I wrote:
> Now I know how people felt when isotopes were discovered. > I meant that isotopes came as a surprise, and people initially questioned the experimental results rather than believe there variations in the weight of an element. It is an interesting episode in the history of science. I read about it decades ago. They were expecting to find that atomic weights are exact integral values starting with hydrogen (1). They got the wrong answers. Quite wrong, in some cases, such as Al, 26.982. As I recall they kept thinking: "when instruments improve the results will get better and yield exactly 26.000." This is like the skeptical assertion that as calorimeters improve, the cold fusion effect will go away. The discovery of the neutron cleared up the mystery, but apparently, as mass measurements improve, they have revealed layer of variation below that. More complexity. - Jed
