A Canvas of Thoughts

A Canvas of Thoughts
(A Short Essay)

Concept: Puspendu Paul

Inspired By the thinking of:
Sushmita Biswas

Grateful Thanks To:
Sushmita Biswas
Prasanta Ghoshal
&
All of My Friends

                                         Introduction

Friends,  in childhood we all came to know one thing that, human mind is very swift. There is lots of thinking in human mind in fraction of seconds. Here I am trying to express some of those thinking through my scriber. I express my heartily thanks to Miss Sushmita Biswas whose thinkings inspire me to write such a piece. Thanks a lot to my respected sir Mr. Prasanta Ghoshal for supporting me in all way. Thanks to all of my friends for supporting and cheering me. I hope readers will like it.
                                                 

                         
                                   
                                  A Canvas of Thoughts

Thinking is such a matter, which only can be done by Human beings among this kingdom of creatures living on Earth. Humans use both brain and heart perfectly to think about any matter. Reflection is a complementary part of thinking. Humans are always busy to transform his thinking into reality. The matter that man thinks, in many cases, metamorphoses into a target of his life. There are various kinds of thinking. Some thinkings are good, something are bad, some may be dreams, and some play their role in moulding the direction of life. If we think it for a while, we can understand this clearly. Thinking is short timed in some cases, it might also otherwise stay for long. This thinking produces vanity, boasting, self-centeredness. Let’s look one thing, we play various games in the childhood, such as cricket, carrom, chess, badminton, kabbadi etc. In the fields, our mind thinks ourselves in the image of contemporary star-players and our body languages change with it.
It has two directions. Firstly it produces an unknown spirit in our mind that can help us to improve our game skill. Secondly it produces a self-conceit in the mind that creates violence that becomes fatal in some places as is previously mentioned.  In the similar way when a man makes up for a better outlook, there are also two wings of thought. Firstly, he or she has to look beautiful and secondly again there is also a self-conceit of more being beautiful than others. When students are studying, we see that they are studying only for the good results or good marks and not to know the text subjects. As a result they miss the basic knowledge and they forget it after some time. Here we also see an effort to get good marks and the boastfulness makes him hubristic that lets him think that he or she is the most talented. In many cases, this compels the person to adopt unfair means which in many cases, destroys the future career.

We all know about the great scientist Sir Alfred Nobel. When he invented the dynamite, it was meant to be used for the welfare of mankind. It was easy to break the mountains to build tunnels at less labor. But here we also see the negative perspective of mankind. Some dishonest people used it for the war, destroy the human population. We get various examples in past history where dishonest people with power lust used the progressive things for the destruction of mankind.
It is our duty to ruin the self-conceit from its base. By this pre-occupation of this power lust in human mind, mankind will lose humanity. But self-conceit cannot enter in the minds of everybody. There must have some people in society whose thinking is blissful for the mankind as I mentioned before. These people are always thinking for the society. They nurse the thoughts and help the helpless. There are some people who are also animal lovers. They take care of animals. These types of people are very essential for the purgation of society and nourishing the humanity. But they are seldom found these days.

Friends, who are read this piece, may think about many totally new ideas in it. You may feel those unknown matters which always happen in your mind. Look at one thing, as long as self-conceit is unable to enter in your mind, you can progress yourself. When circumstances produce vanity in your mind, there starts the decay of the self. Of course have a look at other’s development, but don’t be jealous. You should accept it as a healthy competition. Be a competitor to others by which you will progress by the spirit of self progression. What you want must not be the subject matter or your target. It must be remembered not to waste your time in dreams. Just engage your time in your studies. You will reach the self that you aspire to be. Nobody has any power to pull you backward. There are many tests in everyone’s life. But if one of the results of exam is not so good, don’t be depressed. A single exam is not the wholeness of life. Be strongly prepared for any hindrance. There will be a larger exam always in front of you. Let’s strengthen the mind and be spirited and beat all the barriers of life and cross all the hurdles of survival. I hope you will reach the success of not being only a successful human, but to spread humanism, brotherhood, companionship and fellow-feeling.

