CaltechAUTHORS
  A Caltech Library Service

The origin of the elements

Fowler, William A. (1964) The origin of the elements. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 52 (2). pp. 524-548. ISSN 0027-8424. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:FOWpnas64

[img]
Preview
PDF - Published Version
See Usage Policy.

3MB

Use this Persistent URL to link to this item: https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:FOWpnas64

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.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://www.pnas.org/content/52/2.tocPublisherUNSPECIFIED
Additional Information:© 1964 by the National Academy of Sciences.
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
Office of Naval ResearchUNSPECIFIED
Issue or Number:2
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:FOWpnas64
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:FOWpnas64
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:11124
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:16 Jul 2008 17:37
Last Modified:03 Oct 2019 00:16

Repository Staff Only: item control page