A closed-space cosmological model of 1872

摘要

Johann Karl Friedrich Z?llner, a leading astrophysicist, suggested a cosmological model based on the assumption that space was positively curved and therefore finite in extent. Z?llner thought that the new geometries might be physically relevant and argued that they were useful in the discussion of cosmological problems. He speculated that curved space was dynamically active, in the sense that it determined the laws of nature. He realized that the law of inertia would have to be modified if space were curved. One might believe that Z?llner's advocacy of a positively curved universe attracted scientific attention despite being unrealistic. His theory was met with complete silence and effectively disappeared from science until it was independently resurrected many years later.