© Puspendu 2018

Oo Saathi Guitar Chords with Strumming Pattern

O Saathi Guitar Chords And Strumming Pattern – Atif Aslam

IF YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH ARPEGIO PATTERN. THEN YOU MAY FOLLOW THIS PATTERN.

O Saathi Guitar Chords – Baaghi 2

G(320033)

C(032010)

Em(022000)

D(x00232)

Bm(224432)

O Saathi Guitar Strumming Pattern – Atif Aslam

DDU (Chuck) DU

D – Down Strum
U – Up Strum

O Saathi Guitar Chords Progression – Atif Aslam

PLACE A CAPO ON THE FIRST FRET

[Intro :]

(G)-(Em)-(C)-(D)

[G] Allah mujhe dard ke k[C]aabil bana di[G]ya
[Em] Toofan ko hi kashti ka saah[D]il bana diya
[G] Bechainiyan samet ke sa[C]are jahaan [G] ki
[Em] Jab kuch na ban saka to mera [D] dil bana diya

[G] O saathi…
[Bm] Tere bina.. aa haa…
[Em] Saah[C]il [D] dhuaan [G] dhuaan…

[Instrumental :]

(G)-(Em)-(C)-(D)

[Verse :]

[G] Aankhein moonde to jaane kisey d[Em]hoonde
Ki soya jaaye [C] na
Ki soya jaaye [G] na
[G] Maano nindiya piroya jaaye [C] na [D]

[G] Allah mujhe dard ke k[C]aabil bana di[G]ya
[Em] Toofan ko hi kashti ka saah[D]il bana diya
[G] Bechainiyan samet ke saare ja[C]haan [G] ki
[Em] Jab kuch na ban saka toh mera [D] dil bana diya

[G] O saathi…
[Bm] Tere bina.. aa haa…
[Em] Saah[C]il [D] dhuaan [G] dhuaan…

[G] Allah mujhe dard ke kabil [Em] bana diya
[C] Tufaan ko hi kashti ka [Em] saahil bana d[D]iya
[G] Bechainiyan samet ke saare [Em] jaahaan ki
[C] Jab kuch na bann saka to mer[Em]a dil bana di[D]ya

[G] O saathi…
[Bm] Tere bina.. aa haa…
[Em] Saah[C]il [D] dhuaan [G] dhuaan…

Thank you. Visit Again.

TODAY IN CHEMISTRY

June 7th

The American chemist and physicist Robert Mulliken was born on this day in 1896

He won the 1966 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the molecular orbital theory. Mulliken carried out the “fundamental work concerning chemical bonds and the electronic structure” used to determine the molecular structure of a compound.

Robert Sanderson Mulliken (June 7, 1896 – October 31, 1986) was an Americanphysicistand chemist, primarily responsible for the early development of molecular orbital theory, i.e. the elaboration of the molecular orbital method of computing the structure of molecules. Dr. Mulliken received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1966. He received the Priestley Medal in 1983.[2]

Born

Robert Sanderson Mulliken
June 7, 1896
Newburyport, Massachusetts

Died

October 31, 1986 (aged 90)
Arlington, Virginia

Nationality

American

Alma mater

MIT
University of Chicago

Known for

molecular orbital theory

Awards

Peter Debye Award (1963)

Nobel Prize for chemistry (1966)

ForMemRS (1967)[1]

Priestley Medal (1983)

Scientific career

Fields

chemistry, physics

Early years

Mulliken was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His father, Samuel Parsons Mulliken, was a professor of organic chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a child, Robert Mulliken learned the name and botanical classification of plants and, in general, had an excellent, but selective, memory. For example, he learned German well enough to skip the course in scientific German in college, but could not remember the name of his high school German teacher. He also made the acquaintance, while still a child, of the physical chemist Arthur Amos Noyes.

