large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb_42
large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb
English
12904
No one had any idea of what it actually might be or where in the atom it might be located. NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA OF WHAT IT ACTUALLY MIGHT BE OR WHERE IN THE ATOM IT MIGHT BE LOCATED
scovered radium. Pierre Curie’s writing is on the blackboard._] But if a vast supply of energy existed in atoms, it was possible that the solution to the puzzle of the sun’s energy might rest there. As early as 1899 the American geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (1843-1928) was already speculating about a possible connection between radioactivity and the sun’s energy. If it were some variety of this newly discovered source of energy (not necessarily ordinary radioactivity, of course) that powered the sun—millions of times as intense as chemical energy—then the sun might be pouring out energy for hundreds of millions of years without perceptible physical change—just as uranium would show scarcely any change even in so mighty a time span. The sun would not have to be contracting; it would not have had to fill the earth’s orbit 25,000,000 years ago. This was all exciting, but in 1900 the structure of the atom had not yet been worked out and this new energy was just a vague supposition. FERENT BUT IF A VAST SUPPLY OF ENERGY EXISTED IN ADAMS IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT THE SOLUTION TO THE PUZZLE OF THE SUN'S ENERGY MIGHT REST THERE AS EARLY AS EIGHTEEN NINETY NINE THE AMERICAN GEOLOGIST THOMAS TROUDER CHAMBERLAIN EIGHTEEN FORTY THREE NINETEEN TWENTY EIGHT WAS ALREADY SPECULATING ABOUT A POSSIBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN RADIOACTIVITY AND THE SUN'S ENERGY IF IT WERE SOME VARIETY OF THIS NEWLY DISCOVERED SOURCE OF ENERGY NOT NECESSARILY ORDINARY RADIOACTIVITY OF COURSE THAT POWERED THE SUN MILLIONS OF TIMES AS INTENSE AS CHEMICAL ENERGY THEN THE SUN MIGHT BE POURING OUT ENERGY FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS WITHOUT PERCEPTIBLE PHYSICAL CHANGE JUST AS URANIUM WOULD SHOW SCARCELY ANY CHANGE EVEN IN SO MIGHTY A TIME SPAN THE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE TO BE CONTRACTING IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO FILL THE EARTH'S ORBIT TWENTY FIVE MILLION YEARS AGO THIS WAS ALL EXCITING BUT IN NINETEEN HUNDRED THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM HAD NOT YET BEEN WORKED OUT AND THIS NEW ENERGY WAS JUST A VAGUE SUPPOSITION
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