July 09, 2016 Saturday
Very Busy OPD
We have been discussing atoms, subatomic particles and electromagnetic waves for quite some time.
I hope by now you can appreciate that at atomic levels the stuff is mostly empty space.
Also, at atomic scale, nature behaves in a bizarre way that it seems to act both as a particle and waves.
This is the least we as average apes need to be aware of.
Let us now go to the next level in the hierarchy of nature:
The Elements.
In a way, you can argue that we are shifting from physics to chemistry though in fact, there is no sharp boundary between them.
Much akin to the fact that there is nothing really to separate our early ancestors of genus Homo from the members of Pan.
The concept of elements as we know of today is immensely different from how the wise men 10,000 years ago thought them to be.
Ancient philosophers of most cultures considered earth, water, air and fire to be the essential elements that constitute the nature.
Aristotle in 350 BC even introduced a fifth element called aether which formed the heavens.
Even as late as in 1600s, great scientific minds such as Robert Boyle (whose relationship describing the inverse relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas is legendary) had very little idea of elements.
It was probably the Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier in late 1700s who can be credited to first enlist the elements in a closer fashion as we know today.
His list published in 1789 as:
Elements of Chemistry
contained 33 elements.
The list even included light and caloric.
The greatest progress was in the fact that he had discarded the age old classical elements earth, air, fire and water.
By the way, have u wondered how Lavoisier died?
No Sir, not of old age or consumption or the wretched plague so common in Europe those days.
He was executed by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution.
Stay tuned to the voice of an average storytelling chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.in/
Good night mon ami and my fellow cousin ape.
Very Busy OPD
We have been discussing atoms, subatomic particles and electromagnetic waves for quite some time.
I hope by now you can appreciate that at atomic levels the stuff is mostly empty space.
Also, at atomic scale, nature behaves in a bizarre way that it seems to act both as a particle and waves.
This is the least we as average apes need to be aware of.
Let us now go to the next level in the hierarchy of nature:
The Elements.
In a way, you can argue that we are shifting from physics to chemistry though in fact, there is no sharp boundary between them.
Much akin to the fact that there is nothing really to separate our early ancestors of genus Homo from the members of Pan.
The concept of elements as we know of today is immensely different from how the wise men 10,000 years ago thought them to be.
Ancient philosophers of most cultures considered earth, water, air and fire to be the essential elements that constitute the nature.
Aristotle in 350 BC even introduced a fifth element called aether which formed the heavens.
Even as late as in 1600s, great scientific minds such as Robert Boyle (whose relationship describing the inverse relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas is legendary) had very little idea of elements.
It was probably the Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier in late 1700s who can be credited to first enlist the elements in a closer fashion as we know today.
His list published in 1789 as:
Elements of Chemistry
contained 33 elements.
The list even included light and caloric.
The greatest progress was in the fact that he had discarded the age old classical elements earth, air, fire and water.
By the way, have u wondered how Lavoisier died?
No Sir, not of old age or consumption or the wretched plague so common in Europe those days.
He was executed by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution.
Stay tuned to the voice of an average storytelling chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.in/
Good night mon ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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