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NEWS
EDITION
Industrial AND
ENGINEERING
C hemistry PUBLISHED BYTHEAMERICAN
Volume 10, No. 12
CHEMICAL
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SOCIETY
H A R R I S O N E. H O W E , EDITOR
June 20, 1932
Hillebrand Prize Is Awarded t o Lundell THE
WASHINGTON
SECTION
OF THE AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY, on M a y 26, held a dinner meeting at which t h e Hillebrand Prize was awarded to G. E . F. Lundell in recognition of his outstanding contribution, "Applied Inorganic Analysis." T h e prize is awarded annually b y the Washington Section to the author of an outstanding paper before the section, or a publication. W. T. Schaller spoke most entertainingly of the career of Doctor Hillebrand and of some of the amusing incidents which h e experienced during several years of association with him. John Johnston, director of research of the U . S. Steel Corp., paid tribute to the importance of analytical chemistry, and suggested that analysts be encouraged to interpret their o w n work and given a larger share in the conduct of investigations. In accepting the award, Doctor Lundell first acknowledged t h e great debt that he feels he owes Doctor Hillebrand, not only for his kind guidance and counsel, but because he inaugurated t h e preparation of "Applied Inorganic Analysis," of which Doctor Lundell considers himself the junior member. He then spoke as follows concerning chemical analysis and analysts: Speaking of analysts, it has always puzzled m e that so many analysts have been Swedes. I t would appear that chemical analysis should especially appeal to the Scotch—for the analyst's motto is "Save till it hurts." On second thought, however, it is quite apparent why chemical analysis does not appeal to t h e Scottish mind—there is no money in it. When we came to t h e chapter on gold in the writing of "Applied Inorganic Analysis" w e had handled it so seldom that we had to call in our worthy chairman of t h e Washington Section, Edward Wichers, to help us out. T H E STATUS OP CHEMICAL. ANALYSIS
There has been considerable discussion as t o the status of chemical analysis. Some have said that chemical analysis is the handmaiden of the sciences. This is encouraging, for i t implies a t least a speaking acquaintance with the sciences (which some would deny). I t is, however, somewhat disturbing for it would imply that chemical analysis is not even remotely related to the sciences. I like t h e definition recently given by Doctor Zies, for i t carries t h e secret of t h e common attitude toward chemical analysis. This definition states that chemical analysis is a science, an art, and a state of mind. CHEMICAL A N A L Y S I S A STATE OF M I N D .
L e t us consider for
a moment the state of mind. With most research workers the state of mind concerning the making of necessary chemical analyses is like that of children toward castor oil—a necessary evil that must be gotten through with as quickly as possible, or passed on to t h e other fellow if he can be persuaded to accept it. To those who are mathematically minded, chemical analysis is a source of continual exasperation, because it cannot b e figured o u t on paper, or reduced t o simple terms. And there i s no universal K that will make poor analyses come out right. With those w h o are commercially minded, chemical analysis is irritating, because analyses take time, cost money, and the results are not always in agreement. Taking all of these states of mind into consideration i t is small wonder t h a t the final state of mind of most chemists is that
chcrmical analysis i s a field that one should get out of as quickly a s C^HEMKJAL ANALYSIS AN A R T . We come now t o the second
parfe of t h e Ziesian definition, namelv, that chemical analysis is an's,rt If w e accept the dictum that art is something to b e don^, and that it i s the practical application of knowledge a n d skillt^the definition rests on solid ground. First and foremost, the analyst's task i s to get the job done. Neatness and dexterity in EBaanip-ulation are essential. B u t above all is t h e knowledge thafe comes only with long practice of the art, and constant contact witba. it. Ife is with t h e art of analysis—the most important part of all— that most chemists are least familiar. To them, it lacks l a w and system, and so they call it "empirical." And they ask whys and wherefores that cannot be answered because data are n o t available- That data are lacking concerning the behavior of eleimenfcs in complex systems containing a dozen or more constituents is n o t surprising, for our information concerning single eleioents and simple systems is none too exact. For example, in iznorganic chemistry we speak of cobalt and molybdenum sulfedcs a^ CoS and M0S3. As a matter of fact, I doubt if w e ever- get -these in a wet way. But as long as the question is a n abstract one, everyone is happy. It is only when it becomes conerete that the riot begins. And the analyst, perhaps u n fortunately, deals with concrete things. I often envy t h e maker of determinations, such as t h e a g e of r-ocksr the weight of the earth, or the temperature of t h e plantet V"enus. If a scientist says that Venus is not so hot, it causes his brother scientists but little concern, for if t h e truth be t-old none of them has even a platonic acquaintance with this celestial being. B u t let the analyst claim that another's estimate of tfie percentage of sulfur in coal is off, then there are fireworks. If!" m SLie uncertain about the elements when they occur alone, wha&t can we