Willam Ramsay, Biography of
William Ramsay
William Ramsay was born on the second of October, in the year 1852. William, and his parents, William and Catherine, lived in Glasgow, Scotland. William Ramsay performed his work in his native town, until 1870 when he went to Tübingen and earned his doctorate in 1872. When returned to Scotland later that year, he became an assistant chemist at the Anderson College in Glasgow. Eight years later, he was appointed principal and professor of chemistry at London University, which held until his retirement in 1913. Ramsay 's earliest works were in the field of organic chemistry. In his early experiments he showed that the alkaloids are related to pyridine, which he synthesized in 1876 from acetylene and prussic acid. Some of his first work was related with the study of a new Bismuth mineral, which was only recognized as a metal until the 18th Century. William Ramsay also verified Roland Eötvö 's law for the constancy of the rate of change of molecular surface energy with temperature. Ramsay published his work in accordance to Dobbie, on the decomposition products of the quinine alkaloids. William was very successful and submitted many contributions to physical chemistry, being mostly on Stoichiometry and Thermodynamics. He also commenced the 1880 's with his work with Sidney Young on evaporation and dissociation. In 1892, a British physicist named Lord Rayleigh asked chemists to explain the difference between the atomic weight of Nitrogen found in chemical compounds and the heavier, pure Nitrogen found in the atmosphere. Ramsay and Rayleigh were communicating daily with their results to solve their curiosity of the unknown gas. Rayleigh determined that a liter of pure Nitrogen weighs 1.2505 grams, but a liter of Nitrogen gas generated from air, by removing the Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and the water vapor, weighed 1.2572 grams. This led to Ramsay 's prediction that there must be another unknown element. William and Lord Rayleigh devised
William Ramsay was born on the second of October, in the year 1852. William, and his parents, William and Catherine, lived in Glasgow, Scotland. William Ramsay performed his work in his native town, until 1870 when he went to Tübingen and earned his doctorate in 1872. When returned to Scotland later that year, he became an assistant chemist at the Anderson College in Glasgow. Eight years later, he was appointed principal and professor of chemistry at London University, which held until his retirement in 1913. Ramsay 's earliest works were in the field of organic chemistry. In his early experiments he showed that the alkaloids are related to pyridine, which he synthesized in 1876 from acetylene and prussic acid. Some of his first work was related with the study of a new Bismuth mineral, which was only recognized as a metal until the 18th Century. William Ramsay also verified Roland Eötvö 's law for the constancy of the rate of change of molecular surface energy with temperature. Ramsay published his work in accordance to Dobbie, on the decomposition products of the quinine alkaloids. William was very successful and submitted many contributions to physical chemistry, being mostly on Stoichiometry and Thermodynamics. He also commenced the 1880 's with his work with Sidney Young on evaporation and dissociation. In 1892, a British physicist named Lord Rayleigh asked chemists to explain the difference between the atomic weight of Nitrogen found in chemical compounds and the heavier, pure Nitrogen found in the atmosphere. Ramsay and Rayleigh were communicating daily with their results to solve their curiosity of the unknown gas. Rayleigh determined that a liter of pure Nitrogen weighs 1.2505 grams, but a liter of Nitrogen gas generated from air, by removing the Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and the water vapor, weighed 1.2572 grams. This led to Ramsay 's prediction that there must be another unknown element. William and Lord Rayleigh devised
Bibliography: Koosler, Tom. The Life of William Ramsay. Butte, Montana: Wright Publishing, 1989. "Ramsay, Sir William." 15 April 2001. <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=64204&tocid=0> "Ramsay, Sir William." 15 April 2001 <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0841089.html> Washington, Devon. Sir William Ramsay (1852 - 1916). Sacramento, California: The Reagal Publishing Company, 1977.