chemical] equilibria. In the case of ammonia this gave a deviation from the
values obtained at my first measurements… This deviation led to fresh
determinations of the equilibrium which Nernst carried out at his Institute in a
pressure oven [designed] by him while I, in collaboration with Robert Le
Rossignol, repeated the determinations at normal pressure with greater care
than before.
Because of the difficulty of the ammonia problem it was unlikely that Haber’s
results would ever have been seriously challenged by further experimentation.
Indeed, if anyone other than Nernst had criticised Haber’s work, he may well have
dismissed them, but Nernst was universally respected and his concerns had to be
addressed. Nernst too, had the advantage of his ‘Heat Theorem’ which he adapted
to apply to gaseous systems via his ‘approximation formula’
19 which meant that
estimates of equilibrium compositions could be made without the bother of actual
experimentation. Haber needed the best to help him tackle Nernst. He chose
Robert. But what talent(s) did this young award-winning chemist bring to Haber
that made him so suited to help solve the ammonia problem?
3.5 But Finally… What of Preussen?
The quality of this vessel—designed specifically for the nitrate trade and the
rigours of the Cape Horn passage—allowed her to complete thirteen
uneventful voyages to the north west coast of Chile. On each occasion she
delivered German exports and brought back a treasure trove of fixed nitrogen.
On 31 October 1910 she left Hamburg on her fourteenth voyage, headed for
Valparaiso loaded with a general cargo that included sugar, cement, bricks,
railway materials and one hundred pianos. There was no reason for
Captain J. Heinrich H. Nissen to expect his transit along the English Channel
to be anything other than normal, but on the evening of November 6th there
was some concern regarding the autumn weather which was particularly dark
and foggy. Logging a sedate 4 knots, Preussen erred on the side of caution and
paid due respect to the conditions. However, the same could not be said for the
Captain of the Newhaven-Dieppe cross-Channel steamer SS Brighton which
was making seventeen knots under the same conditions. Just before midnight,
the Brighton, entirely mis-judging the speed of the big sailing ship, turned to
cross in front of her but struck her full abreast between the foremast and the
bowsprit. Preussen sheered off one of the steamer’s two funnels and ripped a
hole in her hull, but with her own bow stove in Preussen had to be taken in tow
by the steam tug Alert. Eighteen miles from Dover, Nissen tried to anchor in
3 Germany and ‘Fixation’
91
values obtained at my first measurements… This deviation led to fresh
determinations of the equilibrium which Nernst carried out at his Institute in a
pressure oven [designed] by him while I, in collaboration with Robert Le
Rossignol, repeated the determinations at normal pressure with greater care
than before.
Because of the difficulty of the ammonia problem it was unlikely that Haber’s
results would ever have been seriously challenged by further experimentation.
Indeed, if anyone other than Nernst had criticised Haber’s work, he may well have
dismissed them, but Nernst was universally respected and his concerns had to be
addressed. Nernst too, had the advantage of his ‘Heat Theorem’ which he adapted
to apply to gaseous systems via his ‘approximation formula’
19 which meant that
estimates of equilibrium compositions could be made without the bother of actual
experimentation. Haber needed the best to help him tackle Nernst. He chose
Robert. But what talent(s) did this young award-winning chemist bring to Haber
that made him so suited to help solve the ammonia problem?
3.5 But Finally… What of Preussen?
The quality of this vessel—designed specifically for the nitrate trade and the
rigours of the Cape Horn passage—allowed her to complete thirteen
uneventful voyages to the north west coast of Chile. On each occasion she
delivered German exports and brought back a treasure trove of fixed nitrogen.
On 31 October 1910 she left Hamburg on her fourteenth voyage, headed for
Valparaiso loaded with a general cargo that included sugar, cement, bricks,
railway materials and one hundred pianos. There was no reason for
Captain J. Heinrich H. Nissen to expect his transit along the English Channel
to be anything other than normal, but on the evening of November 6th there
was some concern regarding the autumn weather which was particularly dark
and foggy. Logging a sedate 4 knots, Preussen erred on the side of caution and
paid due respect to the conditions. However, the same could not be said for the
Captain of the Newhaven-Dieppe cross-Channel steamer SS Brighton which
was making seventeen knots under the same conditions. Just before midnight,
the Brighton, entirely mis-judging the speed of the big sailing ship, turned to
cross in front of her but struck her full abreast between the foremast and the
bowsprit. Preussen sheered off one of the steamer’s two funnels and ripped a
hole in her hull, but with her own bow stove in Preussen had to be taken in tow
by the steam tug Alert. Eighteen miles from Dover, Nissen tried to anchor in
3 Germany and ‘Fixation’
91