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Home , Liquid air, William Ramsay

Redoiscovery of the Dmens The Noble Gases Rayleigh and Ramsay

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Figure 2. This is Terling Place, which was built 1770-1771, the home of the Rayleigh family. John (1731-1810), the discover- Strutt (1727-1816), and his family moved into er of hydrogen (phlogiston) in 1766, studied the house in 1773. His grandson was Lord atmospheric gases for many years. In 1785, he Rayleigh, John William Strutt, 3rd Baron wondered ". . . whether there are not in reality (1842-1919); when he retired from Cambridge many different substances confounded togeth- University (1884), he returned to continue er by us under the name of phogisticated air research in his private laboratory, the building to []."' By means of electrical sparking he the right, where he discovered . reacted phlogisticated air with dephlogisticated air () to form nitrous air (nitrogen The discovery of argon was prompted by an oxides) and "continued to spark till no further attempt to corroborate the postulate of William diminution took place... only a small bubble of Prout (1785-1850), who had proposed 3 that the air remained unabsorbed, which certainly was atomic weights of the elements were multiples not more than 1/120 of the bulk of the phlogis- of the primary substance hydrogen. Rayleigh Figure 1. John William Strutt, Third Baron ticated air." accurately weighed samples of purified hydro- Rayleigh, painted by Sir George Reid, 1903. gen, oxygen, and nitrogen to determine if in The original hangs in the Royal Society, London, Lord Rayleigh. 2 John William Strutt, 3rd Carlton House Terrace, London (N51 30.36 fact hydrogen was a common denominator 0 Baron Rayleigh (1842-1919) (Figure 1) was the (Figures 2,3). He obtained reproducible values Woo 07.95); a copy resides in the Rayleigh second Cavendish Professor of Physics for hydrogen and oxygen, but with nitrogen he residence in Terling. He was President of the (1879-1884) at the University of Cambridge noticed a discrepancy: atmospheric nitrogen Royal Society 1905-1908. (following James Clerk Maxwell, 1831-1879). gas weighed more than artificially produced Rayleigh is well known for his publications on gas. He sent a letter to Nature4 where he and 2.2990 0.0006 grams for nitrogen synthe- Rayleigh scattering (explaining the blue color of queried: "I am much puzzled by some recent sized from ammonium nitrite and other inor- the sky) and Rayleigh waves (e.g., surface earth- results as to the of nitrogen, and shall ganic precursors. Several persons responded, quake waves). He received the in be obliged if any of your chemical readers can including James Dewar (1842-1923), inventor Physics in 1904 for "his investigations of the offer suggestions as to the cause...." Rayleigh's of the eponymous flask; 5 of the most important gases and for data showed, for a 1800-cc flask, (1832-1919), discoverer of thallium ; and his discovery of argon." 2.3102 0.0002 grams for atmospheric nitrogen William Ramsay (vide infra). Crookes was the

36 THE HEXAGON/FALL 2012 I Figure 3. The critical experiment of Rayleigh was on this balance on a marble slab in the weighing room in the basement of his laboratory complex at Terling, where he noted the discrepency between "physical"nitrogen (from the atmosphere) and "chemical" nitrogen (synthesized from inorganiccompounds).

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Figure 5. This is Slade Hall of University College, London, now the art building but previously the Science Building where Ramsay performed his research (Gower Court, N51 31.50 WOO0 08.03), 100 meters Figure 4. Portraitof Sir William Ramsay, painted southwest of the Ingold Laboratories. by Mark Milbanke in 1913. This hangs in the Ramsay Lecture Theatre Hall of the Chemistry resulting nitrogen oxides with caustic potash University College, London, in 1887 (Figure 5), Building (ChristopherIngold Laboratories), (KOH), measure the density; repeat until the replacing Alexander Williamson (1824-1904, University College, London, 20 Gordon Street, density does not change. 2 who had proved the divalency of oxygen in 0 London (N51 31.52 WOO 07.95). Ramsay was 1850.5b). Upon reading Rayleigh's publication in 6 perfectly fluent in German and French and could William Ramsay. Sir William Ramsay Nature, Ramsay asked him if he could carry out lecture expertly in these languages to scientific (1852-1916) (Figure 4), the co-discoverer of his own investigative studies on the problem. audiences who were spellbound by his eloquence. argon, won the 1904 Both agreed that the discrepancy was probably simultaneously with Rayleigh for "the discov- due to a heavier impurity in the atmospheric only one with a specific suggestion, which ery of the inert [noble] gaseous elements in air, nitrogen, because all known lighter gases, such recalled Cavendish's earlier research: add oxy- and his determination of their place in the peri- as hydrogen, methane, ethylene, etc., had been gen to the nitrogen and spark, remove the odic system." Ramsay became professor at diligently removed ( was not yet discov-

