astronomy

George C. McVittie

George C. McVittie is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George C. McVittie rather than just read about it. In short: George Cunliffe McVittie (1904–1988) was a British mathematician and cosmologist. He is best known for his contributions towards radio astronomy.

Key takeaways

George C. McVittie belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect George C. McVittie to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of George C. McVittie from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

George Cunliffe McVittie (1904–1988) was a British mathematician and cosmologist. He is best known for his contributions towards radio astronomy.

Life McVittie was born on 5 June 1904 in Smyrna in Turkey, where his father, Frank S. McVittie, was a merchant. His mother, Emily Caroline Weber, lived in Greece but was of British descent. George was raised bilingual in French and English. From 1923 he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Edinburgh receiving his degree (MA) in 1928. He then went to Christ's College, Cambridge where he studied for his doctorate (PhD) under Prof Arthur Eddington. From 1930 to 1934 he was Assistant Lecturer at the University of Leeds, 1933-34 Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and 1936-1958 Reader at King's College, University of London. In 1933 he became a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, being elected in 1933. During World War II he established and directed the meteorological section at Bletchley Park, which monitored weather conditions in enemy territory by deciphering coded weather forecasts. In 1943 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were David Gibb, Ivor Etherington, Robert Schlapp and Alexander Aitken. From 1948 he was a professor at Queen Mary's College, University of London. He then worked in America from 1952 to 1972 as professor at the University of Illinois Observatory of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he built a small astronomy department, one of the leading in the country. He was awarded Guggenheim Fellowships in 1962 and 1970. His administrative skills meant that he became secretary of the American Astronomical Society. From 1972 to 1988 he held an honorary professorship at the University of Kent in Canterbury, where in 1985 he received an honorary doctorate. He died in Canterbury on 8 March 1988.

Legacy Asteroid 2417, McVittie was named after him. The George C. McVittie Elementary School in Drayton Plains, Michigan was also named in his honor.

Family In 1934, McVittie married Mildred Bond Strong (1906–1985) daughter of John Strong FRSE (1868-1945).

Publications 1937: Cosmological Theory (2nd Edition 1949; 1952 reprint) 1956: General Relativity and Cosmology (2nd edition 1965) 1961: Fact and Theory in Cosmology

References

External links O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "George C. McVittie", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews Veröffentlichungen von G.C. McVittie im Astrophysics Data System Nachrufe auf G.C. McVittie im Astrophysics Data System

Illustrations

George C. McVittie: George McVittie portrait — George McVittie portrait

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George C. McVittie

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George C. McVittie claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George C. McVittie before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George C. McVittie ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George C. McVittie

In research: George C. McVittie appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George C. McVittie in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George C. McVittie is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1904 births, 1988 deaths, 20th-century British physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George C. McVittie outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study George C. McVittie in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what George C. McVittie means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain George C. McVittie out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is George C. McVittie in simple terms?

George Cunliffe McVittie (1904–1988) was a British mathematician and cosmologist. He is best known for his contributions towards radio astronomy.

Why does George C. McVittie matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George C. McVittie?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George C. McVittie.