Word: geochemist
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...surprisingly, one of the few jubilant scientists in Houston last week was Geochemist Oliver Schaeffer, who led the team that calculated the age of the lunar material. He used potassium-argon dating, a method based on the rate at which radioactive potassium decays into argon (it takes 1.3 billion years for half the potassium to decay); as time passes, the ratio between the potassium and argon in a specimen changes at a known rate, thus revealing the approximate age of the sample. If there is any error at all, Schaeffer explains, he has underestimated the age of the rocks, because...
Rare Gases. About one thing, U.S. space scientists have no complaint: Apollo 11 provided them with a wealth of data and lunar material. Last week, as they completed no fewer than 152 preliminary tests on 55 lbs. of lunar rocks and dust, they made several more interesting discoveries. Geochemist Oliver Schaeffer, seeking to determine what gases are expelled from the sun as solar wind, heated a pinch of moon dust to 3,000° F. Analyzing the escaping gases, he found that the lunar surface had absorbed considerable helium and hydrogen from the sun. But he also noted surprisingly large...
While studying for a final exam in structural geology at Colorado School of Mines last year, Graduate Student George Rouse, 33, was struck by a strange geological coincidence: deep earthquake zones angle into the earth at an average of 60° from the horizontal. His curiosity piqued, Geochemist Rouse decided to look for an explanation. What he found has become the basis of a new theory that-if proven valid-will have earth-shaking implications in the field of geophysics...
...their experiments, Chemist Cyril Ponnamperuma and Geochemist Gordon Hodgson flashed a continuous electric arc through a mixture of ammonia, methane and water vapor at NASA's Ames Research Center, near San Francisco. The arc simulated lightning, and the mixture was similar to the atmosphere that most scientists believe existed before life began. In addition to the amino acids, proteins, nucleotides and other life-foundation molecules that were created in previous experiments-some by Ponnamperuma himself-a small amount of an unidentified substance was produced...
What makes this novel interesting is that Co-Author Brown is a geochemist and one of the nation's most articulate and socially conscious scientists. Brown and his collaborator, Chloe Zerwick, a freelance writer, nearly obscure their message in a fog of literary and character clichés (notably missing from Brown's nonfiction writing). Still, their purpose is plain: they are not questioning the existence of extraterrestrial beings but asking if there is, after all, intelligent life on earth...