the existence of elements heavier than
dies". The new stars formed now start off with these heavier elements and even heavier elements are formed from them. Hoyle theorized that other rarer elements could be explained by supernovas, the giant explosions which occasionally occur throughout the universe, whose temperatures and pressures would be required to create such elements.— William Fowler[26]
Rejection of the Big Bang
While having no argument with the
The theory was one alternative to the
Hoyle had a famously heated argument with Martin Ryle of the Cavendish Radio Astronomy Group about Hoyle's steady state theory, which somewhat restricted collaboration between the Cavendish group and the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy during the 1960s.[32]
Hoyle, unlike Gold and Bondi, offered an explanation for the appearance of new matter by postulating the existence of what he dubbed the "creation field", or just the "C-field", which had negative pressure in order to be consistent with the
The evidence that resulted in the Big Bang's victory over the steady-state model included discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation in the 1960s, and the distribution of "young galaxies" and quasars throughout the Universe in the 1980s indicate a more consistent age estimate of the universe. Hoyle died in 2001 having never accepted the validity of the Big Bang theory.[34]
How, in the big-bang cosmology, is the microwave background explained? Despite what supporters of big-bang cosmology claim, it is not explained. The supposed explanation is nothing but an entry in the gardener's catalogue of hypothesis that constitutes the theory. Had observation given 27 Kelvins instead of 2.7 Kelvins for the temperature, then 27 kelvins would have been entered in the catalogue. Or 0.27 Kelvins. Or anything at all.
— Hoyle, 1994[35]
Theory of gravity
Together with
Rejection of Earth-based abiogenesis
In his later years, Hoyle became a staunch critic of theories of
Hoyle and Wickramasinghe advanced several instances where they say outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the
If one proceeds directly and straightforwardly in this matter, without being deflected by a fear of incurring the wrath of scientific opinion, one arrives at the conclusion that biomaterials with their amazing measure of order must be the outcome of intelligent design. No other possibility I have been able to think of...
— Fred Hoyle[37]
Published in his 1982/1984 books Evolution from Space (co-authored with Chandra Wickramasinghe), Hoyle calculated that the chance of obtaining the required set of enzymes for even the simplest living cell without panspermia was one in 1040,000. Since the number of atoms in the known universe is infinitesimally tiny by comparison (1080), he argued that Earth as life's place of origin could be ruled out. He claimed:
The notion that not only the biopolymer but the operating program of a living cell could be arrived at by chance in a primordial organic soup here on the Earth is evidently nonsense of a high order.
Though Hoyle declared himself an atheist,[38] this apparent suggestion of a guiding hand led him to the conclusion that "a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and ... there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature."[39] He would go on to compare the random emergence of even the simplest cell without panspermia to the likelihood that "a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein" and to compare the chance of obtaining even a single functioning protein by chance combination of amino acids to a solar system full of blind men solving Rubik's Cubes simultaneously.[40] This is known as "the junkyard tornado",[41] or "Hoyle's Fallacy". Those who advocate the intelligent design (ID) philosophy sometimes cite Hoyle's work in this area to support the claim that the universe was fine tuned to allow intelligent life to be possible.
Other opinions
While Hoyle was well-regarded for his works on nucleosynthesis and science popularization, he held positions on a wide range of scientific issues that were in direct opposition to the prevailing theories of the scientific community.[3] Paul Davies describes how he "loved his maverick personality and contempt for orthodoxy", quoting Hoyle as saying "I don't care what they think" about his theories on discrepant redshift, and "it is better to be interesting and wrong than boring and right".[42]
Hoyle often expressed anger against the labyrinthine and petty politics at Cambridge and frequently feuded with members and institutions of all levels of the British astronomy community, leading to his resignation from Cambridge in September 1971 over the way he thought Donald Lynden-Bell was chosen to replace retiring professor Roderick Oliver Redman behind his back.[43] According to biographer Simon Mitton, Hoyle was crestfallen because he felt that his colleagues at Cambridge were unsupportive.[3]
In addition to his views on
- The correlation of sunspot cycle, with epidemics occurring at the minimum of the cycle. The idea was that flu contagion was scattered in the interstellar medium and reached Earth only when the solar wind had minimum power.[44][45][46][47]
- Two fossil Archaeopteryx were man-made fakes.[48]
- The theory of abiogenic petroleum, held by Hoyle and by Thomas Gold, where natural hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) are explained as the result of deep carbon deposits, instead of fossilized organic material. This theory is dismissed by the mainstream petroleum geochemistry community.[49]
- In his 1977 book On Stonehenge, Hoyle supported Gerald Hawkins's proposal that the fifty-six Aubrey holes at Stonehenge were used as a system for neolithic Britons to predict eclipses, using them in the daily positioning of marker stones. Using the Aubrey holes for predicting lunar eclipses was originally proposed by Gerald Hawkins in his book of the subject Stonehenge Decoded (1965).