Mulliken helped with some of the editorial work when his father wrote his four-volume text on organic compound identification, and thus became an expert on organic chemical nomenclature.

Education

In high school in Newburyport, Mulliken followed a scientific curriculum. He graduated in 1913 and succeeded in getting a scholarship to MIT which had earlier been won by his father. Like his father, he majored in chemistry. Already as an undergraduate, he conducted his first publishable research: on the synthesis of organic chlorides. Because he was unsure of his future direction, he included some chemical engineering courses in his curriculum and spent a summer touring chemical plants in Massachusetts and Maine. He received his B. S.degree in chemistry from MIT in 1917.

Early career

At this time, the United States had just entered World War I, and Mulliken took a position at American University in Washington, D.C., making poison gasunder James B. Conant. After nine months, he was drafted into the Army's Chemical Warfare Service, but continued on the same task. His laboratory techniques left much to be desired, and he was out of service for months with burns. Later he got a bad case of influenza, and was still in the hospital at war's end.

After the war, he took a job investigating the effects of zinc oxide and carbon black on rubber, but quickly decided that this was not the kind of chemistry he wanted to pursue. So in 1919 he entered the Ph.D.program at the University of Chicago.

Graduate and early postdoctoral education

He got his doctorate in 1921 based on research into the separation of isotopes of mercury by evaporation, and continued in his isotope separation by this method. While at Chicago, he took a course under the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Robert A. Millikan, which exposed him to the old quantum theory. He also became interested in strange molecules after exposure to work by Hermann I. Schlesinger on diborane.

Robert Mulliken, Chicago 1929 (third from right)

At Chicago, he had received a grant from the National Research Council (NRC) which had paid for much of his work on isotope separation. The NRC grant was extended in 1923 for two years so he could study isotope effects on band spectra of such diatomic molecules as boron nitride (BN) (comparing molecules with B10 and B11). He went to Harvard University to learn spectrographic technique from Frederick A. Saunders and quantum theory from E. C. Kemble. At the time, he was able to associate with many future luminaries, including J. Robert Oppenheimer, John H. Van Vleck, and Harold C. Urey. He also met John C. Slater, who had worked with Niels Bohr.

In 1925 and 1927, Mulliken traveled to Europe, working with outstanding spectroscopists and quantum theorists such as Erwin Schrödinger, Paul A. M. Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, Louis de Broglie, Max Born, and Walther Bothe (all of whom eventually received Nobel Prizes) and Friedrich Hund, who was at the time Born's assistant. They all, as well as Wolfgang Pauli, were developing the new quantum mechanics that would eventually supersede the old quantum theory. Mulliken was particularly influenced by Hund, who had been working on quantum interpretation of band spectra of diatomic molecules, the same spectra which Mulliken had investigated at Harvard. In 1927 Mulliken worked with Hund and as a result developed his molecular orbital theory, in which electrons are assigned to states that extend over an entire molecule. In consequence, molecular orbital theory was also referred to as the Hund-Mulliken theory.

Early scientific career

From 1926 to 1928, he taught in the physicsdepartment at New York University (NYU). This was his first recognition as a physicist; though his work had been considered important by chemists, it clearly was on the borderline between the two sciences and both would claim him from this point on. Then he returned to the University of Chicago as an associate professor of physics, being promoted to full professor in 1931. He would ultimately hold a position jointly in both the physics and chemistry departments. At both NYU and Chicago, he continued to refine his molecular-orbital theory.