expect in the hundreds of thousands of possible mixtures of t h e elements? It is unfortunate for the analyst thafe elements are almost human, in that they tend to behave quitse differently when associated with others than when alone. The* analyst i s therefore never quite certain what they will do i n a new environment. For example, he finds that aluminum c a n easily be induced t o part from iron and calcium when treated withi a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate. Anol then, he is nainfully embarrassed when he finds that i t dallies and dallies behind if calcium's sister, magnesium, is also present. Inhere ^are fatal attractions, love at first sight, a n d what n o t , amo»nL' tfae elements as well as humans. If anyone could predict the behavior of human beings under any and all circumstam-ccs, t i e might have the makings of a master analyst. Aznd t M s i s w h y the art of ^analysis seems complicated. The* anaLyjst just knows from experience that columbium exerts a simister influence on titanium and governs himself accordingly. Witlh liuanan beings we'd call in psychologists, alienists, a n d Darrows—and then leave it for a jury to unravel. The analyst, on t h e other hand, must be both judge and jury ; and bring in a sealeed verdict. C^HBMKJAL A N A L Y S I S A SCIENCE. • W e come now to t h e third
part of t i i e Zies' definition—that chemical analysis is a science. If w^e agree that science is knowledge reduced to law, the final a c t of a n analysis—the determination—comes nearest to being a sciesitific operation, and that, because it deals with simple comsbinations. And it should be emphasized t h a t i t is t h e determination that most people have i n mind when they spealc of shemical analyses, and with which courses in analytical chermistry deal almost exclusively. TFhforfcunately, however, there is often a very great difference 157
P l a n Y o u r Vacation i n Colorado. Objective—Tlie A . C . S. Meeting i n Denver, A u g g u s t ; 22 t o 226, 1 ^ 3 2
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between a determination and an analysis. As a rule, the relation of the determination t o the analysis is like reading off the data, as compared with finding the page in the Critical Tables (bearing in mind that sometimes one finds the page more easily than usual). I n determinations (as i n determinations of atomic weights) the analyst has t h e element separated from all undesirable associates, and all dressed up for t h e final act. I n chemical analyses o n the other hand, the element i s often i n a crowd (many of whom may also covet the act), and perhaps t h e element is n o t at all ready to g o on. There is n o difficulty in determining antimony if it i s b y itself and all dressed up in the trivalent state, B u t antimony i s quite often clothed in the quinquevalent garb, and is usually associated with another actor, arsenic, who plays similar roles. T h e analyst is obliged, therefore, t o find some means of separating the two, and then dressing antimony up. A n d in doing this, he must make sure that some of antimony's other associates, such as vanadium and iron, are not lurking in the background. Again, there is no difficulty at all in determining aluminum— if some o n e has isolated i t for us. B u t aluminum is a good "mixer," and is almost always found i n company with a number of other elements, which are perfectly willing t o follow its lead. The insistence of some of these friends is quite embarrassing, and so the analyst usually gives up in despair, and lets them go on i n a chorus, with the hope of unscrambling them at a more auspicious moment. I think t h a t you will agree that the analyst must adopt tactics t o cope with t h e situation, and that i t is quite impossible to l a y d o w n laws o r a s e t system. T h e ideal solution of the analyst's difficulties would be t o devise specific reactions (reactions, like the giyoxine test for nickel, that are peculiar t o a single element, and t o no other element). T o go back t o the castor oil simile, the specific reaction is the castoria for which all would-be analysts do cry. D E V E L O P M E N T S I N CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
W e often hear the statement that things are not what they used to b e . Chemical analysis, like the old gray mare, is n o exception. In early times, analytical chemistry w a s almost synonymous with chemistry itself. With the splitting of chemistry into specialized branches, and t h e enormous development of organic chemistry and the sciences, analytical chemistry gradually fell into t h e background. And then too, i t lost some of i t s zast a s the mysteries of Nature's compounds were solved. (It is much more exciting and stimulating to catch a criminal than it i s t o take his fingerprints.) Analytical chemistry began to droop still more with t h e advent of the necessity for widespread analyses of commercial materials. Such determinations must b e turned out on schedule. And s o came t h e so-called standard methods of analysis. As soon a s a method for the determination of a constituent in a given material is standardized, almost anyone with moderate intelligence can make the determination. A n d when chemical analysis associated with the hoi poloi it lost caste. Such developments do not affect chemical analysis alone. When every analytical laboratory has two or three spectroscopes or x-ray oufits in daily use, these methods will also lose their glamor. A n d their serious limitations and faults will be as well known and loudly bemoaned as are the methods of chemical analysis today.
