User talk:Paul Wormer/scratchbook1: Difference between revisions
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[http://books.google.nl/books?id=0ekNIaJX3-YC&pg=PP2&dq=Fritz+Haber:+Chemist,+Nobel+Laureate,+German,+Jew:+A+Biography&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Fritz%20Haber%3A%20Chemist%2C%20Nobel%20Laureate%2C%20German%2C%20Jew%3A%20A%20Biography&f=false] | |||
[http://books.google.nl/books?id=0ekNIaJX3-YC&pg=PP2&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Fritz%20Haber%3A%20Chemist | |||
55r556777886434 | |||
1934 [[Basel]]) was a German chemist and a pioneer of [[chemical warfare]]. | %2C%20Nobel%20Laureate%2C%20German%2C%20Jew%3A%20A%20Biography&f=false0 01Ha=[ber''' (9 December 1868, [[Breslau]] – 29 January | ||
1934 [[Basel]]) was a German chemist and a pioneer of [[chemical warfare]]. He was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] in 1918 for the synthesis of [[ammonia]] from the [[chemical element]]s [[hydrogen]] and [[nitrogen]]. | |||
== Life == | == Life == | ||
Fritz Haber was born into a Jewish family. His father, Siegfried Haber, ran a business for dye pigments, paints, and pharmaceuticals. | Fritz Haber was born into a Jewish family. His father, Siegfried Haber, ran a business for dye pigments, paints, and pharmaceuticals. For quite a number of years he also served as city councillor of Breslau (then a German city, now the Polish city of [[Wrocław]]). At Fritz's birth, serious medical complications occurred and the mother, Paula—née Haber, a cousin of Siegfried—died three weeks later. It seemed that Fritz's father blamed the child for the mother's death. This is probably the reason that father and son later in life never became close and that tensions between them arose often. | ||
Haber attended the humanistic gymnasium St. Elizabeth in Breslau, where the curriculum contained German language and literature, Latin, Greek, mathematics and some physics, but hardly any chemistry. Fritz had a keen interest in chemistry, already as a school boy he performed chemical experiments. After finishing the gymnasium (September 29, 1886 at the age of seventeen) | |||
he went to the Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität (usually briefly referred to as the [[University of Berlin]]) to study chemistry under [[August Wilhelm von Hofmann]]. This choice was somewhat against his father's wishes who had preferred a commercial education for his son. Von Hofmann, who was close to seventy at the time, was a poor teacher, the chemistry lab was in a bad shape, and altogether Haber found his first semester in Berlin rather disappointing. He decided to switch to the [[University of Heidelberg]], where he arrived in the summer semester of 1887, to continue his studies under [[Robert Wilhelm Bunsen]]. From mid 1889 until mid 1890 Haber spent time in the army. | |||
In the fall of 1890 he went back to Berlin, this time to the ''Technische Hochschule'' of [[Charlottenburg]] (now the [[Technical University Berlin]]). He worked here under [[Carl Liebermann]] who had a cross appointment at the Berlin University. Charlottenburg did not have the the right to grant doctorates (it received it later, in 1899). Having done his thesis work at Charlottenburg, Haber received formally his doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Berlin (May 1891) on basis of a thesis entitled ''Über einige Derivate des Piperonal'' (on some derivatives of [[Piperonal]]). | |||
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In 1893, Haber converted to the [[Protestantism|Protestant]]-Christian faith against his father's wishes. | |||
After completing his University studies he voluntarily worked for a time in his father's business and, being interested in chemical technology, he also worked for a while under Professor [[Georg Lunge]] at the [[Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich|Institute of Technology]] at Zurich. He then finally decided to take up a scientific career and went for one and a half years to work with Ludwig Knorr at Jena, publishing with him a joint paper on diacetosuccinic ester. Still uncertain whether to devote himself to chemistry or physics, he accepted, an assistantship at the [[Technical University of Karlsruhe]] under the Professor of Chemical Technology there, [[Hans Bunte]]. He took his ''Habilitation'' in 1896 with the dissertation entitle ''Experimental Studies on the Decomposition of Hydrocarbons''. This hydrocarbon work had induced in him a liking for thermodynamics, which soon expanded into a liking for the then emerging area of physical chemistry. Haber's colleague and friend Hans Luggin, a former student of Svante Arrhenius, acted as catalyst. Haber rapidly metamorphosed into an extraordinary physical chemist who dominated and shaped the subject for the rest of his life. | |||
Bunte was especially interested in combustion chemistry and Carl Engler, who was also there, introduced Haber to the study of petroleum and Haber's subsequent work was greatly influenced by these two colleagues. Haber remained in Karlsruhe until 1911. | |||
