Albert Mauritz Atterberg (19 March 1846 – 4 April 1916) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and agricultural scientist who created the

Atterberg limits The Atterberg limits are a basic measure of the critical water contents of a fine-grained soil: its shrinkage limit, plastic limit, and liquid limit. Depending on its water content, soil may appear in one of four states: solid, semi-solid, plastic ...

, which are commonly referred to by geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists today. In Sweden he is equally known for creating the Atterberg grainsize scale, which remains the one in use. Atterberg received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in chemistry from

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

in 1872 and then stayed there as a lecturer in analytical chemistry until 1877, during which time he traveled across Sweden and abroad to study the latest developments in organic chemistry. He then went on to become the principal of the Chemical Station and Seed Control Institute at

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

, publishing numerous papers on agricultural research dealing with the classification of varieties of oats and corn between 1891 and 1900. It was towards the age of fifty-four that Atterberg, while continuing his work on chemistry, began to focus his efforts on the classification and

plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...

of soils, for which he is most remembered. Atterberg was apparently the first to suggest the limit <0.002 mm as a classification for clay particles. He found that plasticity to be a particular characteristic of clay and as a result of his investigations arrived at the consistency limits which bear his name today. He also conducted studies aiming to identify the specific minerals that give a clayey soil its plastic nature. Atterberg's work on soil classification gained formal recognition from the

International Society of Soil Science International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

in a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Conference in 1913. Two year later a U.S. Bureau of Standards report stated that Atterberg's method was "as simple a one as could be devised, and...it is well that we should become familiar with it." The U.S. Bureau of Chemistry and Soils adopted it in 1937. The importance of Atterberg's work has never been fully realized in his own field of agricultural science, nor in other subjects concerned with clays, such as ceramics. Its introduction to the field of

geotechnical engineering Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics for the solution of its respective engineering problems. It als ...

was due to

Karl Terzaghi Karl von Terzaghi (October 2, 1883 – October 25, 1963) was an Austrians, Austrian Mechanical Engineer, mechanical engineer, geotechnical engineer, and geologist known as the "father of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering". Early life I ...

, who came to realise its importance at a relatively early stage of his research. Terzaghi's assistant,

Arthur Casagrande Arthur Casagrande (August 28, 1902 – September 6, 1981) was an American civil engineer born in Austria-Hungary who made important contributions to the fields of engineering geology and geotechnical engineering during its infancy. Renowned for h ...

, standardized the tests in his paper in 1932 and the procedures have been followed worldwide ever since. He was the uncle of the composer

Kurt Atterberg Kurt Magnus Atterberg (, 12 December 188715 February 1974) was a Swedish composer and engineer. He is best known for his symphonies, operas, and ballets. Biography Atterberg was born in Gothenburg. His father was Anders Johan Atterberg, engineer ...

References

* Blackall, T. E. (1952). "A. M. Atterberg 1846-1916," Geotechnique, 3(1), pp. 17–19. * Casagrande, A. (1932). "Research on the Atterberg Limits of Soils," Public Roads 12(3), pp. 121–30 and 136. * Kinnison, C. S. (1915). Technological Papers of the Bureau of Standards No. 46. A Study of the Atterberg Plasticity Method, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Standards, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., pp. 10. {{DEFAULTSORT:Atterberg, Albert 1846 births 1916 deaths Swedish chemists Geotechnical engineers Uppsala University faculty People from Härnösand