large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb_56
large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb
English
12904
Through long habit, it is still called that much of the time. And yet "atomic energy" is not a good name. In the first couple of decades of the 20th century, it became apparent that ordinary chemical energy involved electron shifts and those electrons were certainly components of atoms. This meant that a wood fire was a kind of atomic energy. The electrons, however, existed only in the outer regions of the atom. THROUGH LONG HABIT IT IS STILL CALLED THAT MUCH OF THE TIME AND YET ATOMIC ENERGY IS NOT A GOOD NAME IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF DECADES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IT BECAME APPARENT THAT ORDINARY CHEMICAL ENERGY INVOLVED ELECTRON SHIFTS AND THOSE ELECTRONS WERE CERTAINLY COMPONENTS OF ATOM THIS MEANT THAT A WOOD FIRE WAS A KIND OF ATOMIC ENERGY THE ELECTRONS HOWEVER EXISTED ONLY IN THE OUTER REGIONS OF THE ATOM
t 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. No one had any idea of what it actually might be or where in the atom it might be located. It could only be spoken of as existing “within the atom” and was therefore called “atomic energy”. N 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 NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA OF WHAT IT ACTUALLY MIGHT BE OR WHERE IN THE ATOM IT MIGHT BE LOCATED IT COULD ONLY BE SPOKEN OF AS EXISTING WITHIN THE ATOM AND THEREFORE WAS CALLED ATOMIC ENERGY
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