More complete discussion of the time-dependence of the non-static line element for the universe

Abstract

In a previous article,(1) I have shown that a continuous transformation of matter into radiation, occurring throughout the universe, as postulated by the astrophysicists, would necessitate a nonstatic line element for the universe, and have shown that the non-static character thus introduced might provide an explanation of the red shift in the light from the extra-galactic nebulae. In the present article, I wish to discuss the form of dependence of the line element on the time more completely than was possible on the previous occasion. This is a matter of considerable importance, since changes in the approximations which must be introduced to obtain a usable result affect to quite a different extent the expressions for the relation between red shift and distance and for the rate of annihilation of matter. Indeed, the possibility arises of slight changes from the treatment previously given which would leave the theoretical relation between red shift and distance still approximately linear, as observationally found, and yet produce a very considerable change in the calculated rate for the annihilation of matter.