edited by ROGER R. FESTA Northeast Missouri State University Kirksviiie. MO 63507
Charles Edward Munroe: Explosives Expert and Leader in Chemistry Robert H. Goldsmith St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, MD 20686 Nice nuvs .. . don't always finish last. Charles Edward Munroe
1lhllr 13:{X, a;ii nut m l y tllc leadin:: t x p l m i v e n ,.henuit dt the md cfthe nin* t w n t l ~centur\. ~ i n d,ln innovitt~rin (hem-
ical education, he was also a true gentleman ( I ) . He exerted great influence in making the American Chemical Society a truly national organization. His sense of humor and leadership, as well as his concillatory nature, made him many friends dnrine" his lifetime. Munroe was horn in East Cambridge, Massachusetts on Mav - -~" 24., 1849. His father was an instrument maker and his uncle was a glass manufacturer. As a boy he assembled a tiny laboratory for chemistry a t home, and ahove the door he placed an inscription from Dante's "Inferno," "All hope abandon ve who enter here" (2). He also worked as a helper in a neig(borhood drugstore. His interest in chemistry continued a t Cambridge Hiah School and Harvard University where he received his B.S. in 1871. Munroe remained a t Harvard for an additional three years as a member of the faculty. During this time he had the opportunity to work with such distinguished scientists as Oliver Wolcott Gihbs and Josiah Parsons Cooke. Gihhs was for 24 years the Rumford Professor of the Application of Science to the Useful Arts a t Harvard University. He was noted for his synthetic achievements in ammonia-cobalt compounds, for the introduction of electro-deposition techniques into analytical chemistry, and for his studies on the rare-earth elements (Oliver Gihhs should not he confused - - - ~ and - ~ on ~ filtration. ~ with Josiah Willard ~ i b h of s free-energy fame.) Cooke was the Ervine Professor of Chemistrv and Mineralow . . for 44 vears a t ~ a r v a ; bUniversity. He was involved in the determination of atomic weiehts and a uioneer in wectroscouic analvsis. in 1894 from George Munroe received an i;onorary P ~ D Washineton Universitv. His career involved 12 vears of service ~~
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as professor and dean a t George washington University, from which he retired in 1917. As a student at Harvard, Munroe developed a new clay filter cone. The study of many common minerals, such as arsenic sulfide, necessitated that they be determined quantitatively upon weighted filters. A new type of filter was needed since paper filters could not be dried ahove 100°C without danger of loss. Munroe's filter cone had a high porosity which resulted from mixing the clay with a small amount of ammonium chloride, which subsequently evaporated. Thus, his filter could he used in situations where ease of weighing and resistance to high temperature was desired in dealing with precipitates. He "Profiles in Chemistry" is a biographical feature, highlightingthe contributions of distinguished Chemists in the context of their lives. The column is designed for curriculum enrichment, allowing the secondary school teacher to enhance the vitality of chemistry with the sense of scholarship and adventure shared by chemists throughout history.
998
Journal of Chemical Education
The clay filter cone which Munrae developed while a student at Harvard.
describes the cone (see figure ) and its use in these words (3) The cones are made of very light, porous earthenware and have an angle of about 60". They are used in the following way: Asection of a seamless rubber tube, a , is stretched around the mouth of a funnel, b , allowing a portion ol the tube to project above the top. This part will immediately arrange itself at right angles to the top of the funnel;into the circle thus formed the cone, e, is put. It is then connected with the pump. When the cone is moistened and the pressure applied, the rubber hand farms an air-tight joint and the liquid runs through with great rapidity. This filter was widely used in its time. While not used today, its successor. the Gooch crucible, still has aplace in analytical chemistry. His ereatest achievement was the development of a smokeless gunpowder useful as cannon powder. The normal, smokv. cannon powder obscured vision on the battlefield. It was &itating and distracting to the artillery personnel. Smokeless oowder would relieve these difficulties. His powder was also fdund to be reasonably safe and effective. H e extracted gunpowder with methanol to remove the less-nitrated compounds. The dried extract was mixed with nitrobenzene to form a plastic-like explosive. This material could he molded into any desired shapeand dried to give an extremely hard material. Since it could he shaped into a charge of a given length and area, it could be designed for and placed into a particular firing device. The hardness made it easier to handle and safer to use. Munroe also received great acclaim for his discoverv of the "Munroe effect," a phenomena in which in-
this block next to a metai plate, the particular letterswould be indented into the metal's surface. From this and other experiments, he developed the idea that hot, compressed gases
