chris@fs07.webo.dg.com (Chris Moriondo) (03/25/91)
If, as some have argued, nanotechnology will lead to to an economy in which the value of most material goods approaches zero, we still will need raw materials to supply the atoms which we are rearranging. My question is, can anyone tell me where I might find estimates of the relative occurence of the elements in: the crust of the earth; the entire volume of the earth; the solar system; and the universe? I assume that as you consider larger and larger scales, hydrogen dominates more and more, but what about the availability of the rest of the elements? (I may want to invest in some commodities futures :-) thanks, -chrism --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Not only is Space from the point of view of life and humanity empty, but Time is empty also. Life is like a little glow, scarcely kindled yet, in these void immensities." -- H.G. Wells, "Outline of History"
neufeld@aurora.physics.utoronto.ca (Christopher Neufeld) (03/27/91)
In article <Mar.24.19.12.16.1991.1125@athos.rutgers.edu> chris@fs07.webo.dg.com (Chris Moriondo) writes: >My >question is, can anyone tell me where I might find estimates of the >relative occurence of the elements in: the crust of the earth; the >entire volume of the earth; the solar system; and the universe? > Well, I can't help much with the later entries in the list, but check any recent CRC for all naturally ocurring elements in the Earth's crust: Oxygen: 464 g/kg crust Silicon: 282 g/kg Aluminum: 83.2 g/kg Iron: 56.3 g/kg Calcium: 41.5 g/kg Sodium: 23.6 g/kg Magnesium: 23.3 g/kg Potassium: 20.9 g/kg Titanium: 5.70 g/kg Hydrogen: 1.40 g/kg Phosphorus: 1.05 g/kg Manganese: 950 mg/kg Fluorine: 625 mg/kg and, dropping down the list some, a few selected important elements: Chlorine: 130 mg/kg Copper: 55 mg/kg Uranium: 2.7 mg/kg Silver: 0.07 mg/kg Platinum: 0.01 mg/kg Gold: 0.004 mg/kg Isotopic fractions are also available in the CRC. For instance, deuterium has a natural abundance of 0.015%, with the rest protium (simple hydrogen) according to the isotope tables. -- Christopher Neufeld....Just a graduate student | Too much self-love just neufeld@aurora.physics.utoronto.ca Ad astra! | makes you jealous of cneufeld@{pnet91,pro-cco}.cts.com | the people who envy you. "Don't edit reality for the sake of simplicity" |