The SUN is getting hotter and hotter and one day will melt the earth, according to Dr. George Gamow, professor of theoretical physics at the University.

Dr. Gamow believes the sun will consume itself – but not for about 5,000 million years at the present rate.

He arrived at this theory on the increasing heat of the sun as a result of his work on atom smashing which brought him international recognition 10 years ago.

The temperature of the sun at its center is about 10 million degrees Centigrade, he said. At this heat, atoms of hydrogen which make up the core of the sun move with such rapidity and force that they smash into each other and annihilation takes place, he continued. According to Dr. Gamow’s theory, this atom smashing is the source of the sun’s energy.

One might conclude that as the sun consumes itself it would cool. But as the mass gets denser the rate of atom smashing increases and consequently the heat increases, he said.

About the year 5,000,001,939 when the sun reaches its maximum illumination, it will be about one hundred times as bright as it is today, he said. The earth will have become a cinder.

However, there is no need for immediate concern over the increasing heat of the sun, Dr. Gamow said, since the temperature on the earth is increasing only about 5 one-millionths of one degree per century.

Dr. Gamow did his undergraduate work in Leningrad, then studied in Germany and Danzig. In London he published his work on atom smashing. He came to this University five years ago. He speaks six languages and modestly explains it by saying that he has to learn the language of the country in which he is working. He is also a research associate at the Carnegie Institute of Washington.