were released with increased force through a hollow explosive charge. These early demonstrations that shapes could be used to direct explosive force would find future application in "shaped charges" used for demolition, since the blast from a shaned goes onlv in a eiven direction. He was also in. charee " volved in the initial testing of the armor-piercing shell. This expertise with explosives kept Munroe busy as a consultant. He travelled to the Isthmus of Panama to study the specific explosives which were employed in building the new canal. Munroe also acted as advisor to several governmental and orofessional arouos in the United States, and he edited the &plosives section of Chemical Abstracts from 1907 to 1938. Munroe was devoted to showing students the value and practicality of chemistry. In the 1872-73 academic year, he initiated a course in chemical technology at Harvard. This was a radical curricular development; the idea of instruction in industrial chemistry was not regarded as a worthwhile or proper aspect of chemical education. The course was the forerunner of the area of study known today as chemical engineering, and Munroe became a leader in the development of a chemistry curriculum which stressed the study of industrial applications. In 1873 and 1874, he created the first summer school nroerams in chemistrv a t Harvard. another . " enduring innovation in education. In 1902 a complete listing of the existing chemical industries prepared by Munroe and his associates was published by the U S . Census Office. Included in this report, the first of its kind, were details of the background and function of these industries. Still, Munroe considered himself primarily a teacher and was regarded as an excellent lecturer who could make avivid impression. Once, he prepared a huge map of the US. divided into regions with the locations of the country's important resources indicated. After a short introduction, he challenged his students: "This gentlemen, is your field. I present you with these opportunities" (2). He was respected and well-liked by his students. He maintained a close relationship with Harvey W. Wiley, his most distinguished protkg8. There were many admirals who had been his students while at the Naval Academy who referred to him affectionately as "Munzie Munroe" (2). Several anecdotes from Munroe's life have become legendary. One describes how Munroe was interested in acquiring a large diagram of a coal bed. To this end, he secured the services of a scene painter who worked at a nearby theater. When he went to pick up the completed work from the theater, he crossed the staee behind a hackstaee " curtain. To his surmise. . . the curtain went up, and there he was onstage with the chorus eirls. His students in the audience began to chant: "Oh. Proressor!" Later he reflected, "It was then that my hair turned white" (2). ~~~
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His was a premier role in the reoraanization of the American Chemical society. The ACS was founded in 1876 by New York chemists. who arranged for all Societv activities to take place I I I 111:gt t ~ t y The . h m r d dirt t.1t.r~W,I> c $ m p t ~ < eentirely d ,ti r t 4 e n t . c I thy S v w Ywk ('it,, ire3 SOII r t ~ i d m tnwmlwr. became increasingly dissatisfied with the strictly local orientation of the Society. Prominent chemists such as William F. Hillebrand, F. W. Clarke, Harvey Wiley, and IraRemsen were among those who resigned from the ACS to protest this apparent p~rochialism.Munroe, however, remained in the ACS and worked for constitutional changes to reform the group. I t was his suggestion to hold n a t i ~ n a i m e e t i noutside ~s of New York, and one was indeed scheduled in Munroe's home city of Newport, Rhode Island in August 1890 (4). Discussions between the dissidents and the ACS began at this meeting and, within the next three years, the majority of the dissidents rejoined. One speculation holds that Munroe, who remained an active ACS memher, was working quietly with the dissidents, Wiley and Clarke, in their mutual pursuit of a national society (4). In retrospect, it appears that, had it not been for the outside pressure maintained by the dissidents, the ACS might not have been as receptive to Munroe's ideas of internal reform. Munroe helped establish the Rhode Island Section as the first local section of the ACS in January 1891. His interests, however, went beyond those already mentioned 15). He was involved in the reparation of a cataloe listing ail the minerals in the Naval ~cademy'scollection. he collection numbered about 4000 specimens including mineral, paleontological, technical, and wood items. He investigated the cost of illuminating gas for the city of Baltimore and his study produced a decrease in the prices which customers paid. He was in charge of the alcohol exhibit at the Jamestown Exposition of 1907 and planned the exhibits of denatured and wood alcohol which illustrated their background, usefulness, and industrial production. One of his honors was to he chosen to nominate chemists for the Nobel Prize. He served as president of the Chemical Society of Washington in 1895 and as national president of the American Chemical Society in 1898. Munroe remained an active and effective leader until his death from natural causes in his 90th year.
Literature Cited
(3) Munrue, CharlesE., ChemiraiNeu~,24,78(1871). (4) Rmune, Charles A. and Weeks,M . E., ' A Historyui the American Chemical Society" Ammiran Chemiial Societv. Warhineton. DC. 1952. on. 26-39.
Volume GO
Number 11
November 1983
999
