Machines as research tools

An example of a calculation made by Georges Lemaître with the Burroughs E101.

Even if his public renown was above all due to his work on the “Big Bang”, Lemaître stood out in other fields too, such as the study of cosmic rays, the behaviour of galaxies and the three body problem. If Georges Lemaître was so successful in illustrating his genius in various areas, it was thanks to his curiosity and passion for calculating machines and their operation.

Even if his use of the machines was above all subordinated to his scientific research work, that did not prevent his contributing to a digital revolution that began with the 20th century and launched the Catholic University of Louvain on the path of data- processing.