Abstract
I QUITE agree with Dr. Jeffreys (NATURE, Jan. 19, p. 87) that a reader of my original letter would not have gathered much about Dr. Jeffreys' views on earth history from my remarks about the average life period of an atom. The whole point of my letter was that as the earth at present appears to be approximately in thermal equilibrium, the life period of a terrestrial atom must be very large compared with that of the universe. Dr. Jeffreys' contention that 13 per cent approximately of the present heat loss must, of necessity, be attributed to primeval heat, leaving only 87 per cent to be explained by all atomic disintegration processes, known or unknown, only strengthens this proposition.
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POOLE, J. The Average Life Period of an Atom. Nature 123, 131 (1929). https://doi.org/10.1038/123131c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/123131c0
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