Mikkel Frandsen (1892–1981) was a Danish American physical chemist noted for experiments involving
chemical thermodynamics
Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. Chemical thermodynamics involves not only laboratory measurement ...
,
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
, and heavy water. Also known as deuterium oxide (D2O), heavy water is used to produce
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
and is used in other nuclear applications such as
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic fiel ...
.
Early years
Frandsen was born in the parish of Sønder Lem in the town of
Ringkøbing
Ringkøbing (older spelling ''Ringkjøbing'') is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. It has a population of 9,894 (1 January 2022).Ringkøbing-Skjern,
Midtjylland
The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...
,
Denmark
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...
. He emigrated from Denmark to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1921. Frandsen earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
in 1926.
In 1928, Frandsen invented the Liquid Phase Cracking Process, discovering that when oil is heated to a point at which
cracking (chemistry)
In petrochemistry, petroleum geology and organic chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or long-chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking o ...
takes place, the heat consumed causes the oil temperature to decrease. This results in an increased yield of
gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
National Bureau of Standards
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...
(NBS), Frandsen began a study with Edward W. Washburn (1881-1934), chief of the NBS and his assistant Edgar R. Smith, the results of which were published in "The Isotopic Fractionation of Water" (1933).
In Frandsen et al.'s experiment, the scientists subjected water to
electrolysis
In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...
, and an
isotope fractionation
Isotope fractionation describes fractionation processes that affect the relative abundance of isotopes, phenomena which are taken advantage of in isotope geochemistry and other fields. Normally, the focus is on stable isotopes of the same element. ...
took place. The heavy water produced displayed a higher density than regular water. Heavy water has a higher freezing point, higher boiling point, and lower
refractive index
In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium.
The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or ...
than regular water.
Heavy water differs from regular water in that the two atoms of
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
have been substituted with two atoms of
deuterium
Deuterium (or hydrogen-2, symbol or deuterium, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two Stable isotope ratio, stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other being Hydrogen atom, protium, or hydrogen-1). The atomic nucleus, nucleus of a deuterium ato ...
, which is an
isotope
Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numbers) ...
of hydrogen. The mass of heavy water is about 10% more than that of regular water due to the extra neutron in deuterium. Heavy water was discovered by Gilbert N. Lewis in 1933.
In 1934, Frandsen, along with Washburn and Smith, also published "On Change in Density, Index of Refraction, Boiling Point, and Freezing Point of Water after Electrolysis."
National Bureau of Standards
From 1931 to 1934, Frandsen authored or co-authored a series of experiments while at the National Bureau of Standards, the first of which was entitled, ''Cryoscopic Constant Heat of Fusion, and Heat Capacity of Camphor'' (1931). In 1932,
Frederick Rossini Frederick Dominic Rossini (July 18, 1899 – October 12, 1990) was an American thermodynamicist noted for his work in chemical thermodynamics.
In 1920, at the age of twenty-one, Rossini entered Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and soon wa ...
, Washburn, and Frandsen authored "The Calorimetric Determination of the Intrinsic Energy of Gases as a Function of the Pressure." This experiment resulted in the development of the Washburn Correction for bomb
calorimetry
In chemistry and thermodynamics, calorimetry () is the science or act of measuring changes in ''state variables'' of a body for the purpose of deriving the heat transfer associated with changes of its state due, for example, to chemical reacti ...
, a decrease or correction of the results of a calorimetric procedure to normal states.
Frandsen also co-authored two articles with
Merle Randall
Merle Randall (January 29, 1888 – March 17, 1950) was an American physical chemist famous for his work with Gilbert N. Lewis, over a period of 25 years, in measuring reaction heat of chemical compounds and determining their corresponding free ...
in 1932, ''The Standard Electrode Potential of Iron and the Activity Coefficient of Ferrous Chloride'' and ''Determination of the Free Energy of Ferrous Hydroxide from Measurements of Electromotive Force''. Randall, along with Lewis, wrote one of the most influential books in chemical thermodynamics, ''Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances'' (1923). In 1933, Frandsen conducted research on the ''Heat Capacity of Phosphorus Pentoxide''. Another of Frandsen's experiments in 1933 was entitled, ''A Method of Determining Solvent Properties of Volatile Thinners in Varnishes''.
Later years
In 1952, working at the Washington Navy Yard, U.S. Naval Gun Factory, Frandsen conducted chemical and spectrographic analyses of steels and copper alloys that led to a more effective testing procedure, the Quantometric Method. His research led to an article entitled, "Preparation of Vanadium Monoxide (1952).