How Did the Tree of Knowledge Get Its Blossom? The Rise of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, with an Eye on Berlin and Leipzig

Friedrich, Břetislav

doi:10.1002/anie.201509260

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(85 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As Nernst colorfully narrated in his obituary notice (Nernst 1913), Abegg was extremely hard working, 2 Let us note that physical chemistry came about with a purpose, namely to save chemistry from taxonomy-from becoming a collection of little disconnected facts bred mainly by organic chemists. Its founders shared the view that chemistry should seek the general rather than cherish the particular and that the way to achieve it was to adopt the methods of mathematics and physics, Friedrich (2016). The success of physical chemistry in providing a common ground for chemistry was celebrated by Ostwald in his proclamation that "[p]hysical chemistry is not just a branch on but the blossom of the tree of knowledge" Ostwald (1887).…”

Section: Clara Immerwahr's Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clara Immerwahr: A Life in the Shadow of Fritz Haber

Friedrich

Hoffmann

2017

One Hundred Years of Chemical Warfare: Research, Deployment, Consequences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examine the life of Clara Haber, nee Immerwahr (1870Immerwahr ( -1915, including her tragic suicide and its possible relation to the involvement of her husband, Fritz Haber, in chemical warfare. Clara earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Breslau, in 1900, as the first woman ever, and married the physical chemist Fritz Haber within a year of her graduation. With no employment available for female scientists, Clara freelanced as an instructor in the continued education of women, mainly housewives, while struggling not to become a housewife herself. Her duties as the designated head of a posh household hardly brought fulfillment to her life. The outbreak of WWI further exacerbated the situation, as Fritz Haber applied himself in extraordinary ways to aid the German war effort, which included his initiative to develop chemical weapons. The night that he celebrated the "success" of the first chlorine cloud attack and his promotion to the rank of captain, Clara committed suicide. However, we found little evidence to support express claims that Clara was an outspoken pacifist who took her life because of her disapproval of her husband's engagement in chemical warfare. We examine the origin of this "myth of Clara Immerwahr" that took root in the 1990s from the perspective offered by the available scholarly sources, including those that have only recently come to light.

show abstract

Section: Clara Immerwahr's Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clara Immerwahr: A Life in the Shadow of Fritz Haber

Friedrich

Hoffmann

2017

One Hundred Years of Chemical Warfare: Research, Deployment, Consequences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Theoretical chemistry, as a theoretical and computational approach to study chemical reactions, has been widely used in studying the chemical reaction mechanism in recent years ( Raos, 2021 ). Unlike experimental chemistry, theoretical chemistry could delve into the microscopic nature of reactions, and its results are not influenced by environmental factors ( Friedrich, B., 2016 ). The density functional theory (DFT) in theoretical chemistry could determine the structures and thermodynamic parameters of different reactants and products in chemical reactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density functional theory studies on the oleic acid thermal oxidation into volatile compounds

Lin

Wang

et al. 2023

Food Chemistry: X

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Clara Haber, nee Immerwahr (1870–1915): Life, Work and Legacy

Friedrich

Hoffmann

2016

Zeitschrift anorg allge chemie

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examine the life, work, and legacy of Clara Haber, nee Immerwahr, who became the first woman to earn a doctorate from the University of Breslau, in 1900. In 1901 she married the chemist Fritz Haber. With no employment available for female scientists, Clara freelanced as an instructor in the continued education of women, mainly housewives, while struggling not to become a housewife herself. Her duties as a designated head of a posh household hardly brought fulfillment to her life. The outbreak of WWI further exacerbated the situation, as Fritz Haber applied himself in extraordinary ways to aid the German war effort. The night that he celebrated the “success” of the first chlorine cloud attack, Clara committed suicide. We found little evidence to support claims that Clara was an outspoken pacifist who took her life because of her disapproval of Fritz Haber's involvement in chemical warfare. We conclude by examining “the myth of Clara Immerwahr” that took root in the 1990s from the perspective offered by the available scholarly sources, including some untapped ones.

show abstract

How Did the Tree of Knowledge Get Its Blossom? The Rise of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, with an Eye on Berlin and Leipzig

Cited by 7 publications

References 78 publications

Clara Immerwahr: A Life in the Shadow of Fritz Haber

Clara Immerwahr: A Life in the Shadow of Fritz Haber

Density functional theory studies on the oleic acid thermal oxidation into volatile compounds

Clara Haber, nee Immerwahr (1870–1915): Life, Work and Legacy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About