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This Week in Chemistry: Feb 18 - 24
February 17, 2008 at 01:36 AM
Analtech, Inc. is proud to provide a new public service feature - This Week in Chemistry - a recap of major breakthroughs in chemistry as well as the commemoration of key individuals birthdates.
Analtech thanks Dr. Leopold May of The Catholic University of America forproviding this information - you can visit his web site by clicking here.
Feb. 18
b. 1745 Alessandro G. A. A. Volta (left), invented the voltaic pile vota pila; observed the bubbling of methane in swamps; In 1776-77 studied the chemistry of gases, discovered methane, and devised experiments such as the ignition of gases by an electric spark in a closed vessel; unit of electric potential, the volt, is named in his honor. b. 1894 Aleksandr Oparin, studies on the origin of life from chemical matter; extended the Darwinian theory of evolution backward in time to explain how simple organic and inorganic materials might have combined into complex organic compounds.
o Frederick Soddy coined the phrase "isotopic elements" for elements that share the same
place in the periodic table, 1913.
Feb. 19
b. 1764 Gottlieb Siqismund Kirchhof, applied the first controlled catalytic reaction to produce glucose from starch (1811); developed a method for refining vegetable oil & established a factory in St. Petersburg capable of producing two tons per day; experimented with brewing and fermentation.
b. 1799 Ferdinand Reich codiscovered indium (In, 49) with Hieronymus T. Richter, 1863.
b. 1859 Svante A. Arrhenius devised a theory of electrolytic dissociation; researcher in viscosity & reaction rates; Nobel Prize (1903) in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered to the advancement of chemistry by his electrolytic theory of dissociation.
o One atom of mendelevium (Md, 101) was produced by He bombardment of one billion atoms of 253Es, 1955.
Feb. 20
b. 1836 Isaac Adams, Jr., pioneer inventor in nickel plating.
b. 1844 Ludwig Boltzman, developed kinetic theory of gases and statistical mechanics; Stefan-Boltzmann law concerning a relationship between the temperature of a body and the radiation it emits.
b. 1901 Henry Eyring, developed transition-state theory of chemical kinetics & constructed first potential energy surface for a reaction.
b. 1937 Robert Huber, researcher on the three-dimensional structure of proteins involved in photosynthesis; Nobel Prize (1988) with Johann Deisenhofer & Hartmut Michel for the determination of the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre.
Feb. 21
b. 1791 John Mercer invented process of treating cotton with caustic soda producing mercerized cotton; discoverer of certain calico dyes.
b. 1822 Oliver W. Gibbs, pioneer in inorganic & analytical chemistry.
Feb. 22
b. 1879 Johannes N. Brönsted offered acid-base theory (Brönsted-Lowry), 1923; researcher in kinetics, properties of ions, catalysis & nitramide.
b. 1902 Fritz Strassman, with Otto Hahn and Lise Mietner, discovered neutron- induced nuclear fission in uranium (1938); codeveloped the rubidium-strontium technique of radio-dating geological samples.
o Frederich Wöhler in a letter to Jöns J. Berzelius, announced the synthesis of urea from ammonium cyanate, asking whether this is a true synthesis of organic from inorganic material, 1828.
o US releases $1 million worth of uranium for peaceful atomic power, 1956.
Feb. 23
b. 1884 Casimir Funk, isolated nicotinic acid from rice polishing & used against pellagra; pursued the idea that diseases such as beriberi, scurvy, rickets and pellagra were caused by lack of vital substances in the diet
b. 1924 Lejaren A. Hiller, Jr., researcher in cellulose chemistry & co-inventor of computer music with Leonard M. Isaacson; chemist-composer.
o Charles M. Hall is first to produce electrolytic aluminum in his woodshed laboratory at his family's home, 1886.
o Glenn T. Seaborg et al. chemically identified plutonium (Pu, 94) at the University of California, Berkeley, 1941.
Feb. 24
b. 1783 John Gorham, author of early American text, Elements of Chemical Science.
b. 1841 Karl Graebe synthesized organic compounds.
b. 1913 William S. Johnson devised new and efficient methods to synthesize complex molecules including corticoid steroids.
o Observation of first atom of element 107 at GSI Laboratory, Darmstadt, Germany, 1981.
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