FRITZ ZWICKY
While, Fritz Zwicky is known for the morphological box method, his most enduring contribution to astrophysics is his role as the discoverer of dark matter's effects. Zwicky's most profound scientific legacy is identifying the need for dark matter, which he did in the 1930's through rigorous and systematic calculation.
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MORPHOGENESIS OF THE COSMOS
Zwicky was looking for a solution that made the observed pattern (the galaxy cluster) physically stable- (a different kind of morphogenesis for the cosmos!) Zwicky was observing the Coma Cluster of galaxies. He used the viral theorem (a mathematical tool) to calculate the cluster's mass based on the motions of the individual galaxies. He was looking for the underlying structure that governed the movements he saw.
DARK MATTER
Dark Matter ("Dunkle Materie") is arguably Fritz Zwicky most famous and prescient contribution.
While studying the Coma Cluster of galaxies (the very cluster we talked about earlier!) Zwicky observed that the galaxies were moving much faster than expected based on the visible matter (stars, gas, dust) in the cluster) . Zwicky found that the amount of light emitted by the galaxies (the luminous matter) only accounted for about 1% of the total mass required to hold the cluster together gravitationally. This discrepancy forced him to consider a new, unobserved component. This is similar to the systematic exploration in his morphological box- he found a missing dimension/ component that conventional science was ignoring. Zwicky hypothesized and calculated that there must be an enormous amount of unseen, non-luminous mass providing the extra gravitational pull to hold the cluster together. Zwicky coined the term "dunkle materie" to describe this mysterious missing mass.
Dark Matter ("Dunkle Materie") is the invisible , dominant, structural element required to make the pattern (the cluster's stability) logically hold together.
Fritz Zwicky's ideas were largely dismissed or ignored by the scientific community for decades because they were so radical, but later observations (especially by Vera Rubin in the 1970s) confirmed his initial findings. Dark matter is now one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in cosmology.
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"Astronomers are spherical bastards. They are bastards no matter how you look at them."
FRITZ ZWICKY •THE SPHERICAL METAPHOR • A critique of intellectual rigidity • It implies that no matter which angle you approach them from, their perspective remains consistent
GRAVITATIONAL LENSING AND ASTROPHYSICS
Fritz Zwicky was definitely a unique character in the scientific community, known for his eccentric personality as much as his groundbreaking work! He is famous for several significant contributions to astrophysics. Zwicky was one of the first to propose that galaxies could act as gravitational lenses, bending and magnifying light from more distant objects. This effect, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, was also confirmed decades later and is now a crucial tool in observational cosmology.
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SUPERNOVAE AS A NEW CLASS OF ASTRONOMICAL OBJECT
Along with Walter Baade in the 1930s, Zwicky did pioneering work on supernovae. They correctly proposed that supernovae are an entirely distinct class of stellar explosion, much more powerful than novae. They also correctly hypothesized that supernovae were the process by which neutron stars and cosmic rays are formed. These were revolutionary ideas for their time.
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NEUTRON STARS
Zwicky and Baade were the first to correctly theorize the existence of neutron stars as the remnants of massive stars after supernova explosions. This was an incredibly far-sighted prediction, as neutron stars weren't directly observed until decades later (with the discovery of pulsars).
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THE MORPHOLOGICAL BOX (GENERAL MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS)
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Zwicky developed this systematic method for exploring all possible solutions to a complex problem, which found applications far beyond just astrophysics.
"Astronomers are spherical bastards. They are bastards no matter how you look at them."
FRITZ ZWICKY •THE SPHERICAL METAPHOR • A critique of intellectual rigidity • It implies that no matter which angle you approach them from, their perspective remains consistent
"Astronomers are spherical bastards. They are bastards no matter how you look at them."
Supernovae as a New Class of Astronomical Objects:
Along with Walter Baade in the 1930s, Zwicky did pioneering work on supernovae. They correctly proposed that supernovae are an entirely distinct class of stellar explosion, much more powerful than novae.
They also correctly hypothesized that supernovae were the process by which neutron stars and cosmic rays are formed. These were revolutionary ideas for their time.
Neutron Stars:He and Baade were the first to correctly theorize the existence of neutron stars as the remnants of massive stars after supernova explosions. This was an incredibly far-sighted prediction, as neutron stars weren't directly observed until decades later (with the discovery of pulsars).
Gravitational Lensing:Zwicky was one of the first to propose that galaxies could act as gravitational lenses, bending and magnifying light from more distant objects. This effect, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, was also confirmed decades later and is now a crucial tool in observational cosmology.