Arthur Amos Noyes (September 13, 1866 – June 3, 1936) was an American
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
, inventor and educator, born in
Newburyport, Massachusetts, son of Amos and Anna Page Noyes, née Andrews. He received a PhD in 1890 from
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (), 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 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
under the guidance of
Wilhelm Ostwald.
He served as the acting president of
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
between 1907 and 1909 and as professor of chemistry at the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
from 1919 to 1936. "Although
he Noyeslaboratory at MIT was like an institute in its intramural funding (from Carnegie Institute of Washington and Noyes's patent royalties), Noyes recruited many of his disciples as undergraduates and took a deep interest in undergraduate engineering education, both at MIT and later at Caltech.
Roscoe Gilkey Dickinson was one of his famous students.
Noyes was a major influence both on the educational philosophy of the core curriculum of Caltech as well as in the negotiations leading to the creation of the
National Research Council along with
George Ellery Hale
George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an American astrophysicist, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and as the leader or key figure in the planning or construction of several world-leading ...
and
Robert Millikan. He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as
Society for Science & the Public, between 1921 and 1927.
Noyes was an elected member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
, the United States
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
, and the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
.
Noyes–Whitney equation
Along with
Willis Rodney Whitney, he formulated the Noyes–Whitney
equation
In mathematics, an equation is a mathematical formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for ...
in 1897, which relates the
rate of
dissolution of solids to the properties of the solid and the dissolution
medium. It is an important equation in
pharmaceutical science
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
. The relation is given by:
:
Where:
*
is the rate of dissolution.
*A is the
surface area
The surface area (symbol ''A'') of a solid object is a measure of the total area that the surface of the object occupies. The mathematical definition of surface area in the presence of curved surfaces is considerably more involved than the d ...
of the solid.
*C is the concentration of the solid in the bulk dissolution medium.
*
is the concentration of the solid in the
diffusion
Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...
layer surrounding the solid.
*D is the
diffusion coefficient
Diffusivity, mass diffusivity or diffusion coefficient is usually written as the proportionality constant between the molar flux due to molecular diffusion and the negative value of the gradient in the concentration of the species. More accurate ...
.
*L is the
diffusion layer
In electrochemistry, the diffusion layer, according to IUPAC, is defined as the "region in the vicinity of an electrode where the concentrations are different from their value in the bulk solution. The definition of the thickness of the diffusion ...
thickness.
References
* "Arthur Amos Noyes: Sept. 69, 1866 – June 3, 1936 (A biographical memoir)," in ''Biographical Memoirs,'' Vol. 31, Columbia University Press (For the National Academy of Sciences of the United States), New York, 1958, pp. 322–346.
* ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography,'' Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970–1990, vol. 10, pp. 156–157.
* ''Biog. Mem. Nat. Acad. Sci.,'' 1958, 31, pp. 322–346.
* ''Proc. Welch Fdn. Conf.'' 1977, 20, pp. 88–105.
* ''Science'' 1936, 83, pp. 613–614.
* ''Science'' 1936, 84, pp. 217–220.
* ''Sci. Monthly'' 1936, 43, pp. 179–181.
* ''Ind. Eng. Chem.'' 1931, 23, pp. 443–445.
* ''American Chemists and Chemical Engineers,'' Ed. W.D. Miles, American Chemical Society, 1976, pp. 371–372.
* ''Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci.'' 1940, 74, pp. 150–155.
External links
* Noyes' Gibbs medal
* Arthur Amos Noyes – Key Participan
''Linus Pauling and the Nature of the Chemical Bond: A Documentary History''an
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noyes, Arthur Amos
1866 births
1936 deaths
American chemists
Presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology faculty
People from Newburyport, Massachusetts
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America editors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Members of the American Philosophical Society