curiosity for the unknown, Staudinger selected as the work of his life in the early 1920s a
field which, at that time, was hardly considered to be a worthy goal for an organic chemist
of his reputation – the study of the natural organic substances of high molecular weight.
Until then, Staudinger had cultivated typical problems of classical organic chemistry with
its well-defined substances which could be characterized by such methods as melting and
boiling point, freezing point depression, and boiling point elevation. A stimulating monograph on “The Chemistry of the Ketenes” – published 1912 and written during his time at
the University Strasbourg – was the fruit of these efforts, a book which seemed to
foreshadow Staudinger’s career as that of a synthetic organic chemist worthy of such
great predecessors as Bayer, Fischer, or Gattermann and of such distinguished contemporaries as Schlenk and Wilstatter . . ..
. . .. However, he chose the more romantic, though less comfortable, life of an invader of
unknown areas, where every step would have to be a fight for new concepts, new methods
and new interpretations. . . ..Through work Staudinger ranks first in having introduced the
new branch of macromolecular chemistry with the largest number of facts and figures both
by observation and by measurement. . . ..
. . .. There exist numerous, unforgettable occasions in the 1920s and 1930s when history
of chemistry was made in the eloquent clashes between Staudinger and the representatives of
the “aggregation theory of the small units.” Holding firm to his main ideas and introducing
modifications wherever the facts demanded them, Staudinger emerged from these battles as
the grand old man of macromolecular chemistry, the Nobel Prize winner. . . ..
3 An “Old” Essay Written to Recall the 50th Anniversary
of Hermann Staudinger’s Nobel Prize in 1953
3.1 Title and Summary of the 2004 Essay
in Angewandte Chemie
Hermann Staudinger and the Future of Polymer Research: Jubilees – Beloved Occasions for
Cultural Piety [7]
Chemistry was his life, but Hermann Staudinger’s dream belonged to biology and to the
unity of chemistry and biology. That is the central theme of this essay, which, on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize to Hermann Staudinger,
discusses the significance of Staudinger’s discoveries for the biosciences, not only retrospectively, but deliberately also prospectively. General questions of science ethics and the
interplay of research, politics and responsibility are also considered.
3.2 What Was It All About? An Attempt to “Whet
the Appetite” to Read or Even Re-read Parts
of an Old Essay
The essay in Angewandte Chemie 2004 [7] ends with a citation from Roald
Hofmann: “Most of us are also University teachers and responsible! We have to
do better than the usual traditional presentation of technical successes. We have to
talk about the scientist, the historical figure and person. And we must get involved,
where our competence is required” [7, p. 1070; 8]. This citation underlines that this
10
H. Ringsdorf
field which, at that time, was hardly considered to be a worthy goal for an organic chemist
of his reputation – the study of the natural organic substances of high molecular weight.
Until then, Staudinger had cultivated typical problems of classical organic chemistry with
its well-defined substances which could be characterized by such methods as melting and
boiling point, freezing point depression, and boiling point elevation. A stimulating monograph on “The Chemistry of the Ketenes” – published 1912 and written during his time at
the University Strasbourg – was the fruit of these efforts, a book which seemed to
foreshadow Staudinger’s career as that of a synthetic organic chemist worthy of such
great predecessors as Bayer, Fischer, or Gattermann and of such distinguished contemporaries as Schlenk and Wilstatter . . ..
. . .. However, he chose the more romantic, though less comfortable, life of an invader of
unknown areas, where every step would have to be a fight for new concepts, new methods
and new interpretations. . . ..Through work Staudinger ranks first in having introduced the
new branch of macromolecular chemistry with the largest number of facts and figures both
by observation and by measurement. . . ..
. . .. There exist numerous, unforgettable occasions in the 1920s and 1930s when history
of chemistry was made in the eloquent clashes between Staudinger and the representatives of
the “aggregation theory of the small units.” Holding firm to his main ideas and introducing
modifications wherever the facts demanded them, Staudinger emerged from these battles as
the grand old man of macromolecular chemistry, the Nobel Prize winner. . . ..
3 An “Old” Essay Written to Recall the 50th Anniversary
of Hermann Staudinger’s Nobel Prize in 1953
3.1 Title and Summary of the 2004 Essay
in Angewandte Chemie
Hermann Staudinger and the Future of Polymer Research: Jubilees – Beloved Occasions for
Cultural Piety [7]
Chemistry was his life, but Hermann Staudinger’s dream belonged to biology and to the
unity of chemistry and biology. That is the central theme of this essay, which, on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize to Hermann Staudinger,
discusses the significance of Staudinger’s discoveries for the biosciences, not only retrospectively, but deliberately also prospectively. General questions of science ethics and the
interplay of research, politics and responsibility are also considered.
3.2 What Was It All About? An Attempt to “Whet
the Appetite” to Read or Even Re-read Parts
of an Old Essay
The essay in Angewandte Chemie 2004 [7] ends with a citation from Roald
Hofmann: “Most of us are also University teachers and responsible! We have to
do better than the usual traditional presentation of technical successes. We have to
talk about the scientist, the historical figure and person. And we must get involved,
where our competence is required” [7, p. 1070; 8]. This citation underlines that this
10
H. Ringsdorf