the liquefier cooled. Finally, the heating element and the circulation pump
were turned on and the men stood back, their work largely done. Time passed
slowly as the machine went about its business of balancing heat and pressure.
All the seals held, and nervous glances must have been exchanged as the valves
were occasionally manipulated to move the gases on through the machine.
Then … ice began to form on the cold regenerator, and slowly at first, tiny
beads of liquid ammonia were seen in the collecting vessel. The men stared
transfixed and after a while it became clear that their machine was producing
about 1 cm
3 of synthesised liquid ammonia per minute which they easily
drew off in a continuous cycle. Haber instantly realised what they had
achieved; the frustration of his early life, the ‘Third Law’ slipping through his
fingers, and his humiliation by Nernst flooded over him as the ammonia
appeared, and he could hardly restrain himself. Like a child opening a
longed-for present on Christmas day, he had to share his joy, running wildly
through the laboratories he shouted ‘Come down … there’s ammonia!… You
have to see how the liquid ammonia is pouring out!’ Colleagues gathered
around. Max Mayer, a close friend of Haber recalled this moment vividly
34
Hermann Staudinger too recounted … ‘Suddenly Haber came to me and
shouted … Come down there’s ammonia! He had a … long capillary and in
it was about 1 cm
3 of liquid ammonia. I can see it still. Then Engler joined
us. It was fantastic!’
35
8.4 Brunck, Bernthsen and Bosch
At this point, the circulation apparatus was still fairly crude, and other
potential catalysts had yet to be examined, but such was Haber’s enthusiasm
that on the 23 March 1909—and as directed by his contract with BASF—he
wrote to Ludwigshafen reporting his success, suggesting at the same time that
they buy up the world’s supply of osmium from the Auergesellschaft and
anywhere else it could be found. Haber’s letter landed on the desk of August
Bernthsen, the man in charge of BASF’s research. Bernthsen received it with
undiluted scepticism and he communicated his initial feelings to Haber,
Robert later recalling,
10 that ‘in a personal conversation with Haber
[Bernthsen] told him that [BASF] wasn’t interested in the experiments …’.
Haber was utterly dismayed and he asked Carl Engler, who sat on the board
of BASF, to act as mediator. Engler by-passed Bernthsen and contacted
Heinrich von Brunck – chairman of the board since 1907, and on 26 March
1909,
36 according to Robert,
10 Brunck ‘travelled to Karlsruhe to find out for
himself about the production of ammonia.’
172
D. Sheppard
were turned on and the men stood back, their work largely done. Time passed
slowly as the machine went about its business of balancing heat and pressure.
All the seals held, and nervous glances must have been exchanged as the valves
were occasionally manipulated to move the gases on through the machine.
Then … ice began to form on the cold regenerator, and slowly at first, tiny
beads of liquid ammonia were seen in the collecting vessel. The men stared
transfixed and after a while it became clear that their machine was producing
about 1 cm
3 of synthesised liquid ammonia per minute which they easily
drew off in a continuous cycle. Haber instantly realised what they had
achieved; the frustration of his early life, the ‘Third Law’ slipping through his
fingers, and his humiliation by Nernst flooded over him as the ammonia
appeared, and he could hardly restrain himself. Like a child opening a
longed-for present on Christmas day, he had to share his joy, running wildly
through the laboratories he shouted ‘Come down … there’s ammonia!… You
have to see how the liquid ammonia is pouring out!’ Colleagues gathered
around. Max Mayer, a close friend of Haber recalled this moment vividly
34
Hermann Staudinger too recounted … ‘Suddenly Haber came to me and
shouted … Come down there’s ammonia! He had a … long capillary and in
it was about 1 cm
3 of liquid ammonia. I can see it still. Then Engler joined
us. It was fantastic!’
35
8.4 Brunck, Bernthsen and Bosch
At this point, the circulation apparatus was still fairly crude, and other
potential catalysts had yet to be examined, but such was Haber’s enthusiasm
that on the 23 March 1909—and as directed by his contract with BASF—he
wrote to Ludwigshafen reporting his success, suggesting at the same time that
they buy up the world’s supply of osmium from the Auergesellschaft and
anywhere else it could be found. Haber’s letter landed on the desk of August
Bernthsen, the man in charge of BASF’s research. Bernthsen received it with
undiluted scepticism and he communicated his initial feelings to Haber,
Robert later recalling,
10 that ‘in a personal conversation with Haber
[Bernthsen] told him that [BASF] wasn’t interested in the experiments …’.
Haber was utterly dismayed and he asked Carl Engler, who sat on the board
of BASF, to act as mediator. Engler by-passed Bernthsen and contacted
Heinrich von Brunck – chairman of the board since 1907, and on 26 March
1909,
36 according to Robert,
10 Brunck ‘travelled to Karlsruhe to find out for
himself about the production of ammonia.’
172
D. Sheppard