Making Ammonia: Fritz Haber, Walther Nernst, and the Nature of Scientific Discovery PDF
Preview Making Ammonia: Fritz Haber, Walther Nernst, and the Nature of Scientific Discovery
Benjamin Johnson Making Ammonia Fritz Haber, Walther Nernst, and the Nature of Scientific Discovery Making Ammonia Benjamin Johnson Making Ammonia Fritz Haber, Walther Nernst, and the Nature of Scientific Discovery BenjaminJohnson MaxPlanckInstitutefortheHistory ofScience Berlin,Germany MaxPlanckInstituteforChemical EnergyConversion Mülheim,Germany ISBN978-3-030-85531-4 ISBN978-3-030-85532-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85532-1 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2022.Thisbookisanopenaccesspublication. Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation,distributionandreproductioninanymediumorformat,aslongasyougiveappropriatecredit totheoriginalauthor(s)andthesource,providealinktotheCreativeCommonslicenseandindicateif changesweremade. 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ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland The discoverer always has an “extraordinary” background—either specialknowledgewhichprepareshimuniquelyto“infer”hisdiscov- ery,orspecialignorancewhichallowshim,oblivioustothedirectives oforthodoxdoctrine,tostumbleuponhisdiscovery. —PaulForman,1970 If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you’regonnaseesomeseriousshit. —DocBrown,1985 ForEveryone Preface by Gerhard Ertl According to the will of Alfred Nobel, his prize should be awarded to a person who made the contribution “for the greatest benefit of mankind.” From this point of view, hardly anybody else deserved this distinction more than Fritz Haber for his successful experiment in July 1909. The history of this event and its further technicaldevelopmenthavealreadybeenextensivelydescribedintheliterature,but the present work goes far beyond this approach. In particular, it emphasizes the importanceofinteractionsbetweenscientistsleadingtotheexchangeofknowledge. Forexample,Haber’ssuccesswouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouthiscontroversy with Walther Nernst. (Ironically, Nernst received the big Prize just one year after Haber.) As a whole, this development is embedded in the period of growth of thermodynamicsandphysicalchemistry. After analyzing the confluence of factors that lead to a scientific breakthrough, theauthormakesinthelastpartanattempttoformulateatheoryfortheoccurrence ofabreakthroughinsciencewhichhecallstheHaze,startingfromKuhn’sconcept of a paradigm shift. Thus, this text will be of interest to anybody working on the progressofscience. GerhardErtl ix Preface Thisbookisaboutthenaturalsciences. It is an account of a unique discovery in the history of science: the synthetic production of ammonia from the elements, known today as the Haber-Bosch process.Thestoryillustrateshowweareabletochangeourlivesthroughscientific investigationtomakepossiblethepreviouslyinconceivable. Despiteouraccomplishments,however,westillhavedifficultyansweringbasic questions.Whatisscience?Andhowdoessciencework?Itiscertainlymorethan anexclusiveengagementwithhardfactsandtruths,asisoftenposited.Atitscore, science may be characterized as the interpretation of experimental observations within a theoretical framework (although preliminary planning and equipment are alsorequired).Fittinglyorparadoxically,thewayinwhichscienceworkscannotbe described so succinctly. My attempt to formulate an answer fills the pages of this book.Andasthepagesdemonstrate,performingscientificresearchisnotanexact science (hah!). Scientific research is a trade. Science thrives on the accumulated knowledgeofpastgenerationsandscienceexistsbecausewepracticeit. That’sright,wepracticescience,becausescienceisanactiveundertaking. Today, science is often regarded as something like a religion. Unquestioning allegiance is expected in the face of definitive scientific results. Do you believe in science? I don’t, not in any faith-based sense. But I do believe that scientific researchprovidesuswithvaluableinformationtohelpshapeourworldintheway we see fit. Decision makers often ask, are we following the science? Do we have the science to make an informed decision? As I see it, what we have is evidence. Wehavenumbers,measurements,andobservations.Whenwepracticescience,we makeinterpretationsbasedonthisevidenceinordertoinformourdecision-making. ItisnotaprocessthatstopsbecausewehavefoundTheAnswer. Now,ananswertoascientificquestiondoesexist,atleastintermsofthetheories (paradigms)wehavedeveloped.Inactivelypracticingscience,wecomeevercloser totheseanswersinaninformed,inquisitive,andcriticalway.Weconstantlyrefine resultsandaskwhattheresultsmeanindifferentcontexts.Dissentiswelcomeand necessary. Controversy and the discussion of objections exemplify the interaction betweenscientists,whichleadstodeeperinsight. xi xii Preface How does this process work exactly? The best way to answer is to show you, nottotellyou.Thedetailedcasestudyinthisbook,thefamousandconsequential scientific breakthrough of ammonia synthesis from the elements, is a great place to start. The historical record is rich, and with hindsight, we can understand the scientificdevelopmentswell.Whatwillthestoryrevealtoyou? Thebookisdividedintothreeparts.PartI,AConfluenceofFactors,summarizes a century of scientific advances leading to the arena for discovery in which the breakthrough of ammonia synthesis took place. The developments of this discovery between 1903 and 1909 are given in detail in Part II, The Scientific Breakthrough. The events are examined within the context of physical chemistry andtherelationshipbetweenFritzHaberandWaltherNernst,thephysicalchemists atthecenterofresearchonammoniasynthesis.PartIII,TheHaze,isatheoretical examination,basedoninteractionsbetweenscientists.Init,Igeneralizetheevents anddynamicsleadingtoascientificbreakthroughasdescribedinthefirsttwoparts. The narrative is indeed a celebration of the successes of science. I wrote this bookfromtheperspectiveofascientistwhoholdsscientificresearchinhighregard because of its potential. I do, of course, also have criticisms of how we practice science today and concede there can be unintended and adverse consequences to scientificandtechnologicaldevelopments.Somesuchconsequencesareaddressed in the book. The story of ammonia synthesis illustrates well the challenges connectedwiththescientificendeavor. Another point of discussion is the status of a promising mode of research still stuck in its infancy despite its long history. This is the interdisciplinary approach.Cross-disciplinaryresearchisstagnantbecauseitisrisky,anditisrisky because it is difficult. However, risk taking should not be avoided. Progress on ammoniasynthesiswasrepeatedlydependentonbringingtogether—withuncertain consequences—previouslyunconnectedpiecesofinformationfromdifferentfields. Thepotentialrewardofthisrisk-takingisapparentthroughoutPartsIandIIofthis book. In fact, the existence of the book itself is the result of an expedition into an unchartedmixtureofexperiences,expertise,andexpectations.Lookingbacktothe beginning,theoutcomewasbynomeansassured. Inthisspirit,thebookisnotonlyanefforttoconveyknowledgeandofferuseful answersabouthowwepracticescience,itisanattempttoshowtheresultsoftaking theleap.Likeanexperiment,somethingsareworthdoingjusttoseewhathappens. B.E.J. Berlin,Germany June2022
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