Up to this point, the primary way to calculate the electronic structure of molecules was based on a calculation by Walter Heitler and Fritz London on the hydrogen molecule (H2) in 1927. With the conception of hybridized atomic orbitals by John C. Slater and Linus Pauling, which rationalized observed molecular geometries, the method was based on the premise that the bonds in any molecule could be described in a manner similar to the bond in H2, namely, as overlapping atomic orbitals centered on the atoms involved. Since it corresponded to chemists' ideas of localized bonds between pairs of atoms, this method (called the Valence-Bond (VB) or Heitler-London-Slater-Pauling (HLSP) method), was very popular. However, particularly in attempting to calculate the properties of excited states (molecules that have been excited by some source of energy), the VB method does not always work well. With its description of the electron wave functions in molecules as delocalized molecular orbitals that possess the same symmetry as the molecule, Hund and Mulliken's molecular-orbital method, including contributions by John Lennard-Jones, proved to be more flexible and applicable to a vast variety of types of molecules and molecular fragments, and has eclipsed the valence-bond method. As a result of this development, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1966.

Mulliken became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1936, the youngest member in the organization's history, at that time. He was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRs) in 1967.[1]

Mulliken population analysis is named after him, a method of assigning charges to atoms in a molecule.

Personal life

On December 24, 1929,[3] he married Mary Helen von Noé, daughter of Adolf Carl Noé, a geology professor at the University of Chicago.[4] They had two daughters.

Later years

In 1934, he derived a new scale for measuring the electronegativity of elements. This does not entirely correlate with the scale of Linus Pauling, but is generally in close correspondence.

In World War II, from 1942 to 1945, Mulliken directed the Information Office for the University of Chicago's Plutonium project. Afterward, he developed mathematical formulas to enable the progress of the molecular-orbital theory.

In 1952 he began to apply quantum mechanics to the analysis of the reaction between Lewis acid and basemolecules. (See Acid-base reaction theories.) He became Distinguished Professor of Physics and Chemistry in 1961 and continued in his studies of molecular structure and spectra, ranging from diatomic molecules to large complex aggregates. In 1981, Mulliken became a founding member of the World Cultural Council.[5] He retired in 1985. His wife died in 1975.

At the age of 90, Mulliken died of congestive heart failure at his daughter's home in Arlington, Virginia on October 31, 1986. His body was returned to Chicagofor burial

Source : www.wikipedia.org

TODAY IN CHEMISTRY

June 6th

The American chemist Richard Smalley was born on this day in 1943

Smalley shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Curl Jr. and Harold Kroto for the discovery of the fullerenes. These are forms of carbon that are either spherical (buckminsterfullerene), tubular (carbon nanotubes) or planar (graphene)

Richard Errett Smalley :-

Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry and a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University, in Houston, Texas. In 1996, along with Robert Curl, also a professor of chemistry at Rice, and Harold Kroto, a professor at the University of Sussex, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of a new form of carbon, buckminsterfullerene, also known as buckyballs. He was an advocate of nanotechnology and its applications.

Early life and education

Smalley, the youngest of 4 siblings, was born in Akron, Ohio on June 6, 1943 to Frank Dudley Smalley, Jr., and Esther Virginia Rhoads. He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Richard Smalley credits his father, mother and aunt as formative influences in industry, science and chemistry. His father, Frank Dudley Smalley, Jr. worked with mechanical and electrical equipment and eventually became CEO of a trade journal for farm implements called Implement and Tractor. His mother, Esther Rhoads Smalley, completed her B.A. Degree while Richard was a teenager. She was particularly inspired by mathematician Norman N. Royall Jr., who taught Foundations of Physical Science, and communicated her love of science to her son through long conversations and joint activities. Smalley's mother's sister, pioneering woman chemist Sara Jane Rhoads, interested Smalley in the field of chemistry, letting him work in her organic chemistry laboratory, and suggesting that he attend Hope College, which had a strong chemistry program.

Smalley attended Hope College for two years before transferring to the University of Michigan where he received his Bachelor of Science in 1965. Between his studies, he worked in industry, where he developed his unique managerial style. He received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Princeton University in 1973 with Prof. E. R. Bernstein. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago from 1973 to 1976, with Donald Levy and Lennard Wharton where he was a pioneer in the development of supersonicbeam laser spectroscopy.

