4 Quotes & Sayings By Francis William Aston

Francis William Aston was born in London in 1836, the son of a well-known surgeon. He attended Westminster School, where he studied natural science. In 1857, at the age of 17, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, to study chemistry under Sir John Leslie. He interrupted his studies to join the Peninsular Campaign in 1859 and took part in the battles of Alma and Inkerman Read more

After further military service in 1862–3, he returned to Trinity College to take his degree in 1863. He then spent two years working for Sir J.J. Thomson at Cambridge before joining the staff of Sir William Crookes at Manchester University.

By 1868 he had returned to Cambridge to become demonstrator in physics under Professor J.J. Thomson and became a Fellow of Trinity College in 1869. In 1871 he became professor of chemistry there until 1878 when he moved to Birkbeck College, University of London to become professor of chemistry.

He was appointed director of the National Physical Laboratory there in 1880 and was knighted in 1893 for his work on gasometry, the measurement of gas volumes (he developed the technique still used today). He also served as president of the Chemical Society (1892–3).

1
Should the research worker of the future discover some means of releasing this [atomic] energy in a form which could be employed, the human race will have at its command powers beyond the dream of scientific fiction, but the remotest possibility must always be considered that the energy once liberated will be completely uncontrollable and by its intense violence detonate all neighbouring substances. In this event, the whole of the hydrogen on earth might be transformed at once and the success of the experiment published at large to the universe as a new star. Francis William Aston
2
Perhaps the most impressive illustration of all is to suppose that you could label the molecules in a tumbler of water.. threw it anywhere you please on the earth, and went away from the earth for a few million years while all the water on the earth, the oceans, rivers, lakes and clouds had had time to mix up perfectly. Now supposing that perfect mixing had taken place, you come back to earth and draw a similar tumbler of water from the nearest tap, how many of those marked molecules would you expect to find in it? Well, the answer is 2000. There are 2000 times more molecules in a tumbler of water than there are tumblers of water in the whole earth. . Francis William Aston
3
Personally I think there is no doubt that sub-atomic energy is available all around us, and that one day man will release and control its almost infinite power. We cannot prevent him from doing so and can only hope that he will not use it exclusively in blowing up his next door neighbour. (1936) Francis William Aston