Max Ernst August Bodenstein (July 15, 1871 – September 3, 1942) was a German
physical chemist
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical me ...
known for his work in
chemical kinetics
Chemical kinetics, also known as reaction kinetics, is the branch of physical chemistry that is concerned with understanding the rates of chemical reactions. It is to be contrasted with chemical thermodynamics, which deals with the direction in ...
. He was first to postulate a
chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.
Chain reactions are one way that sys ...
mechanism and that
explosions are branched chain reactions, later applied to the
atomic bomb.
Early life
Max Bodenstein was born in Magdeburg on 15 July 1871 as the eldest son of Magdeburg merchant and brewer Franz Bodenstein (1834–1885) and his first wife Elise Meissner (1846–1876).
Education
In 1888, Max Bodenstein enrolled at the University of Heidelberg at the age of 17 to study chemistry with
Carl Remigius Fresenius
Carl Remigius Fresenius (28 December 1818 – 11 June 1897), was a German chemist, known for his studies in analytical chemistry.
Biography
Fresenius was born on 28 December 1818, in Frankfurt, Germany. After working for some time for a pharmac ...
. On 25 October 1893, he received his PhD thesis: "''Über die Zersetzung des Jodwasserstoffes in der Hitze''" (On the degradation of hydrogen iodide in hot temperature), with
Victor Meyer
Viktor Meyer (8 September 18488 August 1897) was a German chemist and significant contributor to both organic and inorganic chemistry. He is best known for inventing an apparatus for determining vapour densities, the Viktor Meyer apparatus, and f ...
as his supervisor at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
.
Following graduation, Bodenstein received two years of additional training in Berlin-Charlottenburg and Göttingen. Bodenstein studied
organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...
and
catalysis
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
in flowing systems and discovered diffusion controlled catalytic reactions and
photochemical reaction Organic photochemistry encompasses organic reactions that are induced by the action of light. The absorption of ultraviolet light by organic molecules often leads to reactions. In the earliest days, sunlight was employed, while in more modern times ...
s with
Karl Liebermann
Carl Theodore Liebermann (23 February 1842 – 28 December 1914) was a German chemist and student of Adolf von Baeyer.
Life
Liebermann first studied at the University of Heidelberg where Robert Wilhelm Bunsen was teaching. He then joined the ...
at the
Technical University of Berlin-Charlottenburg, and
physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistica ...
with
Walther Nernst at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
.
Career
In 1896, Max Bodenstein returned to the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
, where he studied decomposition of
hydrohalic acids
In chemistry, hydrogen halides (hydrohalic acids when in the aqueous phase) are diatomic, inorganic compounds that function as Arrhenius acids. The formula is HX where X is one of the halogens: fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or astat ...
and their formation.
In 1899, he habilitated with the theme: "''Gasreaktionen in der chemischen Kinetik''" (Gas reactions in chemical kinetics).
In 1900, Max Bodenstein became Lecturer at the physicochemical institute of
Wilhelm Ostwald
Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (; 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, and Svante Arrhen ...
at
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
. In 1904, he was appointed as Titularprofessor at the same institute.
In 1906, he became associate professor at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
and department head at the physicochemical institute of
Walther Nernst.
In 1908, he decided to change to the
University of Hannover
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...
where he was appointed ordinary professor in electrochemistry and director of the
electrochemical
Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outc ...
institute. He also became professor of physical chemistry in 1911.
In 1923, he returned to Berlin where he accepted to be ordinary professor of physical chemistry and director of the physicochemical institute after the retirement of Walther Nernst. He kept these positions until he retired in 1936.
Max Bodenstein was also member of the "''German Atomgewichtskommission''" (German Commission of
Atomic Weight
Relative atomic mass (symbol: ''A''; sometimes abbreviated RAM or r.a.m.), also known by the deprecated synonym atomic weight, is a dimensionless physical quantity defined as the ratio of the average mass of atoms of a chemical element in a giv ...
s) and co-editor of the journal "''Physikalische Chemie''" (Physical chemistry).
Contributions
Max Bodenstein is considered to be one of the founders of chemical kinetics.
He started by detailed experimental work on the formation of hydrogen iodide. His technique was to mix hydrogen and iodine in a sealed tube, which he placed in a thermostat and held at a constant high temperature. The reaction eventually reached an
equilibrium, at which the rate of formation of hydrogen iodide was equal to the rate of decomposition to the original reaction (H
2 + I
2 ≡ 2HI). The equilibrium mixture of hydrogen, iodine, and hydrogen iodide was frozen by rapid cooling, and the amount of hydrogen iodide present could be analyzed. Using different amounts of initial reactants, Bodenstein could vary the amounts present at equilibrium and verify the law of chemical equilibrium proposed in 1863 by
Cato Maximilian Guldberg
Cato Maximilian Guldberg (11 August 1836 – 14 January 1902) was a Norwegian mathematician and chemist. Guldberg is best known as a pioneer in physical chemistry.
