What is it about?
It is about the man who was the first to envisage the Big Bang -- as a singularity at time ZERO of his solution to the dynamic equations he derived from Einstein's GR. The above equations carry now his name. The singularity appears in two different scenarios -- which arise at different values of cosmological constant, which (value) was then unknown even approximately -- with periodic and exponentially growing radius of curvature. Friedman treated them on equal footing. The modern (1998-2004) estimates of supernovas' brightness favor the latter scenario. This resulted in the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
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Why is it important?
Friedman equations are the guides into the "black cave" of our Universe's origin. To "unwind" the Big Bang -- by substituting it for something intelligible - is a foremost goal for modern science.
Perspectives
We still don't know the meaning of the cosmological constant.
Dr Ari Belenkiy
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Alexander Friedmann and the origins of modern cosmology, Physics Today, October 2012, American Institute of Physics,
DOI: 10.1063/pt.3.1750.
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