ISBN10: 1461453623, ISBN13: 9781461453628, [publisher: Springer New York] Softcover Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - What if one of the most thrilling stories in the history of science turned out to be wrong Can urban legends creep into the hallowed grounds of scientific history As incredible as it may sound, the story of one of the most important elements in modern times - helium - has been often misrepresented in books, encyclopedias, and online sources, despite the fact that archival materials tell a different story. Open the entry for Helium in any encyclopaedia and you will read a false story that has been repeated over the years. 'Encyclopaedia Britannica', for example, says that helium was discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Janssen while observing a total solar eclipse from India in 1868. Apparently he noticed something new in the spectrum of the sun, which he thought was the signature of an undiscovered element. The truth is that Janssen never saw any sign of a new element during his observations in India. His reports and letters do not mention any such claim. Other sources would have you believe that helium was jointly discovered by Janssen and Norman Lockyer, a British scientist, and that their discovery letters reached Paris the same day, one sent from India, and the other from England. Again, the truth is completely different. Two letters from Lockyer and Janssen did reach Paris the same day in 1868, but their ...
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Springer 11/10/2012 12: 00: 00 AM 2013 Softcover New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.