Philip Hauge Abelson
Phillip Hauge Abelson was born on April 27, 1913 in Tacoma Washington.
His first big contribution to the world of chemistry was when he teamed up with Edwin McMillan to create the first transuranic element called neptunium. Then he went on to trying to isolate isotopes from uranium.It was clear that it was only possible to create a nuclear explosion if you had the right amount of the rare isotope uranium-235. The method he used was thermal diffusion. At the time you could only get 7out of every 1,000 atoms of uranium 235. This was a very weak mixture and was definitely not enough to make the explosion occur. After many tests ( which could only be done during war time) they got the needed atoms. After the war he extened the work of Stanley Miller on the origin of vital molecules. He found that amino acids could be produced if carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen were present. He also identified the great stability of amino acids in 300-million-year-old fossils.His last work was when he identified fatty acids in rocks. HE lived on until August 1, 2004 when he died in Bethesda, Maryland
Sources: www.answers.com www.3rd1000.com for picture
Phillip Hauge Abelson was born on April 27, 1913 in Tacoma Washington.
His first big contribution to the world of chemistry was when he teamed up with Edwin McMillan to create the first transuranic element called neptunium. Then he went on to trying to isolate isotopes from uranium.It was clear that it was only possible to create a nuclear explosion if you had the right amount of the rare isotope uranium-235. The method he used was thermal diffusion. At the time you could only get 7out of every 1,000 atoms of uranium 235. This was a very weak mixture and was definitely not enough to make the explosion occur. After many tests ( which could only be done during war time) they got the needed atoms. After the war he extened the work of Stanley Miller on the origin of vital molecules. He found that amino acids could be produced if carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen were present. He also identified the great stability of amino acids in 300-million-year-old fossils.His last work was when he identified fatty acids in rocks. HE lived on until August 1, 2004 when he died in Bethesda, Maryland
Sources: www.answers.com www.3rd1000.com for picture