Atkinson Houtermans (5 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. ATKINSON, R. d'E. And F.G. Houtermans, "Transmutation of the Lighter Elements in Stars", in Nature, Macmillan and Co., London, 13 April 1929, vol 123 no. 3102, pp 567-89 in the complete weekly issue of pp 553-572 plus 12pp of ads. Original wrappers, with all ads. VG copy. Referencing and applying the Gamow factor (Zeitschrift fur Physik, vol 52, 1928). [++] "The Houterman-Atkinson theory was a quantitative theory based on the most recent quantum mechanical knowledge. The theory counts among the pioneering contributions to modern astrophysics, but at first it attracted little attention" (Kragh, 183). "Yes, the early fall of 1928. Houtermans introduced me to the very recent work of Gamow showing how α-particles could get out of the nucleus although they had far less energy than would result from sliding down the Coulomb field from radii where it was known to hold; the wave-mechanics allowed them to tunnel through a region where their kinetic energy would be negative. Gamow and Houtermans had then shown that the Geiger-Nuttall relation, connecting the α-particle energy and the life of the parent atom, could be roughly explained on this view. I saw that their model could not really allow any satisfactory wave-function inside the nucleus, and that one needed a model with two independent parameters, the radius and the depth of the "potential well" that one postulated. We calculated values for these from the lifetimes and energies of the α-active elements, and they looked reasonable. Meanwhile, Gamow had shown that there must be a finite probability for penetration of α-particle into a nucleus."--AIP interview by David Devorkin of Atkinson. [++] While at Göttingen, Houtermans met Enrico Fermi, George Gamow, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, and Victor Frederick Weisskopf. Houtermans and Gamow did pioneering work on quantum tunneling in 1928. Houtermans, in 1929, with Robert d'Escourt Atkinson, made the first calculation of stellar thermonuclear reactions. Their pioneering calculations were the impetus for Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker and Hans Bethe, in 1939, to put forth the correct theory of stellar thermonuclear energy generation."--Wikipedia [++] "So let us now come to the physics problems that attracted the two young physicists Gamow and Houtermans. Gamow had just written a paper expounding a remarkable theory of nuclear alpha decay, based on the tunnel effect. And now the experimentalist Houtermans was discussing enthusiastically with the theorist Gamow refinements of the theory and its application to specific nuclei. Robert Atkinson, a young British physicist at Gottingen, was familiar with Arthur Eddington's estimates of stellar interior temperatures. Atkinson and Houtermans wrote a paper (submitted for publication from Berlin in March 1929) putting forward the remarkable idea that nuclear reactions are the source of the stellar energy. "--Iosif B. Khriplovich, "The Eventful Life of Fritz Houtermans" Physics Today, 45, 7, 29 (1992).

1st Edition. FIRST EDITION of 2 Important papers Atkinson & Houtermans' SEMINAL PAPER CONCLUDING THAT QUANTUM TUNNELING MAY ALLOW FOR THE GENERATION OF ENERGY IN STARS THROUGH NUCLEAR FUSION with 1st ed. OF THE MOST ACCURATE ESTIMATE OF THE AGE OF THE EARTH TO THAT TIME & THE FIRST AGE DETERMINATION BASED ON ISOTOPE RATIOS. Also included: Michelson presents a more precise repetition of the famous Michelson-Morley ether experiment. : This paper establishes"the physical possibility of thermonuclear reaction in the interior of stars was established" (Brandt, Harvest, 259). In applying the Gamow factor to explore fusion reactions in stars, Atkinson and Houterman are able to present the first calculation of stellar thermonuclear reactions."The Houterman-Atkinson theory was a quantitative theory based on the most recent quantum mechanical knowledge. The theory counts among the pioneering contributions to modern astrophysics, but at first it attracted little attention" (Kragh, 183). "Results from early nuclear physics research, in particular the discovery of the enormous energy stored in nuclei, led astrophysicists to suspect that reactions among nuclear species were the source of the energy in stars. This suspicion, coupled with the discovery of the tunneling effect by Gamow (1928) prompted Atkinson and Houtermans to [here] produce the first qualitative theoretical treatment of the problem. "Atkinson and Houtermans suggested that the nucleus acts as a sort of trap and cooking pot combined, catching four protons and two electrons in such a way that a helium nucleus is finally cooked with the release of a large amount of energy" (Barnes, Essays, 171). "The thermal energy of protons in the centre of the sun was sufficient to provoke nuclear reactions" (Brandt, 259). RUTHERFORD: Rutherford's paper "may be the first paper on astronomy with radioactivity" (Diehl, Astronomy with Radioactivities, 38). For hundreds of years, scientists had attempted to determine the age of the Earth, but it was not until the discovery of radioactivity at the close of the 19th century that the possibility of a physical estimate became possible. "When [Ernest Rutherford] began to think on these things, [he] concluded. that uranium was created somehow within the sun and transported to earth" (Dairymple, The Age of the Earth, 387). Rutherford operated from the assumption that, at formation, equal amounts of 238U and 235U (whose presence if first predicted here) were present. He then used the rigorous and systematic process of radioactive age-dating - studying the radioactive decay of uranium to lead in the Earth's crust. The first to employ the "use of certain radioactive nuclides to determine the history of nucleosynthesis, or creation of the elements", Rutherford then used that information to [in this paper] "calculate the length of time required to produce the present abundance ratio of a pair of nuclides, called a chronometer pair, from its original, or theoretical, production ratio" (ibid). As said, the result obtained, 3.4 million years was "the first age determination based on isotope ratios" (Magill). CONDITION: Complete volume. 4to. (263 x 188mm). [4], lxi, [1], 1004, [2]. Ex-libris lightly penned number at spine. Royal College Naval Library on pastedown. Tightly and solidly bound in blue cloth. Gilt-lettered at spine. Bright and clean throughout. Very good condition.

1st Edition. Full volume, bound, including TWO IMPORTANT 1st EDITIONS: Atkinson & Houtermans' SEMINAL PAPER CONCLUDING THAT QUANTUM TUNNELING MAY ALLOW FOR THE GENERATION OF ENERGY IN STARS THROUGH NUCLEAR FUSION. In this, the 1st attempt to apply the Gamow factor to explore fusion reactions in stars, Atkinson and Houtermans present the first calculation of stellar thermonuclear reactions. WITHBOUND: Skobelzyn's DISCOVERY OF GHOSTLY TRACKS MADE BY COSMIC RAYS IN A CLOUD CHAMBER, a device for revealing the passage of charged particles. While trying to detect gamma radiation in cosmic rays, Skobelzyn had "detected particles that acted like electrons but curved in the opposite direction in an applied magnetic field. He was puzzled by these results, and they remained unexplained until the discovery of the positron in 1931" (Wikipedia). More information on both papers follows below. ATKINSON & HOUTERMANS PAPER: "The Houterman-Atkinson theory was a quantitative theory based on the most recent quantum mechanical knowledge. The theory counts among the pioneering contributions to modern astrophysics, but at first it attracted little attention" (Kragh, 183). "Results from early nuclear physics research, in particular the discovery of the enormous energy stored in nuclei, led astrophysicists to suspect that reactions among nuclear species were the source of the energy in stars. This suspicion, coupled with the discovery of the tunneling effect by Gamow (1928) prompted Atkinson and Houtermans to [here] produce the first qualitative theoretical treatment of the problem. "Their paper, in which they referred to â??how to cook a nucleus in a pot,' treated the energy source in stars as well as the stellar nucleosynthesis of the elements. With the nuclear data available to them, they concluded that only hydrogen could penetrate the Coulomb barrier with sufficient ease to induce fusion at stellar temperatures, and that hydrogen-induced fusion would be important only for light nuclei. Because it was known that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Sun and the universe, they concluded that the energy-producing mechanisms involved primarily hydrogen. "Atkinson and Houtermans suggested that the nucleus acts as a sort of trap and cooking pot combined, catching four protons and two electrons in such a way that a helium nucleus is finally cooked with the release of a large amount of energy" (Barnes, Essays, 171). "The thermal energy of protons in the centre of the sun was sufficient to provoke nuclear reactions. The physical possibility of thermonuclear reaction in the interior of stars was established." (Brandt, Harvest, 259). SKOBELZYN'S PAPER: "In 1929, [Skobelzyn] constructed a cloud chamber to study the properties of the electrons emitted in radioactive decays" (Skobelzyn, 1929; Longair, 28). "A determination of the specific ionization of cosmic-ray particles, first, by a count of the number of drops per cm along cosmic-ray tracks on cloud-chamber photographs and, second, by measurements of the energy loss in lead has shown that the great bulk of the cosmic-ray particles of positive charge are positive electrons" (Anderson, PR 44, 406). Among the tracks, he noted some which were hardly deflected at all and which resembled electrons with energies greater than 15 MeV. Skobelzyn had discovered that cosmic rays create large particle showers indicating that at least some of the primary cosmic rays must have enormous stores of energy. These were the first pictures of the tracks of cosmic rays. CONDITION & DETAILS: Complete. 4to Bears ffp stamp of Friedrich Hermann Hund, a physicist well-known for his work on atoms and molecules. The volume is ex-libris with very slight â??ghosting' from the removal of spine labels. Small stamp appears on the rear of the title page. Bound in black cloth over marbled paper board; gilt-lettered at the spine. Very slightly rubbed at the edges. Tightly bound and very clean. The interior is clean and bright. Very good +.

