Christian Friedrich Schönbein (October 8th 1799 with Metzingen, Souabe, in Germany - August 2nd 1868 with Sauersberg, close to Baden Baden), Swiss Chemist German then.

After its studies with Tubingue and Erlangen, he taught the Chimie and the Physique initially with Keilhau in Thuringe and finally with Epsom in England. He passed most of his life to Basle, in Suisse. As of 1828, it occupied of the pulpit of chemistry and physics of the Université of Basle. In 1835 it was named there professor.

Discovered ozone

It is during chemistry experiments that it made in front of its students, in 1839, in particular the controlled oxydation of phosphorus and the electrolysis of water, that it identified a particular odor similar to that which surrounds the electric shocks in the air. Schönbein managed to associate this odor with a gas which it called “ ozone ”, of a Greek word meaning “odor”. Schönbein presented its discoveries in a letter addressed to the Academy of Science of Paris in 1840, entitled “ Recherches on the nature of the odor accompanying certain chemical reactions ”. Schönbein also discovered the heterogeneous Catalyze of the electrolysis of water with foam of Platine, technique at the origin of the current ideas on the “Combustible battery”.

Discovered gun cotton

Though his wife had expressly defended to him, Schönbein tested readily in the family kitchen. One day of 1845, it essuya spots of nitric acid and sulphuric acid with a cloth which he suspended above it stove to make it dry: the cloth ignited then spontaneously by the only fact of heat and disappeared almost instantaneously without making of smoke. The Cellulose of the cloth had been moulted out of nitrocellulose; the radicals nitrites formed by nitric contribution of acid create a source of oxygen, i.e. a Comburant, and heat does nothing but accelerate the Oxydation cellulose.

Schönbein included/understood the potential of this discovery. The Gunpowder, of which the use had dominated the battle fields for five centuries, exploded by releasing a black smoke and compacts, which dirtied the artillerists, clogged the heart of the guns and rifles, and obstructed the vision of the battle field. The nitrocellulose gave the key of a “powder without smoke”; as was used it initially to propel the artillery shells, it was called “ gun cotton ”.

The attempts at industrial production of gun cotton trampled a long time because the factories exploded the ones after the others (thus the brother of Alfred Nobel found death); it was necessary to wait until 1891 so that the chemists James Dewar and Frederick Augustus Abel manage to stabilize gun cotton, with a mixture baptized “ cordite ” because one could form it in long cords.

Sources

• Peter Nolte, “ Ein Leben für die Chemie. 200 Jahre Christian Friedrich Schönbein, 1799-1999 ”. Metzingen 1999.
• Ulf Bossel, “ The Birth off the Fuel Concealment (1835-1845). Correnspondence between Christian Friedrich Schoenbein and William Robert Grove supplements”. Oberrohrdorf 2000.
• G.I.Brown, “ The Big Bang: In History off Explosive ” (1998), Sutton Publishing

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