122 G. F. BECKER RELATIONS OF RADIOACTIVITY TO COSMOGONY 



"If we regard the systems containing different numbers of units as corre- 

 sponding to the different chemical elements, then as the universe gets older 

 elements of higher and higher atomic weight may be expected to appear. 

 Their appearance, however, will not involve the annihilation of the elements 

 of lower atomic weight."^ 



Since 1873, as every one knows, great strides have been made in celes- 

 tial spectroscopy, largeh" in conseqvience of Eowland's invention of con- 

 cave gratings. It is therefore interesting to inquire the bearing of our 

 present knowledge of the distribution of elements on the hypothesis of 

 their evolution. It has occurred to me that the information available 

 can be most instructively and compendiously conveyed by the help of the 

 periodic system, as in the follo^\Tng table, where the cosmic distribution 

 of the elements, arranged according to Mendeleef's classification, is indi- 

 cated by tj'pographical devices : 



Classification of the Elements by the periodic System and their cosmic Distribution 



Series. 



0. 



I. 



II. 



III. 



IV. 



V. 



YI. 



VII. 



VIII. 



1 





Li- 



Na'^- 



Cu'- 



Eb 



Ag' 

 Cs 

















2 



3 



4 



5 



He'''- 



Ne 



A 



GV 

 Mg"- 



Ca''- 



Zn' 



Sr' 



Cd' 

 Ba'^ 



B 



AF- 



Sc' 



Gd/' 



Y' 



In 

 La' 



Si''- 



Ge' 



Zr' 



Sn'- 

 Ce' 



w- 

 p- 



y// 



As- 

 Cb 

 Sb- 



S- 

 Cr'- 



Se 

 Mo' 



Te 



F 



CI- 



Mn'- 

 Er 



I 



VFe''-" 

 ICo'- 



G 



7 



Kr 



fEu' 



- Eh' 



,Pd' 



8 



Xe 





9 











10 













Ta 



Bi 

 U 



W 





fOs 

 llr 



11 





An 



Hg 

 Ea 



Tl 



Pb' 

 Th 



Ut 



12 























All of the elements whose symbols are accented occur in the sun; those 

 whose symbols have two accents have been detected in the stars of the Sirian 

 class or the helium class. Three accents indicate components of nebulae. The 

 elements whose symbols are followed by a hyphen are found in meteorites. 



A few comments must be made on the sources of information recorded in 

 the table. In the gaseous nebula only helium, hydrogen, and nebelium have 

 been detected. This last is a gas unknown on earth or in the stars, but is 

 believed to be heavier than hydrogen (A. M. Gierke: Problems of astrophysics, 

 p. 476). The list of elements in the helium stars and hydrogen stars includes 



( 



21 Electricity and matter, 1904, p. 103. 