1st Edition. Handsomely rebound FIRST EDITION of 2 Important papers Atkinson & Houtermans' SEMINAL PAPER CONCLUDING THAT QUANTUM TUNNELING MAY ALLOW FOR THE GENERATION OF ENERGY IN STARS THROUGH NUCLEAR FUSION with 1st ed. OF THE MOST ACCURATE ESTIMATE OF THE AGE OF THE EARTH TO THAT TIME & THE FIRST AGE DETERMINATION BASED ON ISOTOPE RATIOS. Also included: Michelson presents a more precise repetition of the famous Michelson-Morley ether experiment. ATKINSON: This paper establishes"the physical possibility of thermonuclear reaction in the interior of stars was established" (Brandt, Harvest, 259). In applying the Gamow factor to explore fusion reactions in stars, Atkinson and Houterman are able to present the first calculation of stellar thermonuclear reactions."The Houterman-Atkinson theory was a quantitative theory based on the most recent quantum mechanical knowledge. The theory counts among the pioneering contributions to modern astrophysics, but at first it attracted little attention" (Kragh, 183). "Results from early nuclear physics research, in particular the discovery of the enormous energy stored in nuclei, led astrophysicists to suspect that reactions among nuclear species were the source of the energy in stars. This suspicion, coupled with the discovery of the tunneling effect by Gamow (1928) prompted Atkinson and Houtermans to [here] produce the first qualitative theoretical treatment of the problem. "Atkinson and Houtermans suggested that the nucleus acts as a sort of trap and cooking pot combined, catching four protons and two electrons in such a way that a helium nucleus is finally cooked with the release of a large amount of energy" (Barnes, Essays, 171). "The thermal energy of protons in the centre of the sun was sufficient to provoke nuclear reactions" (Brandt, 259). RUTHERFORD: Rutherford's paper "may be the first paper on astronomy with radioactivity" (Diehl, Astronomy with Radioactivities, 38). For hundreds of years, scientists had attempted to determine the age of the Earth, but it was not until the discovery of radioactivity at the close of the 19th century that the possibility of a physical estimate became possible. "When [Ernest Rutherford] began to think on these things, [he] concluded. that uranium was created somehow within the sun and transported to earth" (Dairymple, The Age of the Earth, 387). Rutherford operated from the assumption that, at formation, equal amounts of 238U and 235U (whose presence if first predicted here) were present. He then used the rigorous and systematic process of radioactive age-dating - studying the radioactive decay of uranium to lead in the Earth's crust. The first to employ the "use of certain radioactive nuclides to determine the history of nucleosynthesis, or creation of the elements", Rutherford then used that information to [in this paper] "calculate the length of time required to produce the present abundance ratio of a pair of nuclides, called a chronometer pair, from its original, or theoretical, production ratio" (ibid). As said, the result obtained, 3.4 million years was "the first age determination based on isotope ratios" (Magill). CONDITION: Complete volume. 4to. (263 x 188mm). [4], lxi, [1], 1004, [2]. Ex-libris with two stamps on the title page and no exterior markings whatsoever. In-text illustrations throughout. Handsomely rebound in half calf , gilt-lettered at the spine; tightly and very solidly bound. Five gilt-ruled raised bands at the spine; each compartment gilt tooled. Bright and clean throughout. Near fine condition in every way.

(22,5 x 15 cm). VIII, 885 S. Mit 300 Abbildungen. Halbleinwandband der Zeit. Erste Ausgabe der berühmten Arbeit, in der Atkinson (1898-1982) und Houtermans (1903-1966) erstmals die These aufstellen, dass chemische Elemente im Inneren der Sterne gebildet werden. Sie tragen so wesentlich zum Verständnis der Elemententstehung und der Energiefreisetzung in Sternen bei. Atkinson wird dafür mit der Eddington-Medaille der Royal Astronomical Society ausgezeichnet. - Vorsatz mehrfach gestempelt, sonst gut erhalten.