Two years later in 1898, Haber published the textbook "Fundamentals of practical electrochemistry" | |||
in Karlsruhe and was appointed extraordinary [[professor]] of [[Chemical Technology]]. In 1906 he succeeded [[Max Le Blanc]] to the chair of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry in Karlsruhe. | |||
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Professor: Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, Berlin-Dahlem (1911-33) | Professor: Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, Berlin-Dahlem (1911-33) | ||
Professor: Chemistry, University of Berlin (1911-33) | Professor: Chemistry, University of Berlin (1911-33) | ||
From 1904 on Haber worked on the catalytic formation of ammonia. In 1905 he published his book "Thermodynamics of technical gas reactions", which treats the foundations of his subsequent thermo-chemical work. Haber applied on 13 October 1908 at the German Imperial Patent Office in Berlin for patent regarding a "method for synthetic preparation of ammonia from its elements" that was granted on the 8th of June 1911. Meanwhile, Haber had signed an employee contract with the [[BASF]] and you leave the patent to the economic recovery.<ref> Guenther | From 1904 on Haber worked on the catalytic formation of ammonia. In 1905 he published his book "Thermodynamics of technical gas reactions", which treats the foundations of his subsequent thermo-chemical work. Haber applied on 13 October 1908 at the German Imperial Patent Office in Berlin for patent regarding a "method for synthetic preparation of ammonia from its elements" that was granted on the 8th of June 1911. Meanwhile, Haber had signed an employee contract with the [[BASF]] and you leave the patent to the economic recovery.<ref> Guenther | ||
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* Dietrich Stoltzenberg:''Fritz Haber: Chemist, Nobel Laureate, German, Jew''. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1998, ISBN 3-527-29573-9. | * Dietrich Stoltzenberg:''Fritz Haber: Chemist, Nobel Laureate, German, Jew''. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1998, ISBN 3-527-29573-9. | ||
* Margit Szollosi-Janze:''Fritz Haber. 1868-1934. A Biography''. Beck, Munich 1998, ISBN -406-43548-3. Commonscat | * Margit Szollosi-Janze:''Fritz Haber. 1868-1934. A Biography''. Beck, Munich 1998, ISBN -406-43548-3. Commonscat | ||
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Revision as of 06:48, 1 March 2010
[http://books.google.nl/books?id=0ekNIaJX3-YC&pg=PP2&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Fritz%20Haber%3A%20Chemist
55r556777886434 %2C%20Nobel%20Laureate%2C%20German%2C%20Jew%3A%20A%20Biography&f=false0 01Ha=[ber (9 December 1868, Breslau – 29 January 1934 Basel) was a German chemist and a pioneer of chemical warfare. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for the synthesis of ammonia from the chemical elements hydrogen and nitrogen.
Life
Fritz Haber was born into a Jewish family. His father, Siegfried Haber, ran a business for dye pigments, paints, and pharmaceuticals. For quite a number of years he also served as city councillor of Breslau (then a German city, now the Polish city of Wrocław). At Fritz's birth, serious medical complications occurred and the mother, Paula—née Haber, a cousin of Siegfried—died three weeks later. It seemed that Fritz's father blamed the child for the mother's death. This is probably the reason that father and son later in life never became close and that tensions between them arose often.
Haber attended the humanistic gymnasium St. Elizabeth in Breslau, where the curriculum contained German language and literature, Latin, Greek, mathematics and some physics, but hardly any chemistry. Fritz had a keen interest in chemistry, already as a school boy he performed chemical experiments. After finishing the gymnasium (September 29, 1886 at the age of seventeen) he went to the Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität (usually briefly referred to as the University of Berlin) to study chemistry under August Wilhelm von Hofmann. This choice was somewhat against his father's wishes who had preferred a commercial education for his son. Von Hofmann, who was close to seventy at the time, was a poor teacher, the chemistry lab was in a bad shape, and altogether Haber found his first semester in Berlin rather disappointing. He decided to switch to the University of Heidelberg, where he arrived in the summer semester of 1887, to continue his studies under Robert Wilhelm Bunsen. From mid 1889 until mid 1890 Haber spent time in the army.
In the fall of 1890 he went back to Berlin, this time to the Technische Hochschule of Charlottenburg (now the Technical University Berlin). He worked here under Carl Liebermann who had a cross appointment at the Berlin University. Charlottenburg did not have the the right to grant doctorates (it received it later, in 1899). Having done his thesis work at Charlottenburg, Haber received formally his doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Berlin (May 1891) on basis of a thesis entitled Über einige Derivate des Piperonal (on some derivatives of Piperonal).