Essay, Research Paper: Gilbert Newton Lewis

GILBERT NEWTON LEWIS Gilbert Newton Lewis was much more than anordinary, average chemist. In his time era he wasthought to be one of the most important and influentialchemists in America. Most of the big shot, famous,brilliant chemists originated from Europe. Othersfinally followed this great man, and brought a wave ofchemistry research and development into Twentiethcentury America. October 23, eighteen seventy five, in Weymouth,Massachusetts, a child was born. His parents named thenewborn child Gilbert Newton Lewis. Little did they knowthat the once low-profile name would turn into a worldlyrecognized name associated with scientific genius. Gilbert was educated in Weymouth, by his ownparents. They taught him using the customary Englishtutoring system. He was not enrolled into a publicschool until age nine. His parents enrolled him in apublic school in Lincoln, Nebraska. At a young age offourteen, Gilbert entered the University of Nebraska.Three years later he transferred to Harvard college. At the age of 24, in eighteen ninety-nine, Gilbert wasawarded his Ph.D., under the supervision of T.W.Richards. T.W Richards trained Lewis in a number ofscientific areas, but he most importantly created aparticular interest in thermodynamics in Gilbert. The field of Thermodynamics describes the physicalproperties of macroscopic systems of matter and energy.A thermodynamic change would occur when a macroscopicsystem moves from one state of equilibrium to another.Equilibrium of a macroscopic system can be determinedfrom a number of measurable properties, such astemperature, pressure, and volume. In the year nineteen-hundred, Gilbert became aninstructor at Harvard. He began a new research underRichards, of electrochemistry and chemical equilibrium. Gilbert followed the belief of Faraday, "Fact ismore important than theory", Gilbert ran into conflictswith T.W. These conflicts about bonding in atomic andmolecular structures were so severe, they caused him toleave Harvard. The previous two years Gilbert was in aslump. He did not publish anything. The move fromHarvard thankfully ended the slump. After a year of being the Superintendent of theBureau of Weights and Measures in the Philippines, He landed a job at MIT. At MIT, Gilbert joined forceswith a group of people that were enthusiastic, and

















 







interested in research. These people were eager, thuscreating a work environment suitable for productive andeducational study. Lewis took an interest in thesystematic determination of the electrode potentials ofthe elements. He stayed for seven years. After sevenyears he left for a job he could not pass up; theChairman of the Department of Chemistry and the Dean ofthe college of chemistry at UC Berkeley in nineteentwelve. In the same year, Gilbert was blessed with alovely wife; a daughter of a Harvard professor. Her namewas Mary Sheldon. In nineteen-eighteen, during World War One, Gilbertwas appointed the Chief of the Defense Division ofChemical Warfare Science of France. From his work hereceived some prestigious awards, such as the"Distinguished Service Medal" from America. He alsoreceived the "Cross of the Legion of Honor" from France. A short time after receiving his awards, Gilbertpublished many works of literature, such as"Thermodynamics." This was a book over seven hundredpages long, and focused on the scope of thermodynamics,as well as an in-depth study of thermodynamic laws, etc. He also published "Free energy of chemicalsubstances with M. Randall. Gilbert was the author behind the book, "TheAnatomy of Science" This book focused on Methods ofScience; Numbers, Space and Geometry, Time and motion,Matter in Motion, Light and the Quantum, Probability andEntropy, The Non-Mathematical Sciences, and finally itfocused on Gilbert's philosophy on Life; Body and Mind. G.N. Lewis was the author of the nineteen-twentythree book "Valence and the Structure of Atoms andMolecules". This book clarified electron - pair bondingin covalent substances. He begun work on a moreinclusive acid-base theory. In the nineteen-thirties, Gilbert worked ondeuterium and other isotopes. Deuterium is a stable,nonradioactive isotope of hydrogen with an atomic weightof 2.01363 and symbol D, or H . It is also called"Heavy Hydrogen" because its atomic weight is almostdouble that of original hydrogen. It has the samechemical properties as normal hydrogen. Deuterium Oxide,or more commonly known as, "Heavy Water" was used as amoderator in atomic piles in World War II. It was aessential component of the infamous "H-bomb." Throughout the nineteen forties, Gilbert worked onphotochemical processes. Photochemistry is the study ofchemical changes that are initiated by light. Gilbert Newton Lewis died, unexpectedly in hislaboratory on March twenty third, nineteen forty-six.