Fowler, William Alfred

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Fowler, William Alfred (1911–95) US physicist and astrophysicist best known for his explanation of how chemical elements are built up (from heavier to lighter) within stars as they evolve. He developed these ideas (published 1957) while working with three British astronomers: Fred Hoyle, and Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge. In 1983, he shared the Nobel Prize in physics with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.

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