Nobel Prize for Physics
Hoyle was also at the centre of two unrelated controversies involving the politics for selecting recipients of the
The 1983 prize went in part to William Alfred Fowler "for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe" despite Hoyle having been the inventor of the theory of nucleosynthesis in the stars with two research papers[51] published shortly after WWII. So some suspicion arose that Hoyle was denied the third share of this prize because of his earlier public disagreement with the 1974 award.[52] British scientist Harry Kroto later said that the Nobel Prize is not just an award for a piece of work, but a recognition of a scientist's overall reputation and Hoyle's championing many disreputable and disproven ideas may have invalidated him.[25][53] In Nature, editor John Maddox called it "shameful" that Fowler had been rewarded with a Nobel prize and Hoyle had not.[53]
Media appearances
Hoyle appeared in a series of radio talks on astronomy for the BBC in the 1950s;[54] these were collected in the book The Nature of the Universe,[55] and he went on to write a number of other popular science books.
In the play Sur la route de Montalcino, the character of Fred Hoyle confronts Georges Lemaître on a fictional journey to the Vatican in 1957.[56]
Hoyle appeared in the 1973 short film Take the World From Another Point of View.[57]
In the 2004 television movie Hawking, Fred Hoyle is played by Peter Firth. In the movie, Stephen Hawking (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) publicly confronts Hoyle at a Royal Society lecture in summer 1964, about a mistake he found in his latest publication.
Honours
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2017) |
Awards
- Elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1964)[58]
- Elected a
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1968)
- Bakerian Lecture(1968)
- Elected member of the United States National Academy of Sciences (1969)[60]
- Bruce Medal (1970)
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1971)
- Jansky Lectureship before the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- Knighthood (1972)
- President of the Royal Astronomical Society (1971–1973)
- Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge (1973–2001)[61]
- Royal Medal (1974)
- Klumpke-Roberts Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1977)
- Elected member of the American Philosophical Society (1980)[62]
- Balzan Prize for Astrophysics: evolution of stars (1994, with Martin Schwarzschild)
- Edwin Salpeter(1997)
Named after him
- Hoyle Building, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
- Asteroid 8077 Hoyle
- Janibacter hoylei, species of bacteria discovered by ISRO scientists[63]
- Sir Fred Hoyle Way, a stretch of the A650 dual carriageway in Bingley.[64]
- Institute of Physics Fred Hoyle Medal and Prize
Memorabilia
The Fred Hoyle Collection at St John's College Library contains "a pair of walking boots, five boxes of photographs, two ice axes, some dental X-rays, a telescope, ten large film reels and an unpublished opera" in addition to 150 document boxes of papers.[65]
Bibliography
Non-fiction
- The Nature of the Universe – a series of broadcast lectures, Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1950 (early use of the Big Bang phrase)
- Frontiers of Astronomy, Heinemann Education Books Ltd, London, 1955. ISBN 978-0060027605
- Burbidge, E.M., Burbidge, G.R., Fowler, W.A. and Hoyle, F., "Synthesis of the Elements in Stars" Archived 24 June 2016 at the Revs. Mod. Physics29:547–650, 1957, the famous B2FH paper after their initials, for which Hoyle is most famous among professional cosmologists.
- Astronomy, A history of man's investigation of the universe, Crescent Books, Inc., London 1962, LCCN 62-14108
- Of men and galaxies, Seattle University of Washington, 1964, ASIN B0087VKR70
- Galaxies, Nuclei, and Quasars, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, 1965, LCCN 65-20996
- Nicolaus Copernicus, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., London, p. 78, 1973
- Astronomy and Cosmology: A Modern Course, 1975, ISBN 0716703513
- Energy or Extinction? The case for nuclear energy, 1977, Heinemann Educational Books Limited, ISBN 0435544306. In this provocative book Hoyle establishes the dependence of Western civilization on energy consumption and predicts that nuclear fission as a source of energy is essential for its survival.
- Ten Faces of the Universe, 1977, W.H. Freeman and Company (San Francisco), ISBN 071670384X, 0716703831
- On Stonehenge, 1977, London : Heinemann Educational, ISBN 0716703645, 0716703637pbk.
- Lifecloud – The Origin of Life in the Universe, Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe C., J.M. Dent & Sons, 1978. ISBN 0460043358
- Diseases from Space (with Chandra Wickramasinghe) (J.M. Dent, London, 1979)[66]
- Commonsense in Nuclear Energy, Fred Hoyle and Geoffrey Hoyle, 1980, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., ISBN 0435544322
- The big bang in astronomy, New Scientist 92(1280):527, 19 November 1981.
