also developed a pace of work that wore him out. ‘Resting on his laurels’ did
not sit well with him but his approach to his work had its effect in that it
aggravated a nervous condition that had been with him since his youth. It led
to intestinal problems that drove him to seek the frequent advice of doctors
and the seclusion of sanatoriums for rest and recuperation all of which was a
strain on his marriage and on Clara. Haber’s ambition inflicted a heavy price
on his family.
This then was the man Robert Le Rossignol met when he arrived in 1906,
and Haber could not have hoped to receive a more able research student.
Through Coates’ memorial lecture we see exactly why Haber came to regard
Robert so highly. Yes, his formal academic credentials were impeccable, but
his practical prowess—like Robert’s medal from UCL—was ‘gold’ to Haber.
Coates
1 writes;
… [Haber’s] scientific work was never lacking in thoroughness and attention to
detail. It is true however that he found no deep interest in the minutiae of
experimentation as such. He liked his men to be clever experimenters and
greatly appreciated good work by them, but he expected them to work out the
finer details.
In Robert Le Rossignol Haber certainly found a ‘clever experimenter’—after
all he came from Ramsay’s innovative laboratory, the same laboratory that
had influenced the design of Haber’s ammonia experiment for the Margulies
brothers. But Haber had already collected a formidable group of physical
chemists at Karlsruhe who produced some outstanding work and in doing so
built an excellent reputation for his Institute of Physical Chemistry and
Electrochemistry. His group investigated diverse areas such as flame reactions
and the process of combustion, the emission of electrons in chemical reactions and the reactions of mercury in which amalgams were formed. But there
were also areas of more practical significance such as the determination of the
quality of glass used in the manufacture of wine bottles. Haber also collaborated with the Zeiss works in Jena to develop a refractometer for gas analysis
51 and this in turn led to improvements in measuring instruments used in
many areas of science, technology, public health and industrial safety. This
device was almost certainly used for the ammonia experiments with Le
Rossignol later.
Many of Haber’s physical chemists too were to go on to careers of distinction. Paul Askenasy had been Assistent to Viktor Meyer in Heidelberg
before being persuaded to join Haber, becoming Associate Professor in 1909.
As early as 1907 Haber’s laboratories had become known as a centre of
2 Fritz Haber and Karlsruhe
67
not sit well with him but his approach to his work had its effect in that it
aggravated a nervous condition that had been with him since his youth. It led
to intestinal problems that drove him to seek the frequent advice of doctors
and the seclusion of sanatoriums for rest and recuperation all of which was a
strain on his marriage and on Clara. Haber’s ambition inflicted a heavy price
on his family.
This then was the man Robert Le Rossignol met when he arrived in 1906,
and Haber could not have hoped to receive a more able research student.
Through Coates’ memorial lecture we see exactly why Haber came to regard
Robert so highly. Yes, his formal academic credentials were impeccable, but
his practical prowess—like Robert’s medal from UCL—was ‘gold’ to Haber.
Coates
1 writes;
… [Haber’s] scientific work was never lacking in thoroughness and attention to
detail. It is true however that he found no deep interest in the minutiae of
experimentation as such. He liked his men to be clever experimenters and
greatly appreciated good work by them, but he expected them to work out the
finer details.
In Robert Le Rossignol Haber certainly found a ‘clever experimenter’—after
all he came from Ramsay’s innovative laboratory, the same laboratory that
had influenced the design of Haber’s ammonia experiment for the Margulies
brothers. But Haber had already collected a formidable group of physical
chemists at Karlsruhe who produced some outstanding work and in doing so
built an excellent reputation for his Institute of Physical Chemistry and
Electrochemistry. His group investigated diverse areas such as flame reactions
and the process of combustion, the emission of electrons in chemical reactions and the reactions of mercury in which amalgams were formed. But there
were also areas of more practical significance such as the determination of the
quality of glass used in the manufacture of wine bottles. Haber also collaborated with the Zeiss works in Jena to develop a refractometer for gas analysis
51 and this in turn led to improvements in measuring instruments used in
many areas of science, technology, public health and industrial safety. This
device was almost certainly used for the ammonia experiments with Le
Rossignol later.
Many of Haber’s physical chemists too were to go on to careers of distinction. Paul Askenasy had been Assistent to Viktor Meyer in Heidelberg
before being persuaded to join Haber, becoming Associate Professor in 1909.
As early as 1907 Haber’s laboratories had become known as a centre of
2 Fritz Haber and Karlsruhe
67