large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb_17
large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb
English
12904
Another possibility was that radioactive atoms were creating energy out of nothing. ANOTHER POSSIBILITY WAS THAT RADIOACTIVE ATOMS WERE CREATING ENERGY OUT OF NOTHING
anges, however, could not apparently be altered. The early investigators quickly found that the breakdown of uranium-238, for instance, could not be hastened by heat, pressure, changes in chemical combination, or, indeed, anything else they could think of. It remained incredibly slow. But despite all this, radioactivity had at last been discovered and the intensity of its energies was recognized and pointed out in 1902 by Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie (1859-1906). Where, then, did the energy come from? Could it come from the outside? Could the radioactive atoms somehow collect energy from their surroundings, concentrate it several million-fold, and then let it out all at once? To concentrate energy in this fashion would violate something called “the second law of thermodynamics”. This was first proposed in 1850 by the German physicist Rudolf Julius Emmanuel Clausius (1822-1888) and had proved so useful that physicists did not like to abandon it unless they absolutely had to. ESTIGATORS QUICKLY FOUND THAT THE BREAK DOWN OF URANIUM TWO THIRTY EIGHT FOR INSTANCE COULD NOT BE HASTENED BY HEAT PRESSURE CHANGES IN CHEMICAL COMBINATION OR INDEED ANYTHING ELSE THEY COULD THINK OF IT REMAINED INCREDIBLY SLOW BUT DESPITE ALL THIS RADIO ACTIVITY HAD AT LAST BEEN DISCOVERED AND THE INTENSITY OF ITS ENERGIES WAS RECOGNIZED AND POINTED OUT IN NINETEEN O TWO BY MARIE CURIE AND HER HUSBAND PIERRE CURRIE EIGHTEEN FIFTY NINETEEN O SIX WHERE THEN DID THE ENERGY COME FROM COULD IT COME FROM THE OUTSIDE COULD THE RADIOACTIVE ATOMS SOMEHOW COLLECT ENERGY FROM THEIR SURROUNDINGS CONCENTRATE IT SEVERAL MILLIONFOLD AND THEN LET IT OUT ALL AT ONCE TO CONCENTRATE ENERGY IN THIS FASHION WOULD VIOLATE SOMETHING CALLED THE SECOND LAW OF THERMO DYNAMICS THIS WAS FIRST PROPOSED IN EIGHTEEN FIFTY BY THE GERMAN PHYSICIST RUDOLPH JULIUS EMANUEL CLAUSIAS EIGHTEEN TWENTY TWO EIGHTEEN TWENTY EIGHT AND HAD PROVED SO USEFUL THAT PHYSICISTS DID NOT LIKE TO ABANDON IT UNLESS THEY ABSOLUTELY HAD TO
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