The History of Chemistry

A new form, or allotrope, of the element carbon was discovered in the 1980s, and we hear of the story, centering on three chemistry professors: Harry Kroto, Richard Smalley, and Robert Curl. But they couldn't definitively show the molecular structure of their discovery, though they believed strongly, with circumstantial evidence, that it was soccerball-shaped. A few years later, Wolfgang Krät...

We explore the story of a new way to "see" atoms on surfaces invented in the 1970s and 1980s, scanning probe microscopy. We hear of Gerd Binnig, and Heinrich Rohrer, at the Zürich branch of IBM research, and how they came up with the scanning tunneling microscope in the late 1970s. Then in the mid-1980s, more IBM researchers invented a sibling technique, atomic force microscopy, which is...

We talk about the development of the metric system, the units chemists use in their laboratories and calculations. We start with John Wilkins and Gabriel Mouton, who were ahead of their time in proposing a universal system of units. After the French Revolution, Talleyrand sponsored a logical set of units for France, which became the metric system. We talk about the early units of metric measuremen...

In this episode we talk about the second successful method to make laboratory diamonds, chemical vapor deposition, invented by William Eversole of Union Carbide in 1958. The method was slowly improved over the 1960s and 70s in the USA and Soviet Union, but took a huge leap forward with S. Matsumoto’s research in Japan in the early 1980s. Then we discuss uses for CVD diamonds, and details of making...

We talk of historical developments in surface chemistry of the 1960s and 1970s. With new ultra-high-vacuum chambers now available, chemists began to study the surface structure of metals, oxides, and other salts, plus semiconductors. They discovered surface relaxation and reconstruction. They employed techniques such as electron-diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy, along with Auger-electron...

We discuss the origins of names in organic chemistry, starting the with chaos when Lavoisier and friends didn't create such a terminology in the 1780s. August Hofmann, in the 1860s, began to systematize things for his students, but it didn't take hold. Charles Friedel, though, got an International Congress of Chemistry in 1889 to consider the problem, which created an 1892 Geneva Nomencl...

Rather than talk about how chemistry changed society, this episode discusses the inverse: how society changed chemistry, and for the better. We talk much about the 1973 sex-discrimination lawsuit which Dr. Shyamala Rajender filed against the University of Minnesota and its chemistry department, and how sexism pervaded many academic chemistry departments throughout the USA, even for decades thereaf...

We learn about the development of the LED, the rival display technology to the LCD. We start with Henry Round's 1907 observations, "Losev light" as per Oleg Losev in the 1920s and the patent he obtained, Rubin Braunstein of RCA in the 1950s, Kurt Lehovec's model of LEDs in the 1950s, then Robert Biard and Gary Pittman at Texas Instruments in 1961. The first inarguable LED was b...

This episode covers the 1960s history of RCA's work on liquid crystal displays, their version of a TV screen one can hang on a wall. We begin with Richard Williams in 1962, who discovered that liquid crystals get a "crinkled" look under a microscope when you apply voltage. George Heilmeier then discovered a guest-host effect with liquid crystals, and even more, found dynamic scatter...

We hear about such chemistry-related inventions NASA was involved in during the 1960s and 1970s: Mylar blankets, lithium hydroxide to absorb carbon dioxide, silicate anticorrosion coatings, memory foam, scratch-resistant coatings for lenses, spectroscopic water-quality monitoring, special rubber for tires, antifogging spray for optics, non-flammable cloth, and special tiles for spacecraft re-entry...

The 1970s brought more environmental concerns: Acid rain, as described by Gene Likens, Herbert Bormann, and Noye Johnson in the USA, and Svante Odén in Europe. Their combined effort brought forth international cooperation to protect agriculture, architecture, and culture. Sherwood Roland and Mario Molina discovered that chlorofluorocarbons, the magic chemicals for refrigeration since the 1920s, wo...

This episode shows the give and take between applied physics, that is, the development of the laser, and chemistry, that is, media in which laser action can take place. We start with Albert Einstein's idea, Valentin Fabrikant's doctoral dissertation and (initially failing) patent. But simultaneously Charles Townes came up with a maser, producing microwaves, and his brother-in-law, Arthur...

