Carter , Brandon

Carter , Brandon
(1942–) British physicist
Born in Sydney, Australia, Carter was educated at the University of St. Andrews and at Cambridge University, where he completed his PhD in 1968. He remained in Cambridge as a research fellow at the Institute of Astronomy until 1973. Carter then moved to France to join the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), working from 1986 as director of research at the Paris-Meudon Observatory.
In 1974 Carter formulated what is known as the anthropic principle. The argument began with Copernicus whose heliocentric system is often thought to have removed man from any special privileged position in the universe. Carter, however, insisted that it is privileged to the extent that our location in the universe must be compatible with our existence as observers. That is, if the universe had differed significantly in its size, age, and character then intelligent life would not now be present to observe it. If, for example, the strength of the gravitational force differed by just one part in 1040 all stars would be either blue giants or red dwarves; with no Sun-like stars to nourish life, the universe would be without observers. The fact that it has observers, therefore, presupposes that the nuclear, gravitational, and electromagnetic forces all fall within some very narrow limits.
This is sometimes known as the ‘weak form’ of the anthropic principle. Carter advanced from this to the strong version with his claim that “The universe must have those properties which allow life to develop within it at some stage in its history.” While some physicists have seen in the anthropic principle a profound key to the secrets of nature, others have dismissed it on the grounds that it is immune to falsification, makes no significant predictions, and offers all its explanations after the event.

Scientists. . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Brandon Carter — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Brandon Carter Brandon Carter. Nacimiento 1942 Australia …   Wikipedia Español

  • Brandon Carter — Brandon Carter. Brandon Carter né en 1942 est un physicien théoricien britannique travaillant au Laboratoire Univers et Théories de l observatoire de Paris Meudon. Il est célèbre pour sa contribution notable à la compréhension des trous noirs en… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brandon Carter — Brandon Carter. Brandon Carter (* 1942) ist ein theoretischer Physiker. Er ist vor allem durch seine Arbeiten über Schwarze Löcher und für seine Formulierung des Anthropischen Prinzips in seiner heutigen Form bekannt. Carter forscht derzeit am… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Brandon Carter — Infobox Scientist box width = name = Brandon Carter image size = caption = birth date = 1942 birth place = Australia death date = death place = residence = citizenship = nationality = ethnicity = fields = General relativity workplaces = CNRS alma …   Wikipedia

  • Carter (surname) — Carter is a family name. Within the United States, it is ranked as the 40th most common surname. [U.S. Census Bureau; Frequently Occurring First Names and Surnames From the 1990 Census, (Table) Name Files dist.all.last ; published May 9, 1995; ]… …   Wikipedia

  • Carter (Familienname) — Carter (englisch für Fuhrmann) ist ein Familienname. Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Brandon Silvestry — à la FCW Nom(s) de ring Kwik Kick Quick Kick Low Key Loki Lo Ki Low Ki Low Ki Senshi Kaval Taille 173 cm Poids 79 kg …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brandon — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sur les autres projets Wikimedia : « Brandon », sur le Wiktionnaire (dictionnaire universel) Sommaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brandon Roy — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Roy. Brandon Roy …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brandon Roy — Spielerinformationen Voller Name Brandon Dawayne Roy …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”