¶ Ninety Two Elements Chart of Rate of Acquisition (2)
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Index Entry
"begins with the year A.D. 1200 going up to A.D. 2000. We begin with a list of nine elements: carbon, lead, tin, mercury, silver, copper, sulphur, gold, and iron, which were known to man at the opening of our history. We do not know when they were first isolated or knowingly used. The first known isolation of a chemical element is arsenic, in 1200. Following this, there is a 200-year gap and we come to antimony; another 200-year gap and we come to phosphorus. Then the gap narrows to 75 years and we have cobalt. From here on we average an isolation of an element every two years. It is an extraordinary period in history that the rate begins to accelerate.
"If you check the date 1730, not long before the American Revolution, you will notice that there are some separate shoulders or plateaus, appearing on the chart. Those shoulders are slowdowns when we have major wars-- the American Revolution, various civil wars, and World War I. They show that pure science does not prosper at the time of war-- which is contrary to all popular notions. Scientists are made to apply science in wartime, rather than look for fundamental information.
“We can also see that in 1932, which was thought to be the”
