Chapter 312: Chapter 275: Synthetic Ammonia
After watching the tank performance, Arthur met with Fritz Haber from Germany a few days later without a break.
When it comes to Haber’s name, it might be unfamiliar to those who are not very interested in the chemical industry.
But if the ammonia synthesis technology is mentioned, the fame would undoubtedly be much higher.
Haber was born in a Jewish family in Breslau, Silesia, Germany, and was a well-known German chemist.
Because he succeeded in producing ammonia from the air in 1909, he won the Victoria Chemistry Award at the end of 1909 and received Arthur’s personal invitation to come to the Royal Australasian Physical and Chemical Research Association.
The predecessor of the Royal Australasian Physical and Chemical Research Association was the Royal Physical Research Association, and the chief president was Albert Einstein.
The establishment of the Physical and Chemical Research Association is naturally for attracting top physical and chemical talents from Europe and even all over the world.
Up to now, Arthur’s investment in the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association has exceeded tens of millions of Australian dollars, and the achievements have indeed been not small.
Many famous physicists and chemists, including Albert Einstein and Haber, have been personally invited by Arthur to join the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association.
They only need to change their nationality to Australasia, and they can receive at least five thousand Australian dollars in annual salary, plus at least fifty thousand Australian dollars in research funds per person per year.
In addition to these, all state-owned laboratories and materials in Australia, as well as laboratories and some equipment within the University, are provided free of charge to members of the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association.
In short, once you become a member of the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association, the research funding is provided by the Research Association, and you will receive a high salary, and even the daily necessities of family members have arrangements.
This is good news for some scientific researchers who love scientific research but are financially embarrassed. It is also precisely because of these conditions that the Royal Australian Physical and Chemical Research Association has attracted more than 20 members so far. These are all famous physical and chemical researchers from European and American countries, all of them have certain research results, and their abilities are recognized by famous experts.
Haber’s reputation in later generations is actually not very good, because Haber served as the director of a chemical factory during World War I and was responsible for the development and production of chlorine gas and mustard gas. He used it in the war, causing nearly a million casualties.
This inhumane act was condemned by scientists from many countries such as the United States, Britain, and France, which also caused Haber’s reputation in the scientific research community to decline drastically.
However, this does not hinder Haber’s talent in chemistry at all. The ammonia synthesis technology he developed is also essential at the national level.
Of course, when it comes to ammonia synthesis technology, the importance of ammonia cannot be ignored.
Ammonia is a colorless gas with a strong irritating odor. Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, which is easily soluble in water and is an essential raw material for making nitrate fertilizers and explosives.
The importance of ammonia synthesis technology lies precisely in the vital mineral for making gunpowder and agricultural fertilizers, saltpeter.
Because it can make gunpowder and is also an essential source of agricultural fertilizers, this leads to the unmatched importance of saltpeter mines and is held by very few countries.
Currently, the world’s largest Saltpeter mine comes from the Pampas Desert in Chile, which even in later generations, is still the largest saltpeter mining area and saltpeter export site in the world.
Wars erupted for this saltpeter mine among neighboring countries and Chile, but Chile finally succeeded in obtaining it.
With the support of the British, Chile successfully became one of the three powers in South America. But the cost was that this saltpeter mine was firmly occupied by the British, and the mining and sales of saltpeter mines were basically controlled by the British.
The British Empire’s monopoly on saltpeter mines has caused dissatisfaction among many other countries. There is no way, saltpeter mines are essential for military industry and agriculture. Even if they cannot get a share from the British-occupied saltpeter mines, they must find alternatives to saltpeter mines to solve the raw materials for making gunpowder and fertilizers.
Among the various alternatives to saltpeter mines, ammonia is undoubtedly one of the essential alternatives.
As early as 1795, someone tried to synthesize ammonia under normal atmospheric pressure but ultimately failed. Then, others tried to test it under multiple different atmospheric pressures, but the result was still a failure.
This situation did not progress until the second half of the 19th century. Advances in physics and chemistry allowed people to realize that the reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen to synthesize ammonia is reversible. Increasing pressure will push the reaction towards ammonia production: increasing temperature will shift the reaction in the opposite direction, but the reaction rate is too small if the temperature is too low; catalysts will have a significant impact on the reaction. This has provided theoretical guidance for the ammonia synthesis experiment.
At that time, Nestor, the German authority in physical chemistry, clearly pointed out that nitrogen and hydrogen could synthesize ammonia under high pressure, and provided some experimental data.
French chemist Le Chatelier was the first to attempt a high-pressure ammonia synthesis experiment, but due to the oxygen mixed into the nitrogen-hydrogen mixture, an explosion occurred, causing him to abandon the dangerous experiment. Having a good foundation in the field of physical and chemical research, Haber is determined to overcome this daunting problem.