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Figure 7. This is a model of apparatus used by Ramsay and Travers, located in the Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London. There were many variations of apparatus, most including ballast air tanks; Figure 6. Rayleigh used this globe (1-foot diameter) to collect argon by sparking manometers; pumps; tubes to remove all chemically reactive gases-copper atmospheric nitrogen; it is on exhibit at the in London (21 0 to remove oxygen, copper oxide for hydrogen, soda-lime for , Albemarle Street; N51 30.58 WO0 08.58). phophorous pentoxide for water, and finally magnesium to remove nitrogen. The tubes containing copper, copper oxide, and magnesium were heated by Bunsen burners. Exhibits such as this were ered5h). The two decided on different tacks: once on public display, but are now in storage to make way for more "modern, meaningful" exhibits. Rayleigh would remove nitrogen from air by sparking in the earlier fashion of Cavendish (Figure 6); Ramsay would remove nitrogen 0 from air by reaction with hot magnesium Figure 8. of the Royal Society was held at its Burlington (Figure 7). William Travers, House on Picadilly (today the home of the the colleague of Royal Society of Chemistry) with an audience The collaboration. Never was there a more Ramsay who was of 800. A complete review of the research by improbable partnership: the impatient Ramsay the co-discoverer Rayleigh and Ramsay was given, including a and the ultra-cautious Rayleigh. It was "not in of , , determination of the ratio Cp/Cv (heat capaci- the character of Rayleigh to do things in a and . ties at constant pressure and volume) of 1.67 hurry,"2 while Ramsay would "make hasty con- which indicated a monatomic gas.1a Then a clusions with a minimum of data." 2 Friends of report by Karol Stanislaw Olszewski Rayleigh resented Ramsay's aggressive style; (1846-1915) of Krakow, Poland7 was presented Lady Rayleigh in her private notes relates how showed that "X"was chemically unreactive and (by Ramsay) of the cold temperature behavior Lord Kelvin was "furious at Ramsay's interfer- suggested that it belonged to a new family in of the gas: specific values of the melting point (- ence" in the "greatest discovery of the century the . 7 189.60), boiling point (-187.0 ), critical temper- [argon]."2 It is true that Rayleigh and Ramsay At the 64th Meeting of the British ature (-121 ), and critical pressure (50.6 atm) could be irritated with each other; however, Association [for the Advancement of Science] were determined, establishing the gas as a sim- each respected the other and they understood at Oxford on August 13, 1894 the two scientists ple substancelob (the modern respective values that the collaborative approaches of a physicist presented a preliminary announcement of the are -189.2 , -185.7 , -122.40, 48.0 atm). Finally, 8 and a could be beneficial. Rayleigh was existence of a new gas in the atmosphere. The William Crookes reported on the spectrum, impressed with Ramsay as an experimenter Chairman, Henry George Madan (1838-1901), which was characteristic and unique.1c and his prompt energetic attack on a problem,2 suggested the name "argon," from Greek argoz while Ramsay revered his elder, even declaring ("idle," "indolent") from its chemical inertness7 Helium and future plans. Barely two that "Rayleigh was the greatest man alive."2'' (Note 1). Considerable doubt existed regarding months after Ramsay's complete description of On August 4, 1894 Ramsay wrote the nature of this new gas -it was simply diffi- argon, 1a he announced (March 29, 1895)" his 2 7 Rayleigh: ' "I have isolated the gas at last... . cult for people to believe that under their noses discovery of terrestrial helium. As a courtesy and it is not absorbed by magnesium." He existed a previously unknown substance mak- Ramsay had asked Rayleigh to help work out determined the density of the gas "X" to be ing up a substantial portion of the atmosphere. the discovery, but Rayleigh declined-he did 20.01 (on a scale where oxygen = 16). Rayleigh The very notion of an element that did not react not think "working in double harness was very replied two days later, "I believe I too have iso- chemically was antithetical to the views of congenial to his habit of mind." 2 lated the gas, though in miserably small quan- some-James Dewar believed it was simply a Thus, Ramsay was free to launch his own 2 2 7 9 tities." They both recognized ' that their form of nitrogen, perhaps N3 . private pursuit of possible other inert gases. At research was founded on physicist Rayleigh's The next year a complete story could be pre- the 67th meeting of the British Association [for original work, but that chemist Ramsey had sented. On January 18, 1895, a special meeting the Advancement of Science] in Toronto,

