| RefNo | EC/1978/18 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XX, 107 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Lynden-Bell, Donald: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1971 |
| Description | Citation typed |
| Citation | Lynden-Bell is distinguished for his work on the statistics of stellar dynamics and on the nature of stellar orbits in galaxies. With Eggen and Sandage he argued that the galaxy collapsed initially while the higher elements were rapidly being synthesised. Later he introduced a new form of statistical mechanics to deal with collusionless stellar dynamics and was the first to apply post-war plasma physics to galactic physics. He has developed the theory to deal with very inhomogeneous systems that are found in the theory of spiral structure. He has also worked on Mach's principle and on the theory that galactic nuclei contain black holes, the collapsed bodies of dead quasars. Lynden-Bell's lively ideas on these subjects have had a far reaching effect upon young astronomers. |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA4329 | Lynden-Bell; Donald (1935 - 2018) | 1935 - 2018 |