- Ice, the Ultimate Human Catastrophe,1981,
- The Intelligent Universe, 1983
- From Grains to Bacteria, Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe N.C., University College Cardiff Press, ISBN 0906449642, 1984
- Evolution from space (the Omni lecture) and other papers on the origin of life 1982, ISBN 0894900838
- Evolution from Space: A Theory of Cosmic Creationism, 1984, ISBN 0671492632
- Viruses from Space, 1986, ISBN 0906449936
- With Jayant Narlikar and Chandra Wickramasinghe, The extragalactic universe: an alternative view, Nature 346:807–812, 30 August 1990.
- The Origin of the Universe and the Origin of Religion,1993, ISBN 1559210834 [68]
- Home Is Where the Wind Blows: Chapters from a Cosmologist's Life (autobiography) Oxford University Press 1994, ISBN 0198500602
- Mathematics of Evolution, (1987) University College Cardiff Press, (1999) Acorn Enterprises LLC., ISBN 0966993403
- With ISBN 0521662230
Science fiction
Hoyle also wrote science fiction. In his first novel, The Black Cloud, most intelligent life in the universe takes the form of interstellar gas clouds; they are surprised to learn that intelligent life can also form on planets. He wrote a television series, A for Andromeda, which was also published as a novel. His play Rockets in Ursa Major had a professional production at the Mermaid Theatre in 1962.
- The Black Cloud, 1957
- Ossian's Ride, 1959
- A for Andromeda, 1962 (co-authored with John Elliot)
- Fifth Planet, 1963 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- Andromeda Breakthrough, 1965 (co-authored with John Elliot)
- October the First Is Too Late, 1966
- Element 79 (collection of short stories), 1967
- Rockets in Ursa Major, 1969 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- Seven Steps to the Sun, 1970 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- The Inferno, 10/1973 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- The Molecule Men and the Monster of Loch Ness, 1973 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- Into Deepest Space, 1974 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- The Incandescent Ones, 1977 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- The Westminster Disaster, 1978 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle and Edited by Barbara Hoyle)
- Comet Halley, 11/1985
- The Frozen Planet of Azuron, 1982 (Ladybird Books, co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- The Energy Pirate, 1982 (Ladybird Books, co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- The Planet of Death, 1982 (Ladybird Books, co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
- The Giants of Universal Park, 1982 (Ladybird Books, co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle)
Most of these are independent of each other.
Some stories of the collection Element 79 are fantasy, in particular "Welcome to Slippage City" and "The Judgement of Aphrodite". Both introduce mythological characters.
The Telegraph (UK) called him a "masterful" science fiction writer.[34]
References
- ^ .
- ^ Sullivan, Walter (22 August 2001). "Fred Hoyle Dies at 86; Opposed 'Big Bang' but Named It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ a b c Mitton, Simon (2011). "Chapter 12: Stones, Bones, Bugs and Accidents". Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science. Cambridge University Press.
- ISBN 055329895X.
- ISBN 0191578460
- ^ "Sir Fred Hoyle". Hoyle.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Hoyle's Youth". St. John's College University of Cambridge.
- required.)
- ^ "Sir Fred was kindest of men, says sister". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ "History of the Parish". 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ Simon Mitton, Fred Hoyle, a Life in Science, Cambridge University Press (2011).
- ^ Jane Gregory, Fred Hoyle's Universe, World Scientific Pub, 2003
- ^ Fred Hoyle Project, St John's College, Cambridge
- ^ "Hugh Miller Macmillan". Macmillan Memorial Lectures. Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ Bernard Lovell (23 August 2001). "Obituary - Sir Fred Hoyle". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ISSN 0035-8711.
- ISSN 0034-6861.
- ISSN 0067-0049.
- ^ Donald D. Clayton "Hoyle's Equation", Science 318, 1876 (2007)
- ^ Donald D. Clayton "Fred Hoyle, primary nucleosynthesis and radioactivity", New Astronomy Reviews 52, 360–363 (2008)
- ^ "Fred Hoyle, primary nucleosynthesis and radioactivity[" New Astronomy Reviews 52, 360–363 (2008), p. 363, footnote 1
- ^ "Hoyle's Equation" Science 318, 1876 (2007)
- ^ Cook, Fowler, Lauritsen and Lauritsen, Phys. Rev. 107, 508 (1957)
- ^ Fred Hoyle, "The Universe: Past and Present Reflections." Engineering and Science, November 1981. pp. 8–12
- ^ a b c McKie, Robin (2 October 2010). "Fred Hoyle: the scientist whose rudeness cost him a Nobel prize". The Guardian.
