Back from reseach - the anwswer is he was excellent in a number of disciplines (librarian, matheematician, astronomer, philosopher...) , but first of his time in none. He was alway second - Beta, after the second letter of the greek alphabet.

That is putting it quite harshly - they also gave him the nickname "Pentathlete" for his proficiency in many disciplines. Since pentathletes were the most revered among athletes in the antique world (they had a lot of the nimbus that decathletes enjoy today among those who happen to like athletics), that is quite an honour. Having seen what he could do, I would stick with this one.

So, here goes (back to real astronomy): Which element was never produced anywhere in the Universe except in the Big Bang (another fact Big Bang critics can't account for)? Should be an easy one. :wink:

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Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

Thats funny, my Cosmos says that some of his contemporaries called him that because he was second best in everything he did ... i.e. not quite Alpha

So, IMO, you did mean that - sorry for having rushed forward with the next question.

Your solution was my solution then, only maaaaybe you did not make it that obvious in your anwer ops:

You go ahead, then.

Or are we both wrong, A Thousand Pardons?

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Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

Not a problem ... I'll let you have a go ...

Yep. [I should have stated I would be gone after that one]

I believe early analysis of aboorption lines caused them to stick with iron. Payne determined hydrogen (Aneb ) matched the lines better, but she was not treated respectfully for it.

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

Ah sorry, and thanks for the hint George: The trivial solution - The single proton - does not count for an answer...

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Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

To be more specific, it says in Cosmos, "One of his envious contemporaries called him "Beta," the second letter in the Greek alphabet, because, he said, Eratosthenes was second best in the world in everything. But it seems clear that in almost everything Eratosthenes was "Alpha." Pg 14, 1980 c. There was no "some"...Sagan mentioned one jealous(?) guy. :wink:

edit typo

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Sunset

Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder
mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind.

Deuterium then? Is hydrogen produced by decay processes?

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

Yep, deuterium - single proton hydrogen is also not produced by any process after the Big Bang but I thought this to be trivial because one proton is simply no nucleosynthesis at all (and no, it is not produced in any decay process I know of).

But here's to deuterium =D> =D> =D>

Your go, George! 8)

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Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

Ok. I was thinking energy to matter (a proton) counted as a production.

While we're on the subject...Who is best known for helping establish nucleosynthesis? [His determination of the energy level of excited Carbon I believe was his triumph.]

[p.s. - don't miss the irony in the cosmological viewpoints.]

[Hint: he not only helped Big Bang with nucleosynthesis but also gave it (Big Bang) it's name. Too easy now.]

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

Alright, I'm confused. The first step in the PPI chain creates deuterium, which then gets made into helium3. I'm pretty sure that the PPI chain happens outside of BBN, so would you please explain your answer to me, Arneb?

Tobin Dax wrote:

Ouch, I hope I did not overstep my knowledge here. What I was getting at, I read that there is never any net production of Deuterium in stars or SN, so in effect the Universe is always just using up the primordial Deuterium without ever substituting for it - Deuterium being burned to Helium, especially in young stars and brown dwarfs.

I cannot put my finger on the source of this. If you insist on the point, I can research it again and tell you. Sorry if I got that one wrong. There is a bit of pressure for speed in this quiz - part of the fun - and I was bringing the question up from memory.

George wrote

My first anwer to that one was:

That would be Hans Bethe, together with Carl-Friedrich von Weizsäcker.

But since there is that hint: That would be Frank Hoyle - he coined the phrase "Big Bang" to ridicule the concept.

So which is true? Back later, gotta get to work now...

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Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

Wouldn't that be Sir Fred Hoyle? Arneb, I'm sure you meant that, but I just wanted to point that out.

Edit add: BTW, I quoted Sagan on Hoyle here: http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...=486272#486272

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Sunset

Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder
mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind.

(edited to fix eroneous placement of my response)

And of course if you mean who worked out pretty much the whole sequence in which elements were produced in the Big Bang and after that the honors would be shared by BBFH in a classic paper. Side question (I know its not my turn). Who were BBFH?

IMO, did you forget something in that post above?

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Sunset

Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder
mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind.

Its weird ... when I edit that post, my comments are there ...

I'll do something about it when I get to the office.

Thanks

As Melsuine stated, it is Fred Hoyle, one of the founders of the Steady State Theory, yet inadvertently helped Big Bang with his nucleosynthesis work, as well as, coining the Big Bang name. IIRC, he did not get in on the Nobel for his work but those that conducted the tests and discovered he was right did.

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

Since Arneb is up, but looks to be AWOL, can I ask a question since so many of your questions are over my head (no pun intended).

This can go in the Notable Women in History thread too:

What was the name of the female astronomer who classified several hundred thousand stars by color, which was eventually compiled into the Henry Draper Catalog? She was also the first woman to receive a doctorate in astronomy.

edit typo

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Sunset

Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder
mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind.

Annie Jump Cannon