38 THE HEXAGON/FALL 2012 other physical properties were known for all the inert gases except neon. Royal Society of Chemistry There was only one solution: prepare liquid hydrogen, which would condense neon but not National Historic Chemical Landmark helium. The separation of neon from helium attests to the genius and tenaciousness of William Ramsay, Nobel Laureate 1904 Travers-he received no help whatsoever from Dewar, who had earlier prepared" liquid hydrogen (May 10, 1898) but published no Between 1894 and 1910, in a He details.'4 Travers, who had always loved to tin- laboratory near this site, Ne ker with appliances, took it upon himself to design and build a hydrogen liquifier from and Ar 4 William Ramsay discovered scratch.1 By July 7, 1900, he was successful, and characterized the noble gases, Kr the helium-neon mixture condensed out 15 mL completing the structure of the Xe of neon, whose boiling point of 27K (-246C) was only 7 degrees higher than that of hydro- Periodic Table of the Elements. Rn gen, 20cK (-253aC). On July 10, 1900, after a final series of purifications, the atomic weight 10 December 2004 R5*C was determined to be 19.98, incredibly close to the prediction at the Toronto meeting'2 in 1897, (the modern value is 20.18). Ramsay exclaimed, as he performed the final calculation beside Travers, "No one will repeat this work for Figure 9. This is the plaque at the entrance in Slade Hall commemorating the important work by Ramsay many years 6 on the inert gases. Ever since the chemical reactivity of xenon was discovered in 1962, "noble"gases has to come." His words were most prophet- ic 7-this was the last experiment that Travers become the preferred label for the "inert"family of elements. e carried out with Ramsay (Figure 9). In 1904 Travers assumed a Professorship at Canada, on August 19, 1897, Ramsay delivered group of elements fascinated Travers and he the University College, Bristol (now the 2 a presentation on "An Undiscovered Gas,"' became Ramsay's junior partner through the University of Bristol). In 1907 he set up the where he argued that a gas should exist discovery of a whole series of inert gases. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He between helium and argon (atomic weights = Ramsay had been preoccupied with his returned to England in 1914, and thereafter was 4, 40, respectively). "undiscovered gas," but other inert gases were involved in many industrial enterprises involv- It is interesting that Ramsay used the serendipitously discovered first. By 1898 ing fuel technology and . Dobereiner Law5c of 1817 instead of the Ramsay and Travers had been preparing argon Periodic Table to predict this new element. on a large scale by separating it from the atmos- The science of cryogenics. Karol Ramsay was concerned about uncertainties in phere with liquid air, now prepared in quantity Olszewski (vide infra) and Zygmunt Florenty predictions from the Periodic Table. He was by the new process developed 1895 by William Wr6blewski (1845-1888) had first condensed aware of the predictions of Locoq de Hampson (1854-1926).'5 One day a liter of oxygen and nitrogen in 1883 at Krakow, Boisbaudran, who, impressed by the prophesy argon, neglected because of other tasks, evapo- Poland. 9 These cyogenic techniques depended 5 of his element (gallium) by Mendeleev, a used rated over the period of a week. A sudden upon a cyclic compression and then adiabatic extrapolations from the Periodic Table to predict inspiration of Ramsay led to the study of the expansion. A decade later William Hampson in a much lower atomic weight 36.40 for the "ele- residual liquid. Although it exhibited spectral London, and Carl von Linde (1842-1934) in ment [argon] between chlorine and potassi- lines of argon, also visible were two new lines, Munich, developed methods of producing liq- 3 um."' In reality, the atomic weight of argon a green and a yellow-green line. It was a new uid air in quantity; they filed their patents 7 was much greater (40), even larger than that of gas! Ramsay named it krypton, for "hidden." almost simultaneously in 1895.'1 Linde had a the following element, potassium (39), in the During another evening, on a hunch Travers long history of research in refrigeration, and his Periodic Table. In fact, "reversals" of atomic stayed late to collect a bubble of residual gas business developed into an international weights had been observed twice before in the remaining in the pump (which was usually dis- endeavor;"Linde Industrial Gases"is successful 5 Periodic Table (viz., Te/I and Co/Ni) e, which carded). Ramsay arