with such as the Frank-Caro process which he regarded as a ‘multistage and
therefore comparatively complex process that has not yet proved its economic
feasibility’. With the expert audience in despair as to what could be done
regarding Germany’s position, he suddenly lobbed a stick of ‘technological
dynamite’ amongst them
9
;
In contrast, there is the preparation of ammonia through direct combination of
the elements nitrogen and hydrogen …,
pausing briefly to suggest that this was thought impossible, he continued,
… work carried out in the Physical Chemistry Institute of the ‘Fridericiana’ in
Karlsruhe has disproved this assumption.
Haber proceeded to exhibit, and then describe, the high pressure circulation
process developed by himself and Le Rossignol, but mischievously—although
quite in keeping with the BASF’s policy of secrecy, or if not, confusion - even
championing osmium and uranium as ‘transfer agents’! Finally he concluded;
These experimental results appear to ensure the basis for a synthetic ammonia
industry … The Badische Anilin und Sodafabrik in Ludwigshafen has successfully continued further from this process, which I have described here, so
that the high-pressure synthesis of ammonia from its elements can now be
included among the processes on which agriculturalists can pin their hopes
when they … search for new sources of the most important substance they
require.
9
The audience was stunned, and over the next few days Haber was overwhelmed with offers of collaboration. The BASF too were taken aback by the
sensation that Haber’s lecture caused in professional circles, and when Haber
asked how he should distribute preprints of his talk, they made it clear to him
that they had no intention of allowing any such thing, the BASF later writing
to Haber;
The less that the process … is talked about in the next years, the less attention
that is paid by those interested as to whether the technical realisation is going to
succeed, [and] the more likely it is that we can win an advantage over the
competition in the technical use of the process, this will also be to your
advantage.
10
204
D. Sheppard
therefore comparatively complex process that has not yet proved its economic
feasibility’. With the expert audience in despair as to what could be done
regarding Germany’s position, he suddenly lobbed a stick of ‘technological
dynamite’ amongst them
9
;
In contrast, there is the preparation of ammonia through direct combination of
the elements nitrogen and hydrogen …,
pausing briefly to suggest that this was thought impossible, he continued,
… work carried out in the Physical Chemistry Institute of the ‘Fridericiana’ in
Karlsruhe has disproved this assumption.
Haber proceeded to exhibit, and then describe, the high pressure circulation
process developed by himself and Le Rossignol, but mischievously—although
quite in keeping with the BASF’s policy of secrecy, or if not, confusion - even
championing osmium and uranium as ‘transfer agents’! Finally he concluded;
These experimental results appear to ensure the basis for a synthetic ammonia
industry … The Badische Anilin und Sodafabrik in Ludwigshafen has successfully continued further from this process, which I have described here, so
that the high-pressure synthesis of ammonia from its elements can now be
included among the processes on which agriculturalists can pin their hopes
when they … search for new sources of the most important substance they
require.
9
The audience was stunned, and over the next few days Haber was overwhelmed with offers of collaboration. The BASF too were taken aback by the
sensation that Haber’s lecture caused in professional circles, and when Haber
asked how he should distribute preprints of his talk, they made it clear to him
that they had no intention of allowing any such thing, the BASF later writing
to Haber;
The less that the process … is talked about in the next years, the less attention
that is paid by those interested as to whether the technical realisation is going to
succeed, [and] the more likely it is that we can win an advantage over the
competition in the technical use of the process, this will also be to your
advantage.
10
204
D. Sheppard