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Robert Bunsen
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811-1899) was a chemist. Born in Gottingen, Germany, he was the youngest of four sons of a professor of modern languages. Surrounded by this academic environment from birth, Bunsen received his Doctorate when he was only 19 from the University in Gottingen, after which he was able to travel extensively for three years. During his travels, he visited Henschel's machinery plant, where he saw the new steam engine and the Sevres porcelain works. In addition, he was able to see the mineral collections of Weiss, to meet many of the current outstanding chemists, and to take part in a geological trip through the Eifel Mountains with Liebig and Bonn. When he came back to Germany, he lectured at Gottingen and began his famous and dangerous studies dealing with arsenic. In 1836, Bunsen accepted a position at Kassel, where he remained for two years before teaching at the University of Marsburg, the site of his dangerous, but very important studies and experiments with cacodyl derivatives. Cacodyl is a solution made from a combination of arsenic and potassium acetate. It is poisonous, very flammable, and has a terrible smell, even in very small amounts. In fact, the smell is so strong and so bad that it makes a person's hands and feet tingle, and the tongue becomes coated with black. At one time, Bunsen almost killed himself from exposure to the poison. An explosion, which sent glass flying, cost him his sight in one eye. Also while at Marsburg, Bunsen developed techniques that could reduce the loss of certain valuable gases and by-products used in furnaces, from which nearly half the heat was lost previously. In 1841, Bunsen developed a carbon electrode, which was an important part of the "Bunsen battery," used in electroplating. One of Bunsen's most important research projects while at Marsburg was done during and after a geological trip to Mount Hekla in 1845. Because this volcano had just erupted, he was able to collect and analyze gases, rocks, and rainwater from the area. After this trip, he continued his geological experimentation with an artificial geyser. The theories that resulted from his work with geysers are still accepted by geologists today. In 1852, Bunsen began working at the University of Heidelberg, where he attracted students from many areas of the world who wanted to study with him. In his laboratory, he came up with a way to measure the heat of a metal in order to find its atomic weight, figured out how to press magnesium into wire, and made improvements on the "Bunsen Burner," the instrument for which he is most famous. Interestingly, Robert Bunsen did not actually invent the Bunsen burner. Gustav Kirchoff originally came up with the idea to use a certain type of flame, difficult to see, and with a very high temperature, in experiments involving light. Bunsen's contribution was the idea to mix gas and air before the flame is lit, which is important in getting the flame to the high temperature that Kirchoff needed for his experiments. The actual design was made by Peter Desaga, who was a technician at Heidelburg. The use of this burner led to the discovery of several elements, including cesium, rubidium, thallium, indium, gallium, scandium, and germanium. Bunsen never married, so he centered his personal life around his students and his laboratory. Even though he was held in high esteem for most of his professional life, he was known for his modesty. After his retirement at age 78, he continued to keep up with the developments in the field of geology. He passed away peacefully in his sleep in 1899. | ||||
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For further information on Robert Bunsen and other scientists, below are some additional resources that may be helpful.
Center for Integrating Research and Learning at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. |