化学ニュースサイトChemistry Viewsが、科学史に残る有名な論文の冒頭の1行目から、それがどの論文かを当てるというクイズ Opening Lines of Famous Papers を5問出題しています。音楽の「イントロ当てクイズ」みたいですね。
例えば1問目のヒントとなる一文は
“It is known that several substances have the property of producing certain bright lines when brought into the flame.”
ですが、これで始まる論文は、次のうちどれでしょうか?
- On the Quantum Theory of Radiation, Albert Einstein, 1917.
- Chemical Analysis by Observation of Spectra, Gustav Kirchhoff, Robert Bunsen, 1860.
- The Theory of Heat Radiation, Max Planck, 1914.
意外と簡単そうですか? ぜひ残りの4問にもチャレンジして下さい。ヒントだけでは正解が分からなくても、それぞれリンク先の原文で、回答の三択をご覧いただけます。
- 第2問: “We describe monocrystalline graphitic films, which are a few atoms thick but are nonetheless stable under ambient conditions, metallic, and of remarkably high quality.”
- 第3問: “A great deal has been written on the influence of the absorption of the atmosphere upon the climate.”
- 第4問: “Are there different species of air?”
- 第5問:“We report herein the existence of a metallic solid which diffracts electrons like a single crystal but has point group symmetry […] which is inconsistent with lattice translations.”