Useful notes on The Super-nova Theory of F. Hoyle

The Super-nova theory based on nuclear physics was put forward by F. Hoyle, the British astronomer, in 1946. He attempted to find a solution to certain unsolved problems in connection with the origin of the earth and the solar system.

These problems were related with those of the great distances between the planets and the sun, the angular momentum of the planetary system, and the characteristic heavy planetary elements.

Hoyle in his super-nova concept of the origin of the solar system postulates a binary system, i.e. the primitive sun and a companion star. The distance between the two was almost equal to that between the sun and Jupiter or Saturn.

The conversion of a star into a nova (i.e. a new star) is believed to be a normal event. When the sun’s companion star, which was of giant size, underwent nuclear explosion to become a nova, such an explosion was greater on one side than on the other side because the point of explosion was not needed to be at the centre.

The companion star in order to maintain its radiation consumed its capital of hydrogen and in the process it (hydrogen) exhausted. The result was that the star collapsed and exploded violently, and behaved as a supernova.

It is pointed out that such a process of nuclear fusion was going on in the sun and the companion star. But the rate of nuclear fusion was far greater in the companion star than the sun, so ultimately it collapsed and exploded.

When the explosion and light are extremely intense, the exploding star is called supernova. As a result of the explosion large amounts of gaseous matter are thrown out of the supernova.

Its expansion becomes so great that its brightness increases by hundreds of thousands. After cooling of the ejected gases, the luminosity of the star decreases and it becomes less bright. It is worthwhile to mention that the rate of expansion of the nova is about 1,300 km. per second.

Such swiftly travelling matter could not be captured by the gravitational attraction of the primitive sun. Such capture, however, could occur at the end of the explosive phase when the speed becomes low.

It may be pointed out that intense heat and atomic reaction may be held responsible for the formation of heavier elements, i.e. oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, helium etc. In fact, heavy elements formed by explosion of the supernova were the building material of the planet earth. Thus, the supernova hypothesis suggests that the planets of the solar system have originated from the expanding gas produced from the exploding supernova.

As regards the disappearance of the companion star, it is certainly due to recoil. For example, when a gun is fired, the recoil action pushes the gun in a direction opposite to the direction of fire.

In the same way, when the explosion took place in the companion star in the direction of the sun, recoil occurred in the opposite direction away from the sun,. It is in this way that the companion star disappeared from the scene.

Hoyle’s theory based on speculation succeeded in explaining the great distances of the planets from the sun and the disappearance of the companion star, but it fails to explain the question of how the planets started rotating and revolving round the sun and how the satellites originated.

Hoyle argued that after the arrest of the gaseous matter by the sun, the lighter gaseous matter would move away from the sun and the heavier and larger masses would remain nearer the sun to form the planets of the inner gas-free region. The larger low-density planets would form in the outer gas-rich region.

The meteorites which are the only matter of the universe within our reach and which are short-lived radioactive species might support super-nova-like explosion as the cause of the origin of solar system.

Hoyle’s supernova hypothesis also has succeeded in explaining the angular momentum of the planets which was provided by violent explosion and the concentration of heavier elements.