Career

In 1976, Smalley joined Rice University. In 1982, he was appointed to the Gene and Norman Hackerman Chair in Chemistry at Rice. He helped to found the Rice Quantum Institute in 1979, serving as Chairman from 1986 to 1996. In 1990, he became also a Professor in the Department of Physics. In 1990, he helped to found the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. In 1996, he was appointed its Director.

He became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1990, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991.

Fullerenes

Smalley's research in physical chemistry investigated formation of inorganic and semiconductor clusters using pulsed molecular beams and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. As a consequence of this expertise, Robert Curl introduced him to Harry Kroto in order to investigate a question about the constituents of astronomical dust. These are carbon-rich grains expelled by old stars such as R Coronae Borealis. The result of this collaboration was the discovery of C₆₀ (Known as Buckyballs) and the fullerenes as the third allotropic form of carbon.

The research that earned Kroto, Smalley and Curl the Nobel Prize mostly comprised three articles. First was the discovery of C₆₀ in the Nov. 14, 1985, issue of Nature, "C₆₀: Buckminsterfullerene". The second article detailed the discovery of the endohedral fullerenes in "Lanthanum Complexes of Spheroidal Carbon Shells" in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (1985). The third announced the discovery of the fullerenes in "Reactivity of Large Carbon Clusters: Spheroidal Carbon Shells and Their Possible Relevance to the Formation and Morphology of Soot" in the Journal of Physical Chemistry(1986).

Although only three people can be cited for a Nobel Prize, graduate students James R. Heath, Yuan Liu, and Sean C. O'Brien participated in the work. Smalley mentioned Heath and O'Brien in his Nobel Lecture. Heath went on to become a professor at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and O'Brien joined Texas Instruments and is now at MEMtronics. Yuan Liu is a Senior Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

This research is significant for the discovery of a new allotrope of carbon known as a fullerene. Other allotropes of carbon include graphite, diamond and graphene. Harry Kroto's 1985 paper entitled "C60: Buckminsterfullerine", published with colleagues J. R. Heath, S. C. O’Brien, R. F. Curl, and R. E. Smalley, was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, presented to Rice University in 2015. The discovery of fullerenes was recognized in 2010 by the designation of a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society at the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Nanotechnology

Following nearly a decade's worth of research into the formation of alternate fullerene compounds (e.g. C₂₈, C₇₀), as well as the synthesis of endohedral metallofullerenes (M@C₆₀), reports of the identification of carbon nanotube structures led Smalley to begin investigating their iron-catalyzed synthesis.

As a consequence of these researches, Smalley was able to persuade the administration of Rice University under then-president Malcolm Gillis to create Rice's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) focusing on any aspect of molecular nanotechnology. It was renamed The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology after Smalley's death in 2005, and has since merged with the Rice Quantum Institute, becoming the Smalley-Curl Institute (SCI) in 2015.

Smalley's latest research was focused on carbon nanotubes, specifically focusing on the chemical synthesis side of nanotube research. He is well known for his group's invention of the high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPco) method of producing large batches of high-quality nanotubes. Smalley spun off his work into a company, Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. and associated nanotechnologies.

Dispute on molecular assemblers

Main article: Drexler–Smalley debate on molecular nanotechnology

He was an outspoken skeptic of the idea of molecular assemblers, as advocated by K. Eric Drexler. His main scientific objections, which he termed the “fat fingers problem" and the "sticky fingers problem”, argued against the feasibility of molecular assemblers being able to precisely select and place individual atoms. He also believed that Drexler’s speculations about apocalyptic dangers of molecular assemblers threatened the public support for development of nanotechnology. He debated Drexler in an exchange of letters which were published in Chemical & Engineering News as a point-counterpoint feature.

Advocacy

Starting in the late 1990s, Smalley advocated for the need for cheap, clean energy, which he described as the number one problem facing humanity in the 21st century. He described what he called "The Terawatt Challenge", the need to develop a new power source capable of increasing "our energy output by a minimum factor of two, the generally agreed-upon number, certainly by the middle of the century, but preferably well before that."

