Full Description
A principal aim of this first biography of Robert Le Rossignol, engineer of the Haber process, is to bring new evidence to the attention of the scientific community allowing a re-assessment of the origins of the 'Haber' process. However, the scope of the book is much wider and goes beyond the discovery of 'fixation' to account for a life distinct from Haber, one full of remarkable science, cruel circumstance, personal tragedy and amazing benevolence, the latter made possible by Haber's generous financial arrangement with Le Rossignol regarding his royalties from the BASF.
Contents
Part One: The true story of the discovery of 'fixation'.- Robert Le Rossignol The early years, Victoria College, UCL and Ramsay.- Fritz Haber and Karlsruhe Breslau to Karlsruhe ... an unexpected journey.- Germany and 'fixation' Of the 'Prussian', Chile, and 'fixed' nitrogen.- The Golden Chemist Robert's 'ammonia apprenticeship' at UCL.- Hamburg, May 12th 1907 The Bunsen Society Meeting.- Determination of the ammonia equilibrium under pressure.- Taking care of business Haber's contracts with the BASF and Le Rossignol.- 8. The 'Big Fix' Synthetic ammonia at Karlsruhe.- Part Two: The industrialisation of 'fixation' and the Great War.- The Auergesellschaft, Berlin Tungsten filaments and a pawn in a power game.- Of Koppel and the Kaiser Progress at the BASF, 'fixation' revealed, and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, Berlin.- From Karlsruhe to Oppau Industrialisation of the Haber-Le Rossignol process.- Berlin, 1911-1914 Of patents, publications and the prelude to the Great War.- Haber and the 'Chemists' War'. 1914-1918 Fixation' and gas warfare.- Robert's war. 1914-1918 Internment at Ruhleben, release to the 'Auer' and finally home.- Part Three: The GEC Laboratories, the second world war and retirement.- The Post-War Years, 1919-1930 Of airships, unfinished business from Germany and the GEC Laboratories.- The Post-War Years, 1930-1939 Of CATs, Cambridge and the BBC.- The Second World War and immediate post-war years. 1939-1949 Wembley at war, 'St Helier' and retirement.- Penn, Buckinghamshire. 1949-1976 Retirement years, 'coming out' and remarkable benevolence.- February 2012 A personal pilgrimage to Penn to meet with some who still remember the Le Rossignols.- End Notes and References.- Appendix A: Heat capacity and enthalpy.- Appendix B: The Third Law in action; thermodynamics of the n-butane to iso-butane isomerism.- Appendix C: The Nernst approximation formula.- Appendix D: The Haber(-Le Rossignol) equations 1907-1914.- Appendix E: Thermionic valves.- Appendix F: Robert Le Rossignol's patents. 1909-1956.