In this episode we hear of developments in the 1970s concerning polymers such as polycarbonate, Hytrel®, PET, polyacetals, Vamac®, PEEK, fluoroelastomers, use of metallocenes to fine-tune properties of polyethylene, and conductive polymers, both inorganic and organic. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E...

We see how naming inorganic compounds has evolved from the early 18th century to now. Initially chemists named compounds by their properties or origin. Then Lavoisier and friends created a new naming scheme based on elemental constituents, but this scheme didn't allow for multiple compounds with different amounts of elements. A variety of schemes appeared in the 19th and early 20th centuries,...

We review the other three of Japan's Big Four Pollution Diseases: Minamata disease, discovered in the 1950s and understood by the late 1960s; Yokkaichi asthma, discovered around 1960 and mostly understood by the early 1970s; and Niigata Minamata disease, discovered in 1965 and resolved by 1971. All four were created by corporations polluting the local environment, and then denying their activ...

We hear about the discovery of liquid crystals by Friedrich Reinitzer in 1888, through Georges Friedel's compendium in 1922 describing main types of liquid crystals. Around that time the first electromagnetic properties of liquid crystals were described by M. Jezewski, and further researched by W. Kast, Vsevolod Frederiks, and A. Repiewa. The first use of these properties was patented by the...

We examine the founding of the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry, the organization that sets standards for names of elements and compounds, starting with the first international chemical congress at Karlsruhe, Germany, the 1892 Geneva Rules, a 1911 International Association of Chemical Societies, and finally the IUPAC founded in 1919. We look at some of the controversies over comm...

We discuss the discovery of elements 93 to 103, from 1940 through the early 1960s. We hear of Enrico Fermi's work, Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner's discovery of fission, McMillan and Abelson's success, and then the long tenure of Glenn Seaborg discovering elements. Albert Ghiorso was added to the mix. There were Cold War controversies over discoveries at Berkeley versus Dubna and even t...

In this episode we encounter for the first time early chemistry of surfaces, including the problem of how to separate the effects of a surface versus the rest of a chunk of material. Pliny the Elder first talked of surface effects, and Benjamin Franklin did some experiments in London. We hear of 19th-century Anne Pockels and her apparatus to measure surface effects of soap in water. Then we learn...

The 1960s continued to bring forth new polymers: Stephanie Kwolek, and Kevlar; Wilfred Sweeney and Nomex; USDA and superabsorbent polymers; ionomers; polysulfones; Carl Marvel and polybenzimidazole fibers; and a now-global innovation using polyethylene. We hear about all these polymers, their molecular structures, and the people who developed them. Become a Patreon supporter, and download a supple...

We finally reach the point in our chemical history that environmental chemistry appears, with Rachel Carson, and her book, Silent Spring . We hear about her research and earlier writings, leading up to the publication of the book, and how many chemical organizations and government officials tried to spread “fake news” about her. The second event at this time was Claire Patterson’s work on environm...

In this episode we hear of Robert and Joseph Switzer, brothers who invented fluorescent paints as college students in the 1930s, and parlayed it into an internationally famous business over the next few decades, till fluorescent paints and pigments became popular in the 1960s. The second half of the episode discusses the discovery of fluorescence and  how itworks, and we learn of the difference be...

This episode's topic is World War II and later chemical warfare. Our first stop is with guest Dr. Mara Cohen Ioannides, to discuss Holocaust survivor, chemist, and writer Primo Levi, plus more. Then we learn of Louis Fieser's invention of napalm, which gained notoriety during the Vietnam War. After the Second World War, poisonous nerve compounds were under research in the UK, and we hear...

We talk about rocketry from ancient times up through the early 1960s, concentrating on the chemistry, that is fuels to power rockets. We talk of the initial Chinese rockets and rocket-based toys and gimmicks created by ancient Greeks and Romans. We jump forward to the early 20th century and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who discussed possible rocket fuels for outer-space travel. We hear of the work of R...

This episode discusses the controversy over the carbocation in organic chemistry in the 1950s, and experiments done to resolve the argument through the early 1960s, using superacids, especially in research by George Olah, William von Eggers Doering, and Lawrence H. Knox. We mention the main proponent, Saul Winstein and the main nay-sayer, Herbert Brown. We also take you through the basics of what...