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Eric J. Lerner is a popular science writer, independent plasma researcher, and serves as the executive director of the Focus Fusion Society and president of Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, Inc. He is an advocate of plasma cosmology, a nonstandard cosmology, and authored the 1991 book, The Big Bang Never Happened, which advocated his alternative to the dominant Big Bang theory. It received unfavorable reviews from professional cosmologists.

Personal history

Lerner was born in 1947 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He 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. He has studied plasma phenomena and laboratory fusion devices, performing experimental work on the dense plasma focus funded by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in collaboration with the University of Illinois in 1994 and with Texas A&M University in 2001. He believes he has demonstrated that the production of useful energy from aneutronic fusion can be made more feasible, and that for $300,000, such a reactor could be constructed.

Lerner is a critic of the Big Bang theory and advocates an infinitely old Universe. In 2006 he accepted an invitation to be a Visiting Astronomer at the European Southern Observatory in Chile, offered at the initiative of fellow Big Bang critic and MOND enthusiast Riccardo Scarpa.

Lerner is also an active general science writer, estimating that he has had about 600 articles published. He has received journalism awards between 1984 and 1993 from the Aviation Space Writers Association.

The Big Bang Never Happened

The Big Bang Never Happened (1991) is Lerner's controversial book repudiating mainstream Big Bang cosmology and advancing instead a non-standard plasma cosmology originally proposed by Hannes Alfven in the 1960s.

In this work, Lerner claims that the Big Bang theory is inconsistent with empirical data and asserts that plasma cosmology provides a model of the universe more consistent with observable physical laws than the big bang:

The phenomena that the Big Bang seeks to explain with a mysterious ancient catacylsm, plasma theories attribute to electrical and magnetic processes occurring in the universe today.

He proposes a model of thermodynamics which he attributes in part to the work of Ilya Prigogine under which the universe has no definite age and continually increases in order.

The response of professional cosmologists to Lerner's ideas set out in the book has been negative; Paul Davies reviewed the book for the New York Times and found it to be unsatisfactory. The newspaper published a rebuttal by Lerner which was itself criticized by Arno A. Penzias, winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize for Physics:

"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."

Subsequent to this, Davies himself responded to Lerner's criticism of his review:

'"It seems to me that the theory proposed by Mr. Lerner has serious problems in relation to thermodynamics. This is merely my professional opinion, for what it is worth. Others can judge for themselves.... I accept that Mr. Lerner's book reports work that is largely due to Hannes Alfven, but this does not render it immune from criticism."

Victor J. Stenger, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, criticized Lerner's book in a 1992 edition of the popular magazine, Skeptical Inquirer. Professor Edward L. Wright of UCLA stated that there are several errors of fact in the book; Lerner disputed this review on his website. Sean M. Carroll has also written a critique of Lerner's advocacy.

References

1. John Wilford, "Novel Theory Challenges The Big Bang", New York Times, February 28, 1989
2. See Personnel listed on the Web site for Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, Inc.
3. H. Ratcliffe, "The First Crisis in Cosmology Conference" (PDF), Progress in Physics (Oct 2005)
4. ^ Wright, Edward L. "Errors in "The Big Bang Never Happened"
5. ^ "Big Bang Theory Makes Sense of Cosmic Facts; No Contradiction", New York Times, June 18, 1991
6. ^ "Did the Big Bang Happen?", New York Times, Sep 1, 1991
7. ^ Stenger, Victor J. (Summer 1992). "Is the Big Bang a Bust?". Skeptical Inquirer. 16 (412).
8. Columbia Alumni Directory, 1988 edition, p.211.
9. Biography at the Space Show
10. JPL Contract 959962, pg 8.
11. JPL Contract 960283
12. Advances Toward pB11 Fusion with the Dense Plasma Focus, 5th Symposium, "Current Trends in International Fusion Research: A Review", March 7, 2005, Washington, D.C. arXiv
13. Kenneth Chang, "Practical Fusion, or Just a Bubble?", New York Times, February 27, 2007
14. Patrick Huyghe, "3 Ideas That Are Pushing the Edge of Science", Discover Magazine, June 2008
15. Marcus Chown, "Did the Big Bang Really Happen?", New Scientist, 2 July 2005
16. ESO Senior Visits in 2006 and activities
17. Lerner estimates he has had about 600 articles published, in article such as Discover, and Industrial Physicist.
18. Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened", page 12
19. Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened", page 13
20. Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened", page 14
21. Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened", footnote on page 388
22. Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened", pages 286-316
23. "The Big Bang Never Happened: Dr. Wright is Wrong". Retrieved 2008-07-13.
24. Sean Carroll offers a direct critique of these alternatives on his blog Preposterous Universe

External links and references

• Official websites:
  • Focus Fusion Society
  • Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened"
  • Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, Inc.

• American inventors
• American physicists
• Columbia University alumni
• Living people
• American science writers
• 1947 births