Eric W Crew: Difference between revisions

Eric W. Crew
Eric W. Crew
Born	1917
Died	2006
Residence	United Kingdom
Nationality	English
	Scientific career
Fields	Electrical Engineer

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Revision as of 08:50, 17 July 2026

Eric W. Crew (1917 – 2006) was an English electrical engineer who, in retirement, wrote extensively on the role of electricity in astronomy. Drawing on the electrical discharge theories of C. E. R. Bruce, he argued that lightning-like electrical processes shape matter throughout the cosmos, a viewpoint associated with the Electric Universe tradition and the work of Velikovsky. His paper "Lightning in Astronomy" appeared in Nature in December 1974.

Biography

Crew was born in Stoke-on-Trent and trained as an electrical engineer. He joined British Petroleum in London and travelled widely installing switchgear in power stations. He was a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and in retirement he developed a fire protection system for cables used in industrial plants and underground railways.

Passionately interested in all aspects of science, and especially astronomy, he became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a council member of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies (SIS). A prolific writer with a wide circle of correspondents, in his later years he was in contact with the Hungarian scientist Laszlo Kortvelyessy on the electrical aspects of the Sun. Kortvelyessy recalled that Crew's "theory of the universe was based on the fact that electricity can shape matter," and that Crew identified many celestial bodies whose features he attributed to electrical effects.

Crew married twice. His first wife, Catherine, died in 1964. He was survived by his wife June and five children, three of them from his first marriage. A lifelong recycler of humble origins, he was, in accordance with his wishes, given a green burial beneath a tree in a bamboo coffin. Outside his scientific interests he was a keen naturist, walker and gardener, contributing articles on attitudes to nudity to the magazine Starkers.

Scientific contributions

Crew's astronomical writing was strongly influenced by C. E. R. Bruce, who in 1941 argued that a jet ejected from the Sun had the characteristics of lightning, and who extended this electrical discharge interpretation to other stellar systems and to galaxies. Crew took up and developed these ideas, proposing that terrestrial and astronomical lightning were manifestations of the same electrical processes and that such discharges could account for a range of phenomena in the Solar System and beyond. This electrical approach to astronomy falls outside mainstream astrophysics, which explains the same phenomena primarily through gravitation, nuclear and magnetohydrodynamic processes.

His paper "Lightning in Astronomy" was published in Nature in December 1974, and he contributed a series titled "Electricity in Astronomy" to the SIS Review. Over his career he had papers published in Nature, The Observatory, the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Journal of Meteorology, the SIS Review and other outlets.

Abstracts

2002 - "Ion Jets in the Fifth State of Matter"
2000 - "Terrestrial and Astronomical Lightning"
1988 - "Erratic Events in the Solar System"
1974 - "Lightning in Astronomy"
1973 - "On Cosmic Electricity"

External links

Obituary: Eric Crew (The Guardian, 26 May 2006)

