A CONTROVERSIAL LIFE IN SCIENCE

                                      The Tragedy of Fritz Haber: The Monster Who Fed The World

Fritz Haber is one of Germany's most famous chemists. He is also one of the most complex figures in the history of science whose life and career were intricately linked with the political struggles and turmoil in Europe that led to two world wars. 
       Working at the University of Karlsruhe in the 1890s, he devised a method for the  direct synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen, using high pressure and temperature together with an osmium catalyst. In 1918, Haber received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the process.
        Continuing his research, Haber developed a process for converting ammonia into nitric acid, which was then used as the basis for producing nitrate high explosives. This significantly helped the German effort in the First World War (1914-18) and Haber became increasingly involved. His work on gases such as chlorine that could be used against enemy troops in the trenches had tragic personal consequences for him. His first wife was fiercely opposed to this work and she committed suicide at the height of his connection with the war effort. 
         After World War I, Haber continued to work in chemistry but in 1933 he was forced to leave Germany, and he died in Switzerland in 1934. 
         The Haber process is just one example of chemistry on large scale. This chapter explores how industry converts raw materials into the chemical compounds that we use every day. We consider the raw materials that feed the industry, the chemistry involved, the costs of the some of the processes used and the environmental challenges they present.










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