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INDUSTRIAL AAVDENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Vol. 15, No. 2
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARIES Edward SWilliams Mor ley
study of gases. The attention of chemists was first attracted by his work on a very accurate series of analyses in which he The name of Edward Williams Morley has long stood in the made a study of the composition of air.1 He obtained specimens of air from all parts of the world and demonstrated that annals of American chemistry as that of a man who has placed the science of exact measurements both in chemistry and in the per cent of oxygen in the air varies between very narrow physics on a plane which has not been excelled or rarely attained limits and is probably smaller in the higher strata of the.atmosphere. He worked on this in coby any of the other investigators operation with chemists in Euof the world. Fortunate indeed rope, and as the result of his for these sciences were the circumwork announced the so-called stances which turned Morley Morley-Loomis hypothesis, which from the pulpit to the college accounts for the variation in the laboratory, where he became the composition of the air with changgreatest experimental chemist of ing barometric pressure. his day. Professor Morley began his faIn 1869 the authorities of what mous determination of the atomic was then Western Reserve CoIweight of hydrogen and oxygen lege a t Hudson, after long delibwhile the college was still a t erations and some opposition, deHudson, and finished it some cided to arrange for a departtime after the college moved to ment of chemistry, and after Cleveland. With characteristic looking about for a teacher they thoroughness Morley carried out persuaded Mr. Morley, then a preliminary researches on the young graduate in Divinity from amount of moisture which sulfuric Williams College, but a man who acid leaves in a gas,Z and the had shown while in college much amount of moisture left in the interest and ability in chemistry, gas by phosphorus pentoxide.* to leave the ministry and become These researches on the density the first professor of chemistry and of oxygen and hydrogen and the the natural sciences in Western ratio of their atomic weights, Reserve College. published in 1895 as Smithsonian Professor Morley was an exContribution to Knowledge No. cellent teacher, peculiar in some 980,remain to this day unequaled ways, willingly perhaps, but alfor accuracy and thoroughness, ways stimulating and attentive and are the same as the accepted t o details, and possessed with a EDWARD WILLIAMSMORLEY values for these constants upon keen sense of humor. He kept which our present system of a dictionary on his desk, and if a student in reciting stumbled upon a pronunciation or made atomic weights is based. He devoted more than ten of the an error in his blackboard work Professor Morley would hand best years of his life to the measurement alone of this elaborate him the dictionary with a chuckle and await his report. He determination, with the result that his health broke down under aimed a t efficiency, although the word wasn’t heard of in the strain of overwork before the researches were completed. He those days. In order to save his limited time for research later designed an accurate gage for measurement of small preshe was accustomed to correct his mathematics papers while sures,* which he applied to the careful determination of the bearing a recitation in chemistry. However, mistakes in the coefficient of thermal expansion of gases in collaboration with Dayton C. Miller. He also made a very careful determination recitation did not pass unnoticed. While Professor Morley has since regretted what he cpnsid- of the vapor pressure of mercury6 from zero to 100” C. While working on the problems of gases, he was cooperating ered a waste of energy in his early teaching, which included what was then pretty nearly the complete range of physical with A. A. Michelson on experiments to determine the science, mathematics, physics and chemistry, besides geology, relative motion of the earth and the luminiferous ether: and mineralogy, medical chemistry (in the Medical College a t Cleve- performed the famous so-called “ether drift” experiments, which land), and botany, it is possible that this wide range of work led are the basis of the modern theory of relativity and have made him further along the lines that were later helpful when his physicists question the existence of the ether. Later Professor work became more specialized, and it undoubtedly accounted Morley, in coijperation with Dayton C. Miller, repeated in part at least for his wonderful breadth of knowledge on all these experiments in view of the Lorentz-Fitzgerald suggestion scientific subjects. He probably has a far greater fund of ex- that the size of bodies may depend on translation through act, as well as ready, information on all kinds of scientific ques- luminiferous ether.’ He first proposed establishing a light wave tions than any of his contemporaries. 1 A m . J . Sci., [3]18 (1879),168; 22 (1881),417; 22 (1881),429. * I b i d . , [3]30 (1885),140. Professor Morley early interested himself in the everyday 8 I b i d , [3]34 (1887),199; J. A m . Chem. SOC., 26 (1904), 1171. problems of chemistry, such as the determination of the nature 4 Am. J. Sci., [41 13 (1902),455. of the crystals in the substance left in the evaporating pans of 6 I b i d , [4] 18 (1904), 83. the maple-sugar makers, but gradually his work turned to more 6 I b i d , [31 31 (1886),377; [3]34 (1887),333. 7 Proc Am. A c a d . of Ayts a n d Sci., 4 1 (1905),321. important topics and centered on the accurate manipulation and
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
February, 1923
a s t h e ultimate standard of length,8 and later developed the apparatus and method in collaboration with A. A. Michelson. Of the fifty-two papers he has published, twenty-three are in pure physics, twenty-seven in pure chemistry, and two on general subjects. He had four collaborators in scientific work-all physicists. The physicists have always felt that they have a * strong claim on Professor Morley as one of their group. Professor Morley has been an indefatigable worker, frequently spending three-fourths of the night in his laboratory and then being on hand in the morning for his classes. In his work, he had the active, intelligent, and sympathetic interest of Mrs. Morley, who during her lifetime frequently spent the evenings helping him look up the literature of his investigations and in many ways assisted him in his work. With his habits of clear thinking, precision, thoroughness, and carefulness, which led him to clear-cut plans of operation, there was combined a mechanical skill of a very high order, 8
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which was evidenced in his expert glass-blowing, in his skillful manipulation, and in the elaborate attention to details in his experimental work. Fortunate indeed are the chemists and physicists who have had the privilege of knowing him and working with him. Not only has he a mind of rarest quality, but a kindliness equally great. This has frequently been evidenced by the assistance he has always been ready to give his friends and acquaintances. One of his friends, C. F. Mabery, has said, “Such examples of devoted application to the expansion of knowledge concerning the fundamental forces of nature as that of Dr. Morley’s wide range of effort are greatly needed as an inspiration to the present generation. For, with the aid of all the modern appliances, the present worker must understand, first of all, that there never has been and never will be but one way to overcome the resistance of natural forces-by the application of persistent and well-directed labor.”
