Scholar iON
Academic Synthesis
The scholarly examination by Giora Shaviv addresses the historical and scientific context surrounding the discovery of the expanding universe and the "Hubble Law," focusing on the contributions of Georges Lemaître and Edwin Hubble. Shaviv argues against the claims that Hubble plagiarized Lemaître's work, explaining that while Lemaître theoretically identified a velocity-distance correlation and calculated the coefficient, Hubble empirically demonstrated the linear relation using observational data. The paper highlights that Hubble, skeptical of an expanding universe, never cited Lemaître, contributing to the latter's under-recognition. This analysis underscores the complexities of scientific discovery and attribution, suggesting that the lack of citation stemmed more from differing scientific beliefs and the norms of the time than from any intentional suppression or plagiarism.
Recently Block published an astro-ph{http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.3928 (2011).} insinuating that Lemaitre discovery paper of the Expanding Universe was censored prior to its translation into English and publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Consequently, Lemaitre's credit for the discovery of the velocity-distance correlation was not recognized. We examine here the chain of events leading to the discovery of the 'Hubble law'. Our summary: (a) Lemaitre found a theoretical linear correlation between velocity and distance. (b) Lemaitre assumed the existence of a linear relation between velocity and distance and calculated the coefficient. (c) Hubble took the data plotted it and demonstrated that a linear relation represents the observed data. (d) Hubble never believed in Lemaitre's solution, namely in an expanding universe. Consequently, Hubble never cited Lemaitre. We conclude that the charge that Lemaitre's paper was censored or ignored let alone plagiarized by Hubble, is not founded, and explain why Lemaitre's earlier theoretical discovery and derived 'Hubble constant' was not cited or recognized, by Hubble as well as by many other leading researchers.