Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010jahh...13...90h&link_type=abstract
Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (ISSN 1440-2807), Vol. 13, No. 2, p. 90 - 104 (2010).
Physics
1
Auguste Comte, Spectroscopy, Stellar Composition, Stellar Abundances, Gustav Kirchhoff, Robert Bunsen, Stellar Evolution, Curve Of Growth, Radiative Transfer.
Scientific paper
In 1835 the French philosopher Auguste Comte predicted that we would never know anything about the chemical composition of stars. This paper gives a broad overview of the development of stellar spectroscopy, especially from about 1860. Developments in stellar spectroscopy segregated quite clearly into three main fields of endeavour: spectral classification, radial velocities and spectral analysis. This paper concentrates mainly on spectral analysis, or how stellar spectroscopy one hundred years after Comte showed that quantitative information on the composition of stars was possible. The journey was quite arduous, as it required numerous developments in theoretical physics and in laboratory spectroscopy, which in turn allowed stellar spectral analysis successfully to be undertaken by the mid-twentieth century.
The key developments in physics that first had to be understood were in quantum and atomic theory, ionization theory, the concept of the Planck function, local thermodynamic equilibrium, the first stellar model atmospheres, line formation theory, turbulence, collisional broadening of spectral lines and the theory of radiative transfer and of the curve of growth. The close links between stellar spectroscopy and theoretical physics will be emphasized. In addition laboratory physics, to measure line wavelengths and oscillator strengths, was also an essential precursor to quantitative data on the chemical composition of stars.
Comte may have been an influential philosopher of science in his time. Perhaps his one small transgression was not to have read the works of Joseph Fraunhofer, which in the early nineteenth century already contained the first small clues that Comte's assertion might be wrong.
No associations
LandOfFree
Auguste Comte's blunder: an account of the first century of stellar spectroscopy and how it took one hundred years to prove that Comte was wrong! does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Auguste Comte's blunder: an account of the first century of stellar spectroscopy and how it took one hundred years to prove that Comte was wrong!, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Auguste Comte's blunder: an account of the first century of stellar spectroscopy and how it took one hundred years to prove that Comte was wrong! will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1225001