The Synthetic Nitrogen Industry in World War I Its Emergence and
This concise brief describes how the demands of World War I, often referred to as the Chemists’ War, led to the rapid emergence of a new key industry based on fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. Then, as now, nitrogen products, including nitric acid, and ni
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Anthony S. Travis
The Synthetic Nitrogen Industry in World War I Its Emergence and Expansion 123
SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science History of Chemistry
Series editor Seth C. Rasmussen, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10127
Anthony S. Travis
The Synthetic Nitrogen Industry in World War I Its Emergence and Expansion
13
Anthony S. Travis Sidney M. Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
ISSN 2191-5407 ISSN 2191-5415 (electronic) SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science ISSN 2212-991X SpringerBriefs in History of Chemistry ISBN 978-3-319-19356-4 ISBN 978-3-319-19357-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-19357-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015940967 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © The Author(s) 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
In 1909, the German physical chemist Fritz Haber devised an apparatus for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements, hydrogen and nitrogen, under conditions of very high pressure and temperature, in the presence of a catalyst, osmium in particular. Four years later, in September 1913, mainly thanks to the industrial chemist Carl Bosch at BASF, Haber’s method was turned into a process for the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizer. It was, arguably, one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century, and for many certainly the most beneficial. However, the inauguration less than a year before the outbreak of World War I of what became known as the Haber-Bosch process would mean that its earliest large-scale application was to be in the manufacture of explosives for the Kaiser’s armed forces. Nevertheless, and despite much belief to the contrary, then and now, it was not the only important process
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