Subject: Weighing the captain.

From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 08:01:46 +1000 (EET)

The reference to weighing the Captain of a ship is by Charles Coulson
in "Valence" 1st Ed, 1952, footnote on page 88:-

"It has laughingly been said that calculating the dissociation energy 
of a heavy molecule is like weighing the the captain of a ship by 
determining the difference in displacement of his ship when he is, or 
is not, on board!".

This raises the question "laughingly said by whom?". Does anybody know?

BTW, by a heavy molecule he meant H2!

Cheers, Brian.
-- 
        Associate Professor Brian Salter-Duke (Brian Duke)
School of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Northern Territory University,
Box 40146, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia.  Phone 089-466702
e-mail: [email-masked]  or [email-masked]