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Eric J. Lerner is a plasma physicist and one of the most prominent advocates of the non-mainstream plasma cosmology. He is the President of Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, Inc. , an "advanced technology research, consulting and communications firm". He has also been a visiting astronomer at the European Southern Observatory in Chile.

Personal history

Lerner received a BA in Physics from Columbia University and did graduate work in physics at the University of Maryland, College Park without completing a degree. Lerner is currently the executive director of the Focus Fusion Society and president of Lawrenceville Plasma Physics in West Orange, New Jersey. Lerner wrote a popularization of plasma cosmology, The Big Bang Never Happened (1991). He has studied cosmic plasma phenomena and laboratory fusion devices, especially the dense plasma focus.

He is a life-long political activist, a veteran of the 1965 Selma March and the 1968 Columbia Student Strike. He is a member of the NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee, and Workers Democracy Network.

Scientific activities

He is a critic of the big bang theory and advocates an infinitely old Universe. Lerner has developed original theories of quasars, large scale structure, the microwave background and the origin of light elements all based on the plasma cosmology approach. He claims that the intergalactic medium is a strong absorber of the cosmic microwave background radiation with the absorption occurring in a fog of narrow filaments. He has analyzed data on the surface brightness of galaxies that contradict the predictions of expanding-universe models. Most of his astronomical work is contradicted by mainstream astrophysicists and cosmologists.

Lerner developed a theory postulating that quasars are not related to black holes but are rather produced by a magnetic self-compression process similar to that occurring in the plasma focus. Through this work, he developed a detailed quantitative theory of the functioning of the plasma focus. Based on this theory, he proposed that the plasma focus could achieve high ion and electron energies at high densities, suitable for advanced fuel fusion and space propulsion. Lerner has done experimental work on the plasma focus in collaboration with the University of Illinois in 1994, with Texas A&M University in 2001 and with the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission. In addition, he developed an original model of the role of the strong magnetic field effect on plasma functioning, showing that this effect could make net energy production more feasible, potentially leading to an economical and safe source of energy.

He has presented this approach to fusion at several scientific conferences including (in the past five years) the IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science, 2002: the American Physical Society, 2003 and the XI Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics, 2005. Lerner was an invited speaker at both the Fifth (2003) and Sixth (2005) Symposia on Current Trends in International Fusion Research, which is sponsored by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In the Sixth Symposium the paper was presented with Robert E. Terry, Naval Research Laboratory)(http://www.physicsessays.com/doc/s2005/Lerner_Transparencies.pdf)

His work challenging the Big Bang theory has been reported in popular science magazines, including a cover article of New Scientist (July 2, 2005) and in television and film documentaries . His views on cosmology have been published in periodicals ranging from Sky and Telescope to The New York Times. He is co-editor of the Proceedings of the First Crisis in Cosmology Conference (American Institute of Physics Proceeding Series.) In 2006, he was a Visiting Astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Santiago, Chile. He has been invited to present his theories at many leading institutions, including ESO, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Princeton University, the University of Pavia (Italy), The University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.

Debate on Lerner's Book, The Big Bang Never Happened

UCLA astrophysicist Edward L.(Ned) Wright maintains a web page titled "Errors in the 'The Big Bang Never Happened'" in which argues that there are errors in Lerner's cosmological proposals.. Lerner later posted a response to Wright's critiques.

Arno A. Penzias, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, wrote to the New York Times:

"The sizes of the vast ribbons of galaxies that Eric J. Lerner refers to come straight out of the Big Bang model itself.... Contrary to Mr. Lerner's claim, therefore, the "simple mathematics" he cites rests upon, rather than contradicts the Big Bang model."

James Van Allen, discover of the Van Allen belts, wrote, on the back cover of The Big Bang Never Happened :

"Eric J. Lerner gives both a provocative critique of the Big Bang and a stimulating account of the insightful and creative, although controversial, cosmology of Nobel Laureate Hannes Alfven."

British physicist and writer Alec MacAndrew wrote that:

"The Lerner book, at least, is quirky and badly flawed. Anyone who is really interested in understanding the science needs to read much more widely than that."

Gregg Sapp, (current Head of the Science Library, University Albany), in the Library Journal wrote that:

"Lerner, a plasma physicist, points out flaws in the Big Bang model and proposes an alternative theory: an eternal, self-sustaining "plasma" universe where electromagnetic fields within conducting gases provide other, simpler explanations for observed phenomena. His contention that the Big Bang is merely a repackaged creation myth is presumptuous, but well argued."

