Notes
1. F. Haber and R. Le Rossignol, ‘Bestimmung des Ammoniakgleichgewichtes
unter Druck’, (determination of the ammonia equilibrium under pressure),
Zeitschrift fur Elektrochemie und Angewandte Physikalische Chemie, 14, 15,
181–196, (1908).
2. Jaenicke’s and Le Rossignol’s letters and the transcript of their conversation
on 16 September 1959 are held at the Max Planck Gesellschaft, Archiv der
MPG, Va. Abt., Rep. 0005, Fritz Haber. Haber Sammlung von Joh.
Jaenicke. Nr. 253 (Jaenicke’s letters) and Nr. 1496 (conversation transcript).
3. Dietrich Stoltzenberg, Fritz Haber. Chemist, Noble Laureate, German, Jew.
Chemical Heritage Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (2004), p 85. Source;
Clara Haber to Richard Abegg, 23 July 1907, MPG, Dept. Va., Rep. 5, 921–
926.
4. R. C. Chirnside, ‘Robert Le Rossignol, 1884–1976’, Chemistry in Britain, 13,
269–271, (1977).
5. He was ‘aware’ of course, because he had translated the appendix to that
chapter.
6. ‘Thermodynamics of Technical Gas Reactions’. available ‘on-line’ in English and
PDF format from the internet archive at the University of California Digital
Library; http://www.archive.org/details/thermodynamicsof00haberich.
7. Coates, described the paper as ‘a beautiful piece of work …’. J.E. Coates,
‘The Haber Memorial Lecture’, J. Chem. Soc., 1642–1672, (1939).
8. Even though there was clearly some disagreement over the K p values it was
not enough to spoil the overall picture.
9. In 1928, in his paper ‘Zur Geschichte der Herstellung des synthetischen
Ammoniaks’, (the history of the manufacture of synthetic ammonia), Robert
published the table of % ammonia at equilibrium that he and Haber expected
from their results at various pressures and temperatures (1–200 atm and
200–1000 °C). He said, ‘With these results one was now able to see what sort of
amount one could obtain under different pressures and temperatures …’.
Figure 6.1 is based on such a table. At the time, anyone could construct such
figures if so inclined. We refer to this paper throughout Chap. 8, R. Le
Rossignol, ‘Zur Geschichte der Herstellung des synthetischen Ammoniaks’,
Naturwissenschaften, 16, 50, 1070–1071, (December 1928).
10. ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive …’. (From,
Marmion, A tale of Flodden Field, Sir Walter Scott). Indeed, it appears that
Nernst’s paper too had been ‘exquisitely crafted’, crafted to accommodate
Jost’s poor experimental figures.
11. Nernst freely admitted this in the discussion at Hamburg. See W. Nernst and
F. Jost, ‘Über das Ammoniakgleichgewicht’, (On the Ammonia
Equilibrium), Elektrochemische Zeitschrift, 13, 521–524, (1907).
142
D. Sheppard
1. F. Haber and R. Le Rossignol, ‘Bestimmung des Ammoniakgleichgewichtes
unter Druck’, (determination of the ammonia equilibrium under pressure),
Zeitschrift fur Elektrochemie und Angewandte Physikalische Chemie, 14, 15,
181–196, (1908).
2. Jaenicke’s and Le Rossignol’s letters and the transcript of their conversation
on 16 September 1959 are held at the Max Planck Gesellschaft, Archiv der
MPG, Va. Abt., Rep. 0005, Fritz Haber. Haber Sammlung von Joh.
Jaenicke. Nr. 253 (Jaenicke’s letters) and Nr. 1496 (conversation transcript).
3. Dietrich Stoltzenberg, Fritz Haber. Chemist, Noble Laureate, German, Jew.
Chemical Heritage Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (2004), p 85. Source;
Clara Haber to Richard Abegg, 23 July 1907, MPG, Dept. Va., Rep. 5, 921–
926.
4. R. C. Chirnside, ‘Robert Le Rossignol, 1884–1976’, Chemistry in Britain, 13,
269–271, (1977).
5. He was ‘aware’ of course, because he had translated the appendix to that
chapter.
6. ‘Thermodynamics of Technical Gas Reactions’. available ‘on-line’ in English and
PDF format from the internet archive at the University of California Digital
Library; http://www.archive.org/details/thermodynamicsof00haberich.
7. Coates, described the paper as ‘a beautiful piece of work …’. J.E. Coates,
‘The Haber Memorial Lecture’, J. Chem. Soc., 1642–1672, (1939).
8. Even though there was clearly some disagreement over the K p values it was
not enough to spoil the overall picture.
9. In 1928, in his paper ‘Zur Geschichte der Herstellung des synthetischen
Ammoniaks’, (the history of the manufacture of synthetic ammonia), Robert
published the table of % ammonia at equilibrium that he and Haber expected
from their results at various pressures and temperatures (1–200 atm and
200–1000 °C). He said, ‘With these results one was now able to see what sort of
amount one could obtain under different pressures and temperatures …’.
Figure 6.1 is based on such a table. At the time, anyone could construct such
figures if so inclined. We refer to this paper throughout Chap. 8, R. Le
Rossignol, ‘Zur Geschichte der Herstellung des synthetischen Ammoniaks’,
Naturwissenschaften, 16, 50, 1070–1071, (December 1928).
10. ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive …’. (From,
Marmion, A tale of Flodden Field, Sir Walter Scott). Indeed, it appears that
Nernst’s paper too had been ‘exquisitely crafted’, crafted to accommodate
Jost’s poor experimental figures.
11. Nernst freely admitted this in the discussion at Hamburg. See W. Nernst and
F. Jost, ‘Über das Ammoniakgleichgewicht’, (On the Ammonia
Equilibrium), Elektrochemische Zeitschrift, 13, 521–524, (1907).
142
D. Sheppard