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 | name = Eric W. Crew
 | alt = Eric W. Crew
-| birth_date = {{birth date|1917|00|00|mf=y}}
+| birth_date = 1917
-| death_date = {{birth date|2006|00|00|mf=y}}
+| death_date = 2006
 | fields = [[Electrical Engineer]]
 | residence = United Kingdom
 | nationality = English
-| known_for = [[Electric Universe]], [[Velikovsky]]
 }}
-My husband Eric Crew, who has died aged 89, was born in Stoke-on-Trent, and became an electrical engineer. He joined British Petroleum in London but travelled widely installing switchgear in power stations. He was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, and in retirement he developed a fire protection system for cables in industrial plants and underground railways.   Passionately interested in all aspects of science - but especially astronomy - he became a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a council member of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies (SIS). A prolific writer with a wide circle of correspondents, he was more recently in contact with the Hungarian scientist Laszlo Kortvelyessy on the electrical aspects of the sun.
+'''Eric W. Crew''' (1917 – 2006) was an English [[Electrical Engineer|electrical engineer]] who, in retirement, wrote extensively on the role of electricity in astronomy. Drawing on the electrical discharge theories of [[C. E. R. Bruce]], he argued that lightning-like electrical processes shape matter throughout the cosmos, a viewpoint associated with the [[Electric Universe]] tradition and the work of [[Immanuel Velikovsky|Velikovsky]]. His paper "Lightning in Astronomy" appeared in ''Nature'' in December 1974.
-Kortvelyessy wrote the following on hearing of Eric's death. "Eric's 'Theory of the Universe' was based on the fact that electricity can shape matter. We cannot 'hear' this lightning in space anymore but Eric found many celestial bodies which suggested these electrical effects. His paper Lightning in Astronomy was published in Nature in December 1974. The old professors were not happy with the solution of so many contradictions in astronomy - so ignored it. Eric visited me in Kleve, Germany, and looked into my telescope, climbing two ladders at 84 years old."
+==Biography==
+Crew was born in Stoke-on-Trent and trained as an electrical engineer. He joined British Petroleum in London and travelled widely installing switchgear in power stations. He was a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and in retirement he developed a fire protection system for cables used in industrial plants and underground railways.
-Eric Crew was influenced by CER Bruce, who, in 1941, discovered that a jet ejected from the sun had the characteristics of lightning, repeated in other stellar systems and in galaxies. Eric took up these ideas and had papers published in Nature, the Observatory Magazine, the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Journal of Meterology, SIS Review and others.
+Passionately interested in all aspects of science, and especially astronomy, he became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a council member of the [[Society for Interdisciplinary Studies]] (SIS). A prolific writer with a wide circle of correspondents, in his later years he was in contact with the Hungarian scientist Laszlo Kortvelyessy on the electrical aspects of the Sun. Kortvelyessy recalled that Crew's "theory of the universe was based on the fact that electricity can shape matter," and that Crew identified many celestial bodies whose features he attributed to electrical effects.
-He enjoyed naturist activities, depending on weather and location, and regularly contributed articles to Starkers magazine, mainly about people's intolerance to nudity. He once made the front page of a local paper - naked - his decency preserved with the aid of a strategically positioned Ordnance Survey map, when the national papers were following the exploits of 'the naked rambler'. He enjoyed walking in the countryside both in Britain and in France and encouraged birds, amphibians and reptiles (he threw sticks at grey squirrels and marauding cats) to live in a wildlife-orientated garden.
+Crew married twice. His first wife, Catherine, died in 1964. He was survived by his wife June and five children, three of them from his first marriage. A lifelong recycler of humble origins, he was, in accordance with his wishes, given a green burial beneath a tree in a bamboo coffin. Outside his scientific interests he was a keen naturist, walker and gardener, contributing articles on attitudes to nudity to the magazine ''Starkers''.
-Being a child of humble origins and with his inventive and practical nature, he was a lifetime recycler. He could not pass a skip without rummaging about for discarded wood and other items. Following his death, his family opted for the ultimate recycling activity - a green burial. This was in accordance with his wishes to be buried under a tree in a bamboo coffin (cardboard disintegrates too quickly). Eric Crew is survived by his wife June, and five children, three of whom were from his first marriage to Catherine, who died in 1964. - [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/may/26/obituaries.mainsection http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/may/26/obituaries.mainsection]
+==Scientific contributions==
+Crew's astronomical writing was strongly influenced by [[C. E. R. Bruce]], who in 1941 argued that a jet ejected from the Sun had the characteristics of lightning, and who extended this electrical discharge interpretation to other stellar systems and to galaxies. Crew took up and developed these ideas, proposing that terrestrial and astronomical lightning were manifestations of the same electrical processes and that such discharges could account for a range of phenomena in the Solar System and beyond. This electrical approach to astronomy falls outside mainstream astrophysics, which explains the same phenomena primarily through gravitation, nuclear and magnetohydrodynamic processes.
+His paper "Lightning in Astronomy" was published in ''Nature'' in December 1974, and he contributed a series titled "Electricity in Astronomy" to the ''SIS Review''. Over his career he had papers published in ''Nature'', ''The Observatory'', the ''Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society'', the ''Journal of Meteorology'', the ''SIS Review'' and other outlets.
 ==Abstracts==
 * 2002 - "[[Ion Jets in the Fifth State of Matter]]"
 * 2000 - "[[Terrestrial and Astronomical Lightning]]"
 * 1988 - "[[Erratic Events in the Solar System]]"
 * 1974 - "[[Lightning in Astronomy]]"
 * 1973 - "[[On Cosmic Electricity]]"
+==External links==
+* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/may/26/obituaries.mainsection Obituary: Eric Crew (The Guardian, 26 May 2006)]
 [[Category:Scientist|Crew Eric]]
 [[Category:Electric Universe|Crew Eric]]