克莱尔·卡梅伦·帕特森:发现地球年龄的人

Clair C. Patterson: Discoverer of the age of the Earth

克莱尔·卡梅伦·帕特森是美国地球化学家,1956年发现了目前仍被普遍接受的地球年龄值--45.5亿年;1940年代末发现了含铅汽油带来的环境铅污染问题,促进了在汽油中禁止使用四乙基铅法规的出台。介绍了帕特森的人生经历和科学成就,呈现了其科学探索的过程。

Clair Cameron Patterson was an American geochemist. By using lead isotopic data from the Canyon Diablo meteorite, Patterson calculated the age of the Earth: 4.55 billion years, a figure far more accurate than those suggested at the time, and this figure has remained largely unchallenged since 1956. Patterson had first encountered the lead contamination in the late 1940 s. His work on this subject led to a total re-evaluation of the growth in industrial lead concentrations in the atmosphere and the human body, and his subsequent campaigning was seminal in the banning of tetraethyllead in gasoline. This paper introduces Patterson’s life experiences and scientific achievements,especially the process of his scientific exploration.