Background
Guldberg was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the el ...
and
Peter Waage
Peter Waage (29 June 1833 – 13 January 1900) was a Norwegian chemist and professor of chemistry at the University of Kristiania. Along with his brother-in-law Cato Maximilian Guldberg, he co-discovered and developed the law of mass action ...
. His work, published in 1899, was one of the first equilibrium investigations over an extended temperature range.
Bodenstein also investigated in photochemistry, being first to demonstrate that, in the reaction of hydrogen with chlorine, the high performance could explain by means of a chain reaction. Future inventor of the gas chromatograph,
Erika Cremer
Erika Cremer (20 May 1900, Munich – 21 September 1996, Innsbruck) was a German physical chemist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Innsbruck who is regarded as one of the most important pioneers in gas chromatography, as she second c ...
worked with Bodenstein at this time and wrote her dissertation on the hydrogen-chlorine chain reaction in 1927. He explored in great detail the reaction mechanism of reaction between hydrogen and chlorine. With this research, he contributed to the understanding in light-induced chemical chain reactions and thus contributed to the photochemistry. In his kinetic studies, he used the
quasi-steady state approximation to derive the
rate equation
In chemistry, the rate law or rate equation for a reaction is an equation that links the initial or forward reaction rate with the concentrations or pressures of the reactants and constant parameters (normally rate coefficients and partial reac ...
of the reaction. When an
overall reaction is subdivided into
elementary step A reaction step of a chemical reaction is defined as: ''"An elementary reaction, constituting one of the stages of a stepwise reaction in which a reaction intermediate (or, for the first step, the reactants) is converted into the next reaction inter ...
s, Bodenstein's quasi-steady state approximation neglects the variations in the concentrations of
reaction intermediates by assuming that these will remain quasi-constant. These reactive intermediates can be radicals, carbenium ions, molecules in the excited state, etc.
Victor Henri
Victor Henri (6 June 1872 – 21 June 1940) was a French-Russian physical chemist and physiologist. He was born in Marseilles as a son of Russian parents. He is known mainly as an early pioneer in enzyme kinetics. He published more than 500 pape ...
wrote in 1902: "M. Bodenstein to whom I owe much valuable advice", in particular on the kinetic description of the invertase enzyme. Thus, Bodenstein contributed to early research in enzyme kinetics. According to Henri and a later paper by Bodenstein himself, in 1901 or 1902, he suggested the enzyme-kinetic rate law
v = V S / (mS + nP).
Henri corrected this into
v = V S / (1 + mS + nP) (both written in modern notation; S, substrate concentration, P, product concentration).
The ''
Bodenstein number
The Bodenstein number (abbreviated ''Bo'', named after Max Bodenstein) is a dimensionless parameter in chemical reaction engineering, which describes the ratio of the amount of substance introduced by convection to that introduced by diffusion. Hen ...
'' (Bo), a dimensionless number that is often used to describe axial mixing in so-called axial-dispersion models for tubular reactors, is named after him. It represents the ratio between the convective transport to the transport by axial dispersion.
Awards and fellowships
In 1924, Max Bodenstein became fellow of the
Göttingen Academy of Sciences
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The or ...
. In 1925, he became fellow of the
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...
, and in 1933 fellow of the German
Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...
.
On 21 November 1936, he was awarded the "''
August Wilhelm von Hofmann
August Wilhelm von Hofmann (8 April 18185 May 1892) was a German chemist who made considerable contributions to organic chemistry. His research on aniline helped lay the basis of the aniline-dye industry, and his research on coal tar laid the g ...
votive medal''" from the "''German Chemical Society''" (Deutsche chemische Gesellschaft). In 1942, he also became fellow of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Furthermore, he became
honorary doctor
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of science of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
and Dr.-Ing. E.h. (honorary doctor of engineering).
On 13 September 1983, a tablet commemorating Max Bodenstein and
Walther Nernst was unveiled at the Physicochemical Institute of the University of Berlin, Bunsenstraße 1, Berlin-Mitte.
[Image of commemorative tablet](_blank)
/ref>
Personal life
In 1896, Max Bodenstein married Marie Nebel (17 February 1862 – 8 October 1944), daughter of the lawyer Frederick Nebel and Mary Busch, in Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. They had two daughters: Hilde (in 1897) and Elsbeth (in 1901).
Max Bodenstein died in 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 ...
on 3 September 1942. His tomb is at the cemetery , no. J13/14).
References
Sources
*''Chemische Kinetik''. Ergebnisse der exakten Naturwiss., Berlin 1922; I., page 197–209
*''Photochemie''. Ergebnisse der exakten Naturwiss., Berlin 1922; I, page 210–227
*Completed references of his works in the library of Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften
The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften), abbreviated BBAW, is the official academic society for the natural sciences and humanities for the States of Germany, German ...
*Completed references of his works in the Wiley Interscience
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
[Works in Wiley Interscience]
/ref>
External links
*
Max Bodenstein biography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodenstein, Max
German physical chemists
Leipzig University faculty
University of Hanover faculty
Humboldt University of Berlin faculty
1871 births
1942 deaths
Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities