. The origin and evolution of life, on the theory of action, reaction and interaction of energy. al Life Elements Of the total of eighty-two or more chemical elements thusfar discovered at least twenty-nine are known to occur in liv-ing organisms either invariably, frequently, or rarely, as shownin Table II of the Life Elements. Whether essential, fre-quent, or of rare occurrence, each one of these elements—asdescribed below—has its single or multiple services to renderto the organism. Hydrogen, the life element of least atomic weight, is alwaysnear the surface of the typical hot stars. Ruther
. The origin and evolution of life, on the theory of action, reaction and interaction of energy. al Life Elements Of the total of eighty-two or more chemical elements thusfar discovered at least twenty-nine are known to occur in liv-ing organisms either invariably, frequently, or rarely, as shownin Table II of the Life Elements. Whether essential, fre-quent, or of rare occurrence, each one of these elements—asdescribed below—has its single or multiple services to renderto the organism. Hydrogen, the life element of least atomic weight, is alwaysnear the surface of the typical hot stars. Rutherford^ tells usthat, while the hydrogen atom is the lightest known, its nega-tively charged electrons are only about 1/1800 of the mass of ^Henderson, Lawrence J., 1913, pp. 157-160. - Loeb, Jacques, 1906, pp. 34, 35. * Henderson, Lawrence J., 1913, p. 257. * Hedin, Sven G., 1915, pp. 164, 173. * Rutherford, Sir Ernest, 1915, p. 113. 6o THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE the hydrogen atom: they are hberated from metals on whichultra-violet light falls, and can be released from atoms of mat-. FiG. 6. H\T)ROGEN Vapor in the Solar Atmosphere Hydrogen, which far exceeds any other element in the amount of heat it yields uponoxidation (see Table II, p. 67) and ranks among the four most important of the chemicallife elements, is also invariably present at the surface of all typical hot stars, includ-ing the sun. The large masses of hydrogen vapor known as solar prominenceswhich burst forth from ever}^ part of the sun, are here shown as photographed during atotal eclipse. The upper figure presents a detail from the lower, greatly enlargedFrom the Mount Wilson Observatory. ter by a variety of agencies. Hydrogen is present in all acidsand in most organic compounds. It also has the highest FUNCTIONS OF LIFE ELEMENTS 6i power of combustion. Its ions are very important factors inanimal respiration and in gastric It is very activein dissociating or separating oxygen from various
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