Expanding Earth and Static Universe: Two Papers of 1935

TL;DR

This paper reviews Jacob Halm's 1935 unconventional theories on an expanding Earth and a static universe, highlighting their historical context and scientific background.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of Halm's early alternative cosmological and geophysical ideas, which are largely overlooked in modern science.

Findings

Halm proposed an expanding Earth theory based on astrophysical arguments.

He also attempted to explain galactic redshifts without universe expansion.

The paper discusses Halm's scientific career and early contributions to solar spectrum studies.

Abstract

The German-born astronomer Jacob K. E. Halm (1866-1944) wrote in 1935 two papers on quite different subjects, one an astrophysically based argument for the expanding Earth and the other a no less original attempt to explain the galactic redshifts on the basis of a static universe. Of course, Halm was wrong in both cases. The second of the papers is reproduced in toto and compared to other early attempts to avoid the expansion of the universe by means of "tired light" explanations of the redshifts. Although often referred to in the literature on the expanding Earth, the content of Halm's first paper is not well known. This article also provides a brief account of Halm's life and scientific career, which included important studies of the solar spectrum (the "limb effect") and the first version of the mass-luminosity relation for stars.