Fritz Haber 2

Fritz Haber – Chemist And Patriot Essay, Research Paper

The name Fritz Haber has long been associated with the well-known process of synthesizing ammonia from its elements. While primarily known for developing a process which ultimately relieved the world of dependence on Chilean ammonia, this twentieth century Nobel prize winner was also involved in the varying fortunes of Germany in World War I and in the rise to power of the Nazi regime.

Haber was born on December 9, 1868 in Prussia. He was the son of a prosperous German chemical merchant and worked for his father after being educated in Berlin, Heidelberg, and Zurich. After a short time, Haber left his father’s business and took up research in organic chemistry at the University of Jena. The university’s strictly orthodox methods soon led him to leave for a junior teaching position at the Technische Hochschule of Karlsruhe. At the age of 25, Haber immediately threw himself, with tremendous energy, into teaching and research in physical chemistry, a subject in which he was essentially self-taught. Quickly he gained respect and recognition for his research in electrochemistry and thermodynamics. He also authored several books arising from his research.

During the first decade of the twentieth century, the world-wide demand for nitrogen based fertilizers exceeded the existing supply. The largest source of the chemicals necessary for fertilizer production was found in a huge guano deposit (essentially sea bird droppings) that was 220 miles in length and five feet thick, located along the coast of Chile.

Scientists had long desired to solve the problem of the world’s dependence on this fast disappearing natural source of ammonia and nitrogenous compounds. It was Haber, along with Carl Bosch, who finally solved this problem. Haber invented a large-scale catalytic synthesis of ammonia from elemental hydrogen and nitrogen gas, reactants which are abundant and inexpensive. By using high temperature (around 500oCelsius), high pressure (approximately 3000 psi), and an iron catalyst, Haber could force relatively unreactive gaseous nitrogen and hydrogen to combine into ammonia. This furnished the essential precursor for many important substances, particularly fertilizers and explosives used in mining and warfare.

Although ammonia and its exploitation ultimately have the ability both to sustain life and destroy it, Haber did not have either reason specifically in mind when performing his research. His dedication to science and the search for solutions to a chemical problem inspired his work. He said later of his work:

“The interest of a wider circle has its source in the recognition that ammonia synthesis on a large scale represents a useful…way to satisfy an economic need. This practical usefulness was not the preconceived goal of my experiments. I was not in doubt that my laboratory work could furnish no more than a scientific statement of the foundations and a knowledge of the experimental equipment, and that much had to be added to this result in order to attain economic success on an industrial scale.”

In 1911, Haber was appointed director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry in Berlin. This new research facility was to become more famous than the school he had built up at Karlsruhe. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Haber was in charge of forming a center for cross-disciplinary research in chemistry and physics and as such, he immediately placed himself and his laboratory at the service of the German government. He became a behind-the-scenes consultant on industrial mobilization.

During the war, Haber, the embodiment of Prussian pride, unquestionably and uncritically accepted the State’s wisdom. He served his beloved country in many ways. For example, because Germany was essentially landlocked for the duration of the war, the supply of necessary materials was a serious problem. Haber’s institute worked on numerous wartime concerns including the problem of keeping motors running. He showed that xylene and the solvent naptha were good substitutes for toluene as an antifreeze in benzene motor fuel. Since xylene and naptha were available in Germany and toluene was not, Haber’s contributions helped to keep German machinery running and aided in sustaining their war effort for four years.

Haber also served his country in the most basic sense with his process of ammonia synthesis. Not only was ammonia used as a raw material in the production of fertilizers, it was also (and still is, for that matter) absolutely essential in the production of nitric acid. Nitric acid is a raw material for the production of chemical high explosives and other ammunition necessary for the war. Having helped to make Germany independent of Chile and other countries for necessary materials, Haber perhaps served his country in the greatest capacity. Without his process, Germany would never have had a chance to win the war.

Another contribution Haber made to Germany’s war effort was in the development of chemical warfare. With strong purpose and great energy he became involved in the production of protective chemical devices for troops, but more infamously, directed the first gas attacks against enemy troops. Haber is often referred to as the father of modern chemical warfare as he organized and directed the first large scale release of chlorine gas at Ypres