Talk:Arthur Holmes

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Untitled[edit]

Vandalism removed. Vsmith 18:45, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)


Who sez geologists can't be glamorous? <G>
Cheers, Pete Tillman 21:20, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Continental drift[edit]

I don't think we need 'now largely accepted'. How many geologists would seriously question it these days? Pterre (talk) 14:04, 15 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Well, yes, OK, but Continental Drift has an uneasy history, and Plate Tectonics is the fashionable term. Think of Snider-Pellegrini (fl. 1858), who spoke of Continental Drift caused by Noah's Flood. Hence my parenthetical note. But I shan't go to war about it... Maybe <(now subsumed into the modern idea of Plate Tectonics.)>.John Wheater (talk) 22:41, 15 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Was Holmes or Boltwood the first to use uranium-lead radiometric dating?[edit]

This article says that in 1911 Holmes was the first to use uranium-lead radiometric dating to determine the age of rocks. However, the article on Bertram Boltwood says that he was the first to meaure the age of rocks by the decay of uranium to lead in 1907. Which is correct? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.73.31.50 (talk) 19:06, 4 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Both are right, I think. Boltwood compared Uranium to Lead values in a variety of rocks to see if there was a relationship. He found that there was, but the ages were not the point of the analysis. This source [1] says that he used published values from various analysts interested in the chemistry of the minerals. It was Boltwood's results that encouraged Holmes to attempt the "first analysis specifically designed for age dating purposes". You could I suppose say that Boltwood established that dating was possible using U/Pb, but that Holmes was the one who turned into a workable dating technique. Mikenorton (talk) 20:13, 4 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Religious upbringing should be noted?[edit]

I think that Arthur Holmes religious upbringing should be noted. Consider [2], "The Dating Game: One Man's Search for the Age of the Earth", by Cherry Lewis at p27 it is clear that the account for the age of the Earth presented to him was inspirational in his search. Seems an important point that appears to be excised from most biog/obits that I've found. Indeed no one even mentions his parents, which is normal in a biography or similar work. Pbhj (talk) 22:26, 24 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Malaria and World War I[edit]

Did the malaria he contracted in Africa disqualify him from military service during World War I? GeoWriter (talk) 19:07, 12 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]