He also presented a list entitled "Top Ten Problems of Humanity for Next 50 Years".It can be interesting to compare his list, in order of priority, to the Ten Threats formulated by the U.N.'s High Level Threat Panel in 2004. Smalley's list, in order of priority, was:

Energy

Water

Food

Environment

Poverty

Terrorism & war

Disease

Education

Democracy

Population

Smalley regarded several problems as interlinked: the lack of people entering the fields of science and engineering, the need for an alternative to fossil fuels, and the need to address global warming. He felt that improved science education was essential, and strove to encourage young students to consider careers in science. His slogan for this effort was "Be a scientist, save the world."

Smalley was a leading advocate of the National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2003.Suffering from hair loss and weakness as a result of his chemotherapy treatments, Smalley testified before the congressional testimonies, arguing for the potential benefits of nanotechnology in the development of targeted cancer therapies. Bill 189, the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, was introduced in the Senate on January 16, 2003 by Senator Ron Wyden, passed the Senate on November 18, 2003, and at the House of Representatives the next day with a 405–19 vote. President George W. Bush signed the act into law on December 3, 2003, as Public Law 108- 153. Smalley was invited to attend.

Personal life

Smalley was married four times, to Judith Grace Sampieri (1968-1978), Mary L. Chapieski (1980-1994), JoNell M. Chauvin (1997-1998) and Deborah Sheffield (2005), and had two sons, Chad Richard Smalley (born June 8, 1969) and Preston Reed Smalley (born August 8, 1997).

In 1999, Smalley was diagnosed with cancer. Smalley died of leukemia, variously reported as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, on October 28, 2005, at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, at the age of 62.

Upon Smalley's death, the US Senate passed a resolution to honor Smalley, crediting him as the "Father of Nanotechnology."

Christianity during final years

Smalley, who had taken classes in religion as well as science at Hope College, rediscovered his Christian foundation in later life, particularly during his final years while battling cancer. During the final year of his life, Smalley wrote: "Although I suspect I will never fully understand, I now think the answer is very simple: it's true. God did create the universe about 13.7 billion years ago, and of necessity has involved Himself with His creation ever since."

At the Tuskegee University's 79th Annual Scholarship Convocation/Parents' Recognition Program he was quoted making the following statement regarding the subject of evolution while urging his audience to take seriously their role as the higher species on this planet. "'Genesis' was right, and there was a creation, and that Creator is still involved... We are the only species that can destroy the Earth or take care of it and nurture all that live on this very special planet. I'm urging you to look on these things. For whatever reason, this planet was built specifically for us. Working on this planet is an absolute moral code. ... Let's go out and do what we were put on Earth to do." Old Earth creationist and astronomer Hugh Ross spoke at Smalley's funeral, November 2, 2005.

Publications

Smalley, R.E. "Supersonic bare metal cluster beams. Final report", Rice University, United States Department of Energy—Office of Energy Research, (Oct. 14, 1997).

Smalley, R.E. "Supersonic Bare Metal Cluster Beams. Technical Progress Report, March 16, 1984 - April 1, 1985", Rice University, United States Department of Energy—Office of Basic Energy Sciences, (Jan. 1, 1985).

Honors

Fellowships

Harold W. Dodds Fellow, Princeton University, 1973

Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1978–1980

Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1987

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2003

Awards and prizes

Irving Langmuir Prize in Chemical Physics, American Physical Society, 1991

Popular Science Magazine Grand Award in Science & Technology, 1991

APS International Prize for New Materials, 1992 (Joint with R. F. Curl & H. W. Kroto)

Ernest O. Lawrence Memorial Award, U.S. Department of Energy, 1992

Welch Award in Chemistry, Robert A. Welch Foundation, 1992

Auburn-G.M. Kosolapoff Award, Auburn Section, American Chemical Society, 1992

Southwest Regional Award, American Chemical Society, 1992

William H. Nichols Medal, New York Section, American Chemical Society, 1993

The John Scott Award, City of Philadelphia, 1993

Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize, European Physical Society, 1994 (with Wolfgang Kraetschmer, Don Huffman and Harold Kroto)

