science newsletter: Newsletter for Wednesday 20 February

Newsletter - February 20 - Today in Science History

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER - 20 FEBRUARY

Feature for Today

On 20 Feb 1907, Henri Moissan died, aged 54. He is yet another example of one of the great chemists of yesteryear whose name most students of chemistry will not recognize. He might get a mention in a textbook, enough to say "Fluorine was first isolated by Henri Moissan in 1886." The textbook will inform you of the great reactivity of fluorine, etc., etc., and yet not go in to detail on how this made the task of separating it from its compounds an extreme challenge.

Others before Moissan knew of the element fluorine, from its compounds, but never were able to isolate it. Not even the great Humphry Davy (who isolated the reactive sodium and potassium elements).

Fluorine is a nasty gas. Toxic, and injurious far beyond even the effects of chlorine, its room-mate on the Periodic Table. Some say Moissan's life was probably shortened as a result of exposure to fluorine and toxic compounds during his extensive research on the element, though the immediately apparent cause of death was acute appendicitis.

He lived long enough to be awarded a Nobel Prize in 1906, recognising his accomplishments, not only in isolating fluorine, but also for inventing an electric arc furnace than enabled studying chemical reactions at far higher temperatures than were possible before.

Today you can read a talk on Fluorine given by Moissan himself, and learn first-hand about the history of research of fluorine compounds by great chemists before he managed to isolate it. He describes how he figured out a way to pry fluorine loose from a compound, and its dazzling attacks on other elements.

As you read, perhaps you can imagine Moissan at the lecture podium! As if you were there, feel the excitement of the audience hearing the story of Fluorine, in his own words, directly from the man that isolated the element.

More on his work with the electric arc furnace he devised, and his pursuit of artificial diamonds made from charcoal, can be read in this Obituary.

For a different topic, related to 20 Feb 1835, there is interesting reading about the experience of a scientist (who you'll name in the quiz below) of a dramatic earthquake in Chile and the changes it caused in local volcanic activity. This was impressive evidence that major changes were occuring on the Earth's surface, even in his present time, quite contradictory to the uniformitarian views of his contemporaries. Read a description in this book extract, of the scientist's own narrative.

Book of the Day

On 20 Feb 1901, René Dubos was born, a French-born American microbiologist, environmentalist, and author who pioneered research in isolating antibacterial substances from certain soil microorganisms and the discovery of major antibiotics. Today's Science Store pick is Rene Dubos, Friend of the Good Earth: Microbiologist, Medical Scientist, Environmentalist, by Carol L. Moberg, who presents the biography of one of the most influential scientists in recent history describing his tremendous impact on science, medicine, society, and the environment. The issues he raised, including antibiotic resistance, the interrelatedness of environmental health to human health, and the potential danger of relying too heavily on vaccines and drugs to eradicate disease, continue to be provocative and increasingly relevant today. A prolific author and a passionate humanist, Dubos also served as the conscience of the environmental movement.

Yesterday's pick: Arrhenius: From Ionic Theory to the Greenhouse Effect, by Elisabeth Crawford
For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science Science Store home page.

Quotations for Today
	"One great discovery does not betoken a great scientist; science now and then selects insignificant standard bearers to display its banners." - René Dubos, French microbiologist (born 20 Feb 1901)
	"S = k log Ω." - [Carved above his name on his tombstone in the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna] - Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (born 20 Feb 1844)
	"Mathematics began to seem too much like puzzle solving. Physics is puzzle solving, too, but of puzzles created by nature, not by the mind of man." - Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German physicist (died 20 Feb 1972)

QUIZ
Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page.
Births
	René (Jules) Dubos was a French-born American microbiologist, born 20 Feb 1901, who pioneered research in isolating antibacterial substances from certain microorganisms and the discovery of major antibiotics. He died on 20 Feb 1901. *Can you complete this four-word environmental motto he popularized (and some say he coined)? "Think ... ."*
Deaths
	A Russian chemist (1834-1907) developed the periodic classification of the elements. In his final version of the periodic table (1871) he left gaps, foretelling that they would be filled by elements not then known and predicting the properties of three of those elements. Can you name this scientist?
	Henri Moissan (1852-1907) was a French chemist who received the 1906 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of a highly reactive gaseous element, and the development of the Moissan electric furnace. From 1892, with an electric arc furnace he designed, Moissan began experimenting with reactions possible at much higher temperatures than before and discovered many new compounds and was able to vaporize substances previously impossible. Which element did he isolate?
Events
	On 20 Feb of a certain year, the Soviet Union launched into orbit Mir, a new space station. Mir, the Russian word for peace, had six docking ports, special laboratories for scientific research and improved cabins for cosmonauts. Weeks later, a veteran crew was sent to man the 56-foot-long and 13.6-foot wide station. *In which decade was this launch made?*
	On 20 Feb 1962, John Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first U.S. manned orbital mission. Launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, he orbited the earth, at a maximum altitude of approx. 162 miles and an orbital velocity of approx. 17,500 mph. He spotted Perth, Australia, when that city's residents greeted him by switching on their house lights in unison. *How many orbits were made on this mission?*
	On 20 Feb 1835, in Chile, a travelling scientist experienced a very strong earthquake and shortly afterward saw evidence of several feet of uplift in the region. From measurements repeated a few days later, he found the land had risen several feet. This demonstrated that nature itself produces geological changes even in our own time. *Can you name this scientist?*

Answers

When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the February 20 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for February 19: a ratio, for instance 20/20, measuring the acuity of a person's eyesight compared to a standard observer with good vision; glucose; Austrian; the decade including the year 1831; hydrogen sulphide; the nursery rhyme, "Mary had a little lamb."

Feedback