astronomy

Raymond Lyttleton

Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton rather than just read about it. In short: Raymond Arthur Lyttleton FRS (7 May 1911 – 16 May 1995) was a British mathematician and theoretical astronomer. He was born in Warley Woods near Birmingham and educated at King Edward VI Five Ways school in Birmingham, going from there to Clare College, Cambridge to read mathematics, graduating in 1933.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Raymond Arthur Lyttleton FRS (7 May 1911 – 16 May 1995) was a British mathematician and theoretical astronomer. He was born in Warley Woods near Birmingham and educated at King Edward VI Five Ways school in Birmingham, going from there to Clare College, Cambridge to read mathematics, graduating in 1933. He was elected a Fellow of St John's College in 1937 and appointed a lecturer in mathematics in the same year (until 1959). A keen amateur cricketer, he played minor counties cricket for Cambridgeshire from 1946–1949, making fifteen appearances. He was Reader in Theoretical Astronomy from 1959 to 1969, after which he was appointed to a specially created professorship in the subject. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1955. His application citation read: "Distinguished for his work in astronomy. Author of numerous papers on the origin and early history of the Solar System, notably his modifications of the collision theory. Showed from work of Cartan that fission of a planet by rotation would give two independent bodies, and consequently that the fission theory of binary stars is untenable (The Stability of Rotating Liquid Masses, 1953). Author (with F. Hoyle) of numerous papers on the astronomical effects of accretion, and (with H. Bondi) of two on the transmission of the tidal friction couple to the Earth's core and on the behaviour of the core during precessions. Author of a striking new theory of comets. (The Comets and their Origin, 1953) He won the Royal Society Royal Medal in 1965 "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to astronomy, particularly for his work on the dynamical stability of galaxies." He wrote a number of books: The Comets and Their Origin (1953), The Stability of Rotating Liquid Masses (1953), The Modern Universe {1956}, Rival Theories of Cosmology {1960}, Man's View of the Universe (1961), Mysteries of the Solar System (1968), The Earth and its Mountains (1982), The Gold Effect (1990). In 1956, he presented a 5-part television series on the B.B.C. entitled "The Modern Universe" He had married Meave Hobden in Poole in 1939.

Read also Lyttleton, Raymond Arthur (1968) Mysteries of the Solar System, Clarendon, Oxford.

References

External links Professor Raymond A. Lyttleton, F.R.S. a tribute by Sharan Majumdar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Raymond Lyttleton

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton

In research: Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton 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: Raymond Lyttleton is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1911 births, 1995 deaths, 20th-century English sportsmen, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Raymond Lyttleton in simple terms?

Why does Raymond Lyttleton 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 Raymond Lyttleton?

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 Raymond Lyttleton.