Table Of ContentMASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
MASTERS OF
THE UNIVERSE
Conversations with Cosmologists of the Past
Helge Kragh
Aarhus University
11
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To my daughter Line and my son Mikkel, distant relatives of CCN
Preface
Masters of the Universe is about the development of cosmology from around
1910 to the big bang standard model of the mid-1960s. It is unusual in that
it presents an important chapter in the history of modern science in a for-
mat that is essentially fictitious. The book is based on a series of interview
transcripts left by an imagined person (CCN), an engineer and cosmol-
ogy enthusiast who over half a century conducted interviews with distin-
guished scientists who in some way or other contributed to the progress
of cosmology. While some of the scientists with whom CCN had conver-
sations are recognized as pioneering physicists and astronomers, others
are less well known today. The story of CCN and how his material turned
up many years after his death is briefly told in the Foreword.
The book includes lightly revised transcripts of thirteen of the
interviews that CCN conducted, in one case a joint interview with two
physicists. Each interview is introduced by a brief description, taken from
CCN’s notes, of the circumstances of the interview and the life of CCN
at the time it took place. The interview transcript is followed by a brief
biography of the interviewee. At the end of each chapter there is a series
of comments aimed at clarifying and contextualizing the content. This
part includes references to the relevant literature, both p rimary and sec-
ondary sources. The sources are collected in an extensive bibliography
at the end of the book.
Despite its unconventional format, mixing authentic history with
imagined history, the book is meant as a scholarly contribution to the
history of modern cosmology. The interviews are purely fictitious, but
they follow the authentic record closely. The form of imagined inter-
views allows the reader to get an insight into a fuller and, in a sense,
more correct version of the history than what many books of the
conventional and strictly factual form offer. In addition, by using the
interview form the history is presented in a lively and freer way—but
also in a person-centred and less systematic way—than in standard
history of science. The book is largely non-technical and written for a
broad readership with some basic knowledge of physics and astronomy.
As indicated by the subtitle, none of the interviewed scientists are alive
today (but some of their collaborators are).
Helge Kragh
February 2014
Foreword
My mother had an uncle by the name Carl Christian Nielsen (CCN)
about whom little is known. He was born in 1887 and began to study
chemical engineering at the Polytechnic College in Copenhagen,
but did not graduate. Among his teachers was Einar Biilmann, who is
known for his important work in electrochemistry and later became a
leading figure in Danish chemistry. I later found out that while he was a
chemistry student in Copenhagen CCN also had an absorbing interest
in astronomy, which he cultivated as an amateur at a private observa-
tory called the Urania Observatory, located in the Frederiksberg area of
Copenhagen. Among those who used the observatory was the astrono-
mer Ejnar Hertzsprung, who was trained as a chemical engineer and was
then on his way to a distinguished career in international astronomy.
CCN knew Hertzsprung, his senior by 14 years, and it is likely that the
latter stimulated his interest in astronomical and cosmological issues.
At the age of 22 CCN went to Germany to complete his education
at one of the technical universities, possibly in Karlsruhe. Apparently
he did well, for he not only qualified as a chemical engineer but also
succeeded in taking out several patents related to industrial catalysis. His
father, the owner of a shipping company, died tragically in a car accident
in 1912, leaving CCN, his only child, a considerable fortune. CCN stayed
in Germany until 1934, after which he migrated to the United States.
He never married, although at times he may have come close to doing
so (Figure 1). It is not known whether his decision to leave Germany
was politically, economically, or personally motivated. Although little
is known about his life in the United States, he probably worked as a
part-time consultant for chemical companies, mostly on the East Coast.
In any case, he was by then a man of independent means, a result mainly
of fortunate investments and his lucrative patents. He died in Syracuse,
New York, in the summer of 1971. Despite having spent most of his life
outside Denmark, he remained a Danish citizen, although in 1942 he
also gained United States’ citizenship.
Apparently CCN never thought of returning permanently to
Denmark and he only went back to his native country on a few occa-
sions. When I was a teenager, aged about 15, there was a kind of family
reunion in Copenhagen, where myself and my two brothers met him