Harrison Howe Award, Rochester Section, American Chemical Society, 1994

Madison Marshall Award, North Alabama Section, American Chemical Society, 1995

Franklin Medal, The Franklin Institute, 1996

Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 1996

Distinguished Civilian Public Service Award, Department of the Navy, 1997

American Carbon Society Medal, 1997

Top 75 Distinguished Contributors, Chemical & Engineering News, 1998

Lifetime Achievement Award, Small Times Magazine, 2003

Glenn T. Seaborg Medal, University of California at Los Angeles, 2002

Distinguished Alumni Award, Hope College, 2005

50th Anniversary Visionary Award, SPIE – International Society for Optical Engineering, 2005

National Historic Chemical Landmark, American Chemical Society, 2010

Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award, Division of History of Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 2015

TODAY IN CHEMISTRY

Johan Gadolin

Nationality  Finnish
Education  Uppsala University
Fields  Chemistry
Known for  Yttrium

Name  Johan Gadolin
Parents  Jakob Gadolin
Role  Chemist
Discovered  Yttrium

Born  June 5, 1760 Turku (1760-06-05)
Died  August 15, 1852, Mynamaki, Finland

Johan Gadolin (5 June 1760 – 15 August 1852) was a Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist. Gadolin discovered a "new earth" containing the first rare-earth compound yttrium, which was later determined to be a chemical element. He is also considered the founder of Finnish chemistry research, as the second holder of the Chair of Chemistry at the Royal Academy of Turku (or Åbo Kungliga Akademi). Gadolin was knighted three times.

Early life and education

Johan Gadolin was born in Åbo (Finnish name Turku), Finland (then a part of Sweden). Johan was the son of Jakob Gadolin, professor of physics and theology at Åbo. Johan began to study mathematics at the Royal Academy of Turku (Åbo Kungliga Akademi) when he was fifteen. Later he changed his major to chemistry, studying with Pehr Adrian Gadd, the first chair of chemistry at Åbo.

In 1779 Gadolin moved to Uppsala University. In 1781, he published his dissertation Dissertatio chemica de analysi ferri ("On the analysis of iron"), under the direction of Torbern Bergman. Bergman founded an important research school, and many of his students, including Gadolin, Johan Gottlieb Gahn, and Carl Wilhelm Scheele, became close friends.

Career

Gadolin was fluent in Latin, Finnish, Russian, German, English and French in addition to his native Swedish. He was a candidate for the chair of chemistry at Uppsala in 1784, but Johann Afzelius was selected instead. Gadolin become an extraordinary professor at Åbo in 1785 (an unpaid position). Beginning in 1786, he made a chemical "grand tour" of Europe, visiting universities and mines in various countries. He worked with Lorenz Crell, editor of the journal Chemische Annalen in Germany, and with Adair Crawford and Richard Kirwan in Ireland.

Gadolin was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1790.

Sponsored Links

Gadolin became the ordinary professor of chemistry at the Royal Academy of Turku in 1797, after the death of Pehr Adrian Gadd. He retained the position until his retirement in 1822. He was one of the first chemists who gave laboratory exercises to students. He even allowed the students to use his private laboratory.

Chemical achievements

Gadolin made contributions in a variety of areas.

Although he never visited France, he became a proponent of Antoine Lavoisier's theory of combustion. Gadolin's Inledning till Chemien (1798) was the first chemistry textbook in the Nordic countries that questioned the theory of phlogiston and discussed the role of oxygen in combustion in a modern way.

Studies of heat

Gadolin studied the relationship of heat to chemical changes, in particular, the ability of different substances to absorb heat (specific heat) and the absorption of heat during state changes (latent heat). This thermochemical work required extremely precise measurements. Gadolin published important papers on specific heat by 1784, and on the latent heat of steam in 1791. He demonstrated that the heat of ice was equal to the heat of snow, and published a standard set of heat tables.