Univ. of Hawaii Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy, Victor J. Stenger, and author of "God: The Failed Hypothesis", criticised Lerner's book, The Big Bang Never Happened, in a 1992 edition of the popular magazine, Skeptical Inquirer. Stenger writes:

"Lerner uses the kinds of arguments one often hears in public discourse on science, but rarely among professional scientists themselves. For example, he argues that plasma cosmology is in closer agreement with everyday observation than big-bang cosmology, and hence is the more sensible. A look through a telescope reveals spirals and other structures similar to those observed in the plasma laboratory (and, as cosmologist Rocky Kolb has remarked, in your bathroom toilet as well). Following Lerner's line of reasoning, we would conclude, as people once did, that the earth is flat, that the sun goes around the earth, and that species are immutable."

The Chicago Tribune reviewing The Big Bang Never Happened, noted that:

"Lerner does a fine job poking holes in Big Bang thinking and provides a historical perspective as well, linking scientific theories to trends in philosophy, politics, religion and even economics...a most readable book."

Partial list of papers and articles

Peer reviewed papers

• "Radio absorption by the intergalactic medium" Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 361, Sept. 20, 1990, p. 63-68. DOI: 10.1086/169167
• "Confirmation of radio absorption by the intergalactic medium". Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume 207, Number 1; Pg 17-26 , September 1993. ISSN 0004-640X DOI 10.1007/BF00659126
• "Intergalactic radio absorption and the cobe data". Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume 227, Numbers 1-2 Pg 61-81, May 1995. ISSN 0004-640X DOI 10.1007/BF00678067
• "Two world systems revisited: a comparison of plasma cosmology and the big bang". IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 2003.
• Extended list of 40+ articles from Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System | (All articles)

Industrial Physicist articles

• "Fraud Shows Peer-Review Flaws". Industrial Physicist.
• "Plasma Propulsion in Space". Industrial Physicist. October 2000, Volume 6, Number 5. (PDF)
• "What's Wrong with the Electric Grid?" Industrial Physicist. Vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 8,10-13. Oct.-Nov. 2003.

Arxiv.org

• "Towards advanced-fuel fusion: Electron, ion energy >100keV in a dense plasma". physics/0205026, 36 pgs.
• "Prospects for P11B Fusion with the Dense Plasma Focus: New Results". physics/0401126. Invited presentation, 5th Symposium "Current Trends in International Fusion Research: A Review" March 24-28, 2003, Washington, D.C., 25 pgs.

Other articles

• "Bucking the big bang". New Scientist. Vol. 182, no. 2448, pp. 20. 22 May 2004.
• "The Case Against the Big Bang". Progress in New Cosmologies : Beyond the Big Bang, New York : Plenum Press, 1993., p.89.
• "The Cosmologists' New Clothes". Sky and Telescope, V. 83, No., 2/Feb., pg 124, 1992.
• "Diode arrays boost efficiency of solid-state lasers". Laser Focus World, Vol. 34, no. 11, Nov 1998.

Notes

1. See Amazon Editorial Reviews where Lerner is described as a "plasma physicist" twice
2. H. Ratcliffe, "The First Crisis in Cosmology Conference" (PDF), Progress in Physics (Oct 2005)
3. See Personnel listed on the Web site for Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, Inc
4. See his recent appearance at the Goddard Space Flight Center
5. Edward L.(Ned) Wright, "Errors in the 'The Big Bang Never Happened'"
6. Dr. Wright is Wrong -- a reply to Ned Wright's "Errors in The 'Big Bang Never Happened'"
7. Letter to the Editor June 18, 1991
8. The Big Bang is not a Myth
9. Quoted at Amazon.com
10. Victor J. Stenger, "Is the Big Bang a Bust?" Skeptical Inquirer, 16, 412, Summer 1992.

See also

• Plasma cosmology
• Plasma Universe

External links and references

• Focus Fusion Society
• Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened"
  • Edward Wright, "Errors in the "The Big Bang Never Happened".
  • Eric Lerner, "Dr. Wright is Wrong -- a reply to Ned Wright's "Errors in The Big Bang Never Happened"
• "An Open Letter to the Scientific Community"cosmologystatement.org. Published in New Scientist, May 22, 2004.
• Focus Fusion poses overwhelming competition to $10 billion Tokamak - Interview with Eric Lerner. (OSEN; Nov. 2, 2005) (also at PESN)
• Eric Lerner biography
• Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, Inc.

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