The origin of the elements
- Creators
- Fowler, William A.
Abstract
It is my privilege to begin our consideration of the history of the universe during this first scientific session of the Academy Centennial with a discussion of the origin of the elements of which the matter of the universe is constituted. The question of the origin of the elements and their numerous isotopes is the modern expression of one of the most ancient problems in science. The early Greeks thought that all matter consisted of the four simple substances -- air, earth, fire, and water -- and they, too, sought to know the ultimate origin of what for them were the elementary forms of matter. They also speculated that matter consists of very small, indivisible, indestructible, and uncreatable atoms. They were wrong in detail but their concepts of atoms and elements and their quest for origins persist in our science today.
Additional Information
© 1964 by the National Academy of Sciences.Attached Files
Published - FOWpnas64.pdf
Files
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 11124
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:FOWpnas64
- Office of Naval Research
- Created
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2008-07-16Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2019-10-03Created from EPrint's last_modified field