HAROZD SIMMONS BOOTH
A m . J . Sci., 131 38 (1889),181.
PERKIN MEDAL A W A R D The Perkin Medal was presented to Dr. Milton C. Whitaker a t a meeting of the American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry on January 12, 1923, with introductory remarks by Dr. Ralph H. McKee. The Perkin Medal is awarded for the most valuable work in applied chemistry. This medal was founded in 1906 at the time of the Perkin semicentennial celebration of the coal-tar dye discoveries. The first medal was awarded to Sir William H. Perkin himself in 1906. All other awards have been and must be to chemists resident in the United States. As will be seen in the following list, the men who have since received this award form a nearly complete roster of the great industrial chemists of America of this century. DATEOF AWARD 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912
AWARDED TO Sir W. H.Perkin J. B.F. Herreshoff Arno Behr E. G. Acheson Charles M. Hall Herman Frasch
1913 1914 1915
James Gayley John W. Hyatt Edward Weston
1916
L. H.
1917 3918
Ernst Twitchell Auguste J. Rossi
1919 1920
Frederick G.Cottrell Charles F. Chandler
Baekeland
1921
Willis R. Whitney
1922
William M. Burton
PRINCIPAL FIELDSOR INVENTIONS Discoverer of first aniline color Metallurgy; contact sulfuric acid Corn products industry Carborundum; artificial graphite Metallic aluminium Desulfuring oil and subterranean SUIfur industry Dr air blast Cogoids and flexible roller bearings Electrical measurements: electrodeposition of metals. flaming arc Velox photoprint paper: bakelite and synthetic resins; cdustic soda industry Saponification of fats Development of manufacture and use of ferrotitanium Electrical precipitation Noteworthy achievements in almost every line of chemical endeavor Development of research and application of science to industry Achievements in oil industry: efficient conversion of high-boiling fractions into low-boiling fractions
Impressions By A. A. Backhaus The committee has suggested that I give an impsessionistic view of the Medalist, or, as someone has put it, “a close-up out of focus.” A close-up on so large a subject is very likely to be out of focus.
During the summer of 1914, Dr. Whitaker, then head of the Chemical Engineering Department at Columbia University, was seeking an assistant. Professor Chambers, with whom I had done my undergraduate work, recommended me. The job was offered me and I accepted it. The entire negotiation consisted of but two letters, one in which the position was offered me, the other in which I accepted, although neither of us knew the other. I arrived in New York on the morning of September 16, and in the afternoon I reported to Havemeyer Hall, Columbia University, wondering what my new boss was going to look like. Dr. Whitaker was in his office, seated at his desk, completely filling a roomy chair. He had his coat off, sleeves rolled up, hair ruffled, and was hard a t work as one usually finds him. I was impressed, not only by the size of the man, but also by his speed, “his velocity coefficient,” for before I knew it I had been hustled into the laboratory and put to work. From that day until now I have been honored in calling Dr. Whitaker my boss. Dr. Whitaker has an unusually keen insight into chemical processes and chemical plants. He can size up a plant operation, see the weak spots, and suggest remedies or improvements. He invariably turns the spot light on jokers in proposed new processes. His mind not only grasps broad features and general principles, but also takes in minute details. In this respect he sometimes exhibits an almost uncanny faculty of pouncing upon some minor detail. Such an instance occurred in connection with the installation of a new plant unit not long ago. The equipment for this installation had all been ordered and deliveries were being made when a letter came from Dr. Whitaker asking if the packing material for a certain part of the installation had been ordered. Investigation showed that it had been overlooked. Another instance of this kind came up in connection with a newly designed heater. This job was in the shops under construction when Dr. Whitaker asked whether manholes had been provided for inspection and repair of the tubes. While the drawings did not show these manholes, the equipment came from the shops provided with manholes. Experiences of this kind have at times made Dr. Whitaker impatient with engineers. Dr. Whitaker’s viewpoint is distinctly that of the operator. He visualizes the operation and in his imagination goes through
