Radioactive astronomy

The best illustration of radioactive astronomy is titanium-44. We shall take it as the archetype of a good radioactive isotope. It is relatively abundant and has a reasonable lifetime of around 100 years, neither too long, nor too short. Only aluminium-26 can rival it in this respect and nuclear gamma astronomy has already reaped some of the rewards (see Fig. 4.4). 

The group of chemists with an interest in astro- and geochemistry included also Gilbert Lewis, the famous American physical chemist. In an address of 1922 he discussed the cosmic origin of radioactive elements in a manner that, he admitted, may seem somewhat speculative in character. Like Nernst and Harkins, Lewis believed that not only had astronomy much to learn from chemistry, the latter science had also much to learn from astronomy. He argued as follows ... 

The question arises as to why women were attracted to, and flourished in, the field of biochemistry. It could be argued that biochemistry appealed to women scientists by its relevance to the understanding of living processes however, there were other fields in which women scientists clustered and gained recognition, such as crystallography,5 radioactivity,3 and astronomy.6... 

About every other year from 1900 onward there was a question about the work of one or two eighteenth- or nineteenth-century chemists such as Cavendish, Lavoisier, Dalton, Davy, and Faraday. Other historical questions included Describe, and explain, the principle of the spectroscope. How has this led to the discovery of new elements and to a knowledge of the sun and stars , which links astronomy with the discovery of the periodic system. Another question, from 1918, was, In what respect has the discovery of radioactivity modified our conception of the chemical atom There were, however, only a few historical/philosophical questions, with most questions being more factual, such as, How does ammonia react with chlorine, mercuric chloride, potassium, ethyl iodide, ethyl oxalate ... 

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