Daily Archives: November 30, 2017

Alfred Nobel (1833 - 1896) — December 10 marks the passing of Alfred Nobel. Nobel was a Swedish chemist and entrepreneur who invented the explosive known as dynamite. He was attempting to create a method to make nitroglycerin safer to use and handle. The success of dynamite and his patents made him a wealthy man. On […]

Today In Science History – December 10 – Alfred Nobel

This entry was posted on November 30, 2017 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on May 16, 2021)

Fritz Haber — December 9 is Fritz Haber’s birthday. Haber was a German chemist who discovered a process to create ammonia from atmospheric gases. The Haber-Bosch process is a reaction that fixes nitrogen to form ammonia (NH3) from nitrogen gas (N2) and hydrogen gas (H2) under pressure over an iron catalyst. Haber discovered […]

Today In Science History – December 9 – Fritz Haber ...

This entry was posted on November 30, 2017 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on December 9, 2021)

Jan Ingenhousz (1730 - 1799) — December 8 is Jan Ingenhousz’s birthday. Ingenhousz was a Dutch scientist who made the first step to understanding plant respiration or photosynthesis. English chemist Joseph Priestly had recently demonstrated that plants give off oxygen. Ingenhousz expanded this research by noting that plants not only give off oxygen but absorb carbon […]

Today In Science History – December 8 – Jan Ingenhousz ...

This entry was posted on November 30, 2017 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on December 8, 2021)