October 23 – Hats Off to Gilbert N. Lewis!

nPostednOctober 23, 2016

n
n

nTodaynwe celebrate an American chemist who was nominated for the NobelnPrize in Chemistry 41 times !! – but who never won.

n
n

nObviously,nwith that many nominations, he added a lot to the science of chemistry!

n
n

nGilbertnLewis lived to be 70 years old – a fairly long life, to be sure –nand died in his University of California, Berkeley, lab. Apparently,nalthough the coroner ruled that he died from coronary artery disease,nhe was surrounded by deadly fumes from a broken line containingnliquid hydrogen cyanide – and some wondered if he had actuallyncommitted suicide!

n
n

nLewis’sntwo sons both became chemistry professors like their dad.

n
n

nHerenare some of Lewis’s many accomplishments:

n
n

n

n

n

n

n
• nCoined the term photon for the smallest “bit” of light or other radiant energy
  

  n

n

• nFirstn to discover O4 molecules

  n

n

n

n
• n

  n

  nFirst to produce a pure sample of heavy water n

  n

n

n

n

n
• nFirstn to study lifeforms in heavy water
  

  n

n

• nContributedn to the understanding of physics, including writing papers onn relativity and studying the properties of the nuclei of atoms

  n

  n

  n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

nNationalnMole Day
n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n
• nOctobern holidays

  n

n

• nOctobern birthdays

  n

n

• nHistoricaln anniversaries in October

  n

n

nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
n

n
• nNovembern holidays

  n

n

• nNovembern birthdays

  n

n

• nHistoricaln anniversaries in November

  n

n

n

n

n