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Robert Le Rossignol

Engineer of the Haber Process

Authors:

  • Presents the evidence to support a re-assessment of the origins of the 'Haber' process
  • The first biographical account of the life of an important scientific figure
  • Accounts for a life full of remarkable science, of cruel circumstance and personal tragedy and amazing benevolence due to his rewards

Part of the book series: Springer Biographies (SPRINGERBIOGS)

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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiii
  2. The Story of the Discovery of ‘Fixation’

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Robert Le Rossignol

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 3-36
    3. Fritz Haber and Karlsruhe

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 37-78
    4. Germany and ‘Fixation’

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 79-95
    5. The Golden Chemist

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 97-107
    6. Hamburg, 12 May 1907

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 109-127
    7. Taking Care of Business

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 145-156
    8. The Big Fix …

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 157-184
  3. The Industrialisation of ‘Fixation’ and the Great War

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 185-185
    2. The Auergesellschaft, Berlin

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 187-198
    3. Of Koppel and the Kaiser

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 199-209
    4. From Karlsruhe to Oppau

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 211-221
    5. Berlin 1911–1914

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 223-240
    6. Haber and the Chemist’s War 1914–18

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 241-272
    7. Robert’s War 1914–1918

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 273-316
  4. The GEC Laboratories, the Second World War and Retirement

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 317-317
    2. The Post-war Years 1919–1930

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 319-363
    3. The GEC Laboratories 1930–1939

      • Deri Sheppard
      Pages 365-403

About this book

A principal aim of this first biography of Robert Le Rossignol, engineer of the Haber process, is to bring new evidence to the attention of the scientific community allowing a re-assessment of the origins of the 'Haber' process. However, the scope of the book is much wider and goes beyond the discovery of 'fixation' to account for a life distinct from Haber, one full of remarkable science, cruel circumstance, personal tragedy and amazing benevolence, the latter made possible by Haber’s generous financial arrangement with Le Rossignol regarding his royalties from the BASF.



Reviews

“Sheppard certainly has made a strong case for the vital part Le Rossignol played in this ground breaking discovery. … While this book might seem like just one more telling of the nitrogen fixation discovery, the scientific and engineering detail separate this book from the crowd. I strongly recommend its purchase to anyone with a suitable technical background interested in seminal chemical discoveries.” (E. Thomas Strom, Bulletin for the History of Chemistry, Vol. 46 (1), 2021)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, UK

    Deri Sheppard

About the author

Deri Sheppard was a Graduate of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (GradRIC), University of Salford, Manchester, UK (1970). He has a PhD (Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy), Department of Physical Chemistry, University College (Wales) Cardiff, UK (1974) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science (CNAA), Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Polytechnic of Wales, UK (1980). He has been a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) and a Chartered Chemist (CChem) since 1979.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Robert Le Rossignol

  • Book Subtitle: Engineer of the Haber Process

  • Authors: Deri Sheppard

  • Series Title: Springer Biographies

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29714-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials Science, Chemistry and Material Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-29713-8Published: 07 February 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-29716-9Published: 26 August 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-29714-5Published: 06 February 2020

  • Series ISSN: 2365-0613

  • Series E-ISSN: 2365-0621

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIII, 547

  • Number of Illustrations: 62 b/w illustrations, 35 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: History of Chemistry, Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access