"The best series of experiments on the distribution of heat among different bodies was performed before the year 1784 by Professor Gadolin of Åbo, who, rejecting the notion of Capacity, introduced the unexceptionable expression, Specific Heat. One of the most beautiful consequences derived from this theory, was the determination of the absolute zero or lowest point in the scale of Heat."

Yttrium, the first rare-earth element

Gadolin became famous for his description of the first rare-earth element, yttrium. In 1792 Gadolin received a sample of black, heavy mineral found in a quarry in the Swedish village Ytterby near Stockholm by Carl Axel Arrhenius. By careful experiments, Gadolin determined that approximately 38% of the sample was a previously unknown "earth", an oxide which was later named yttria. Yttria, or yttrium oxide, was the first known rare-earth metal compound — at that time, it was not yet regarded as an element in the modern sense. His work was published in 1794.

The mineral that Gadolin examined was named gadolinite in 1800. The element gadolinium and its oxide gadolinia were named after Gadolin by its discoverers.

In an earlier paper in 1788 Gadolin showed that the same element can show several oxidation states, in his case Sn(II) and Sn(IV) 'by combining itself with larger or smaller amounts of the calcinating substance'. He vividly described the disproportionation reaction:

2 Sn(II) ⇌ Sn(0) + Sn(IV).

Analytical chemistry

Having established the composition of Prussian blue, Gadolin suggested a method for precipitating ferrous iron as ferro ferricyanide, preceding the work of Gay-Lussac by forty years.

Reports of many of Gadolin’s chemical investigations appeared in German in Crell’s Chemische Annalen für die Freunde der Naturlehre, Arzneygelahrheit, Haushaltungskeit und Manufacturen. In 1825 he published Systema fossilium analysibus chemicis examinatorum secundum partium constitutivarum rationes ordinatorium, a system of mineral classification based upon chemical principles. The introduction outlines Gadolin's theories, and the text presents mineral species in a systematic ordering.

One of Gadolin's latest studies was the chemical analysis of the Chinese alloy pak tong in 1810 and 1827. Also known as alpacca or German silver, it was a less expensive silver substitute often containing copper, zinc, nickel, and tin.

Gadolin is also famous for publishing one of the earliest examples of counter-current condensers. In 1791 he improved a condenser design of his father's by using the "counter-current principle". By requiring water coolant to flow uphill, the effectiveness of the condenser was increased. This principle was later used by Justus Liebig, in what is today usually referred to as a Liebig condenser.

Awards

Gadolin was knighted three times, and is registered under number 245 in the Finnish House of Nobility (Riddarhuset). He was titled Sir Johan Gadolin, Knight of the Orders of St. Wladimir and St. Anne. His heraldic device was:

Argent, on a bend Azure with two mullets Or between a rose Gules and crystals Proper.

Later life

Johan Gadolin married first, at age 35, Hedvig Tihleman, with whom he had nine children. After his wife’s death he married, at age 59, Ebba Palander. Gadolin retired as professor emeritus in 1822 at age 62, a mandatory age of retirement. He moved to a country estate where he lived for another 30 years. He died in Mynämäki, Finland on 15 August 1852.

The "Great Fire of 1827" started in a bakery and damaged or destroyed much of the town of Åbo. Gadolin's laboratory and collection of minerals, located near the cathedral, were destroyed.

TODAY IN CHEMISTRY

June 4th

Societé Chimique de France (the French Chemical Society) was founded on this day in 1857

The Society was originally modeled on the British Chemical Society, the precursor of the RSC. It seeks to foster the communication of new ideas and facts throughout France and across international borders.

TODAY IN CHEMISTRY

June 3rd

American inventor Emmett Joseph Culligan died on this day in 1970

He invented the Culligan water softener system that made water softening available to home users. These systems reduce the amount of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and other metal cations found in hard water. He founded the Culligan international water treatment products company in 1936.

Source : www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/collections/chemistry-calendar