Vol. 10, No 12
EDITION
in specialized branches of analysis, such as electrolytic and potentiometric methods, that will make ithem also more selective. To say that the pH of this and that i s so and s o may be all right now, but in t h e future the "pH ist" must be more specific, for we shall have t o give the detailed analysis as well a s the summation. And here, incidentally, is where an analyst must step in. In short, the future promises to relieve t h e present toil of the analyst, a n d open up for him a. five-day week, i n which modern tools may have removed the a r t and left only cold science and a complacent state of mind. BACK THIS P L A N HARD THINKING, the discussion of numerous suggestions, and the sustained efforts of the Cqnomittee o n Unemployment and Relief for Chemists and Chemical Engineers, has resulted, among other things, in the proposal of a plan which should be generally supported. While this coromittee i s concerned solely with conditions in the Metropolitan JSTew York area, other groups elsewhere are actively engaged upon the s a m e problem and all can unite i n urging this new proposal. Briefly, this is that a fair portion of public or semi-public relief m o n e y , when and if it becomes available, b e allocated to recognized college and university laboratories for t h e support of qualified chemists and chemical engineers dependent upon public relief, so that they may be engaged in the type o f wox-k they are best fitted to perform. This proposal involves the eontribuetion on t h e part of colleges and universities of desk space, laboratory materials, and t h e operating expenses for such special research, leaving t o be paid from relief funds salaries which will avt least maintain these men until the time shall return when their special services are in normal demand. Nowhere has there been raised a voice questioning the value of fundamental research. On t h e contrary, many leaders have pointed out t h a t w e have within the last generation drawn upon our accumulation of knowledge a t a far greater rate than we have added to it. The enforced cessation o f research in some industrial laboratories, the decline in supported fellowships, and the inability of qualified workers to remain in postgraduate studies threatens t o reduce still furtfcier our fund o f new knowledge. Public money spent in well-directed research, which these unemployed men can perform, goes fax beyond relief and becomes a reasonably good investment. T h e plan deserves the support of educational institutions, of the chemical profession, and the public at large. Activity looking to its full adoption cannot b e delayed.
Necrology VIRGIL COBLENTZ
VIRGIL COBLENTZ, retired professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and former chief chemist for E. R. Squibb & Sons, died unexpectedly June 7 in the West Philadelphia station while awaiting a train t o return t o his home in New Jersey, after attending the fiftieth reunion of his class a t the Philadelphia College of PharF U T U R E T R E N D S OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS macy. H e was seventy years old. Doctor Coblentz graduated from the Philadelphia College of Perhaps I might b e pardoned if I stated, i n closing, what I bePharmacy in 1882 with honors. T w o years later he was aplieve the future trends of chemical analysis will be. pointed professor of materia medica and toxicology at the CinI n the first place, I think that much of our old style qualitacinnati College of Pharmacy, also being elected in the same year tive analysis will g o . Specific tests, and spectroscopic, x-ray, and chemical microscopic methods will take its place on the president of t h e Ohio State Pharmaceutical Association. He held this position for three years, after w h i c h he went to Geroccasions, relatively rare, that qualitative analyses must be many where h e studied a t the Universities of Gottingen, Strassmade. burg, and Berlin, earning the degrees of doctor of medicine and I n the second place, I believe that many of t h e determinations doctor of philosophy. I n 1891 he became professor of pharmacy of small percentages of compounds in definite types of commercial at the N e w York College of Pharmacy, now Columbia University materials will be made b y spectroscopic and x-ray methods— School of Pharmacy, where he remained until 1911 when he went but that these will never serve for analyses of the highest acto E. R. Squibb & Sons a s chief chemist. I n 1917 h e entered curacy, n o r for reasonably accurate determinations of conprivate laboratory work and since 1920 h e h a d been pathologist stituents that occur i n amounts that exceed, say 1 per cent. for the Hazard Hospital, Long Branch, N . J. I n the third place, I believe that the old continuing methods— such as are used in the analysis of rocks, minerals, and ceramic products—will go. I refer to those methods i n which w e start A. D . LEDOUX with one sample and get i t s constituents i n ordered fashion by weighing t b e precipitate, reserving the filtrate, and so on and on. A U G U S T U S D A M O N L E D O U X , presid-ent of t h e Pyrites Co., Ltd., (The type of analysis that might be called a marathon analysis.) died M a y 6 following an operations, for appendicitis. H e was In its place will come individual determinations, such as are born at Cornwall-on-Hudson, NT. Y.,