- ^ "William A. Fowler – Autobiography". Nobel Prize Committee. 14 March 1995. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
- ^ Quentin Smith, A Big Bang Cosmological Argument For God's Nonexistence. Faith and Philosophy. April 1992. Volume 9, No. 2, pp. 217–237
- ^ "Continuous Creation". Radio Times. No. 1328. BBC. 27 March 1949.
- ^ Mitton, Simon, Fred Hoyle - a life in science, p. 129, Cambridge University Press, 2011.
- ^ Croswell, Ken, The Alchemy of the Heavens, chapter 9, Anchor Books, 1995.
- ^ Curtis, Adam (24 February 2012). "A Mile or Two Off Yarmouth". BBC. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- ^ Mitton, Simon, Fred Hoyle a life in science, Chapter 7, Cambridge University Press, 2011.
- ^ Coles, P. "Inflationary Universe". NED. NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ The Telegraph (UK). 22 August 2001.
- ISBN 0198500602
- ^ Creationism versus Darwinism. Published in Darwinism, Design, and Public Education (2003)
- ISBN 0671492632
- ISBN 978-0191578465.
According to Hoyle: "I am an atheist, but as far as blowing up the world in a nuclear war goes, I tell them not to worry."
- ^ Hoyle, Fred (November 1981). "The Universe: Past and Present Reflections", Engineering and Science, Volume 45:2, pp. 8–12
- ISBN 978-0030700835.
- ^ Musgrave, Ian (21 December 1998). "Lies, Damned Lies, Statistics, and Probability of Abiogenesis Calculations". TalkOrigins Archive.
- ^ Davies, Paul (2011) [2005]. "Foreword". In Mitton, Simon (ed.). Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Mitton, Simon (2011). "Chapter 11: The Watershed". Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science. Cambridge University Press.
- ISBN 978-0460043571.
- ISBN 978-0906449271.
- ISBN 0906449936.
- S2CID 4253908.
- ^ Shipman, Pat, Taking Wing: Archaeopteryx and the Evolution of Bird Flight, pp. 141–145, Simon and Schuster, 1998.
- OCLC 961006638
- ^ "Photo Archive in Nuclear Astrophysics". astro.sites.clemson.edu. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
- ^ "The synthesis of the elements from hydrogen" MNRAS 106, 343 (1946); "The synthesis of the elements from carbon to nickel" Astrophys. J. Suppl. 1, 121–146 (1954)
- ^ Mitton, Simon, Fred Hoyle a life in science, pp. 301–305, Cambridge University Press, 2011
- ^ S2CID 5053798.
- ^ Mitton, Simon, Fred Hoyle a life in science, pp. 125–138, Cambridge University Press, 2011.
- ^ Gregory, Jane, Fred Hoyle's Universe, p. 48, Oxford University Press, 2005.
- ^ Jean-François Viot, Sur la route de Montalcino Archived 9 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 2008. Play: Atelier Jean Vilar Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 2009.
- ^ "Richard Feynman Talks Physics with Fred Hoyle in Take the World From Another Point of View, 1973 | Open Culture".
- ^ "Fred Hoyle". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 29 December 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Fred Hoyle". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ Fred Hoyle Project, St John's College, Cambridge
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ Indian scientists discover three new species of bacteria[permanent dead link]. 17 March 2009. The Indian Express.
- ^ O'Rourke, Tanya (20 January 2010). "Bingley bypass name is a star turn!". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "Centre for Material Texts, Blog Archive, The Fred Hoyle Collection at St John's College Library". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- OCLC 6087814.
- ISBN 978-0826400642. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
- ^ "Scribd.com". Scribd.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
Further reading
- Alan P. Lightman and Roberta Brawer, Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists, Harvard University Press, 1990. A collection of interviews, mostly with the generation (or two) of cosmologists after Hoyle, but also including an interview with Hoyle himself. Several interviewees testify to Hoyle's influence in popularizing astronomy and cosmology.
- ISBN 03302958532nd ed. (with new afterword), Back Bay, 1999. Gives a biographical account of modern cosmology in a novel-like fashion. Complementary to Origins.
- Simon Mitton, Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science, Cambridge University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0521189477
- ISBN 0521824486
- ISBN 9812389121.
- Jane Gregory, Fred Hoyle's Universe, Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN 0198507917
- A Journey with Frey Hoyle: Second Edition by Chandra Wickramasinghe, World Scientific Publishing Co. 2013. ISBN 978-9814436120
External links
- Fred Hoyle Website
- Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe Website
- Obituary by Sir Martin Rees in Physics Today
- Obituary by Bernard Lovell in The Guardian
- Fred Hoyle at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Fred Hoyle: An Online Exhibition
- An Interview with Fred Hoyle, 5 July 1996
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Fred Hoyle", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
- Fred Hoyle at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- Fred Hoyle at the Notable Names Database
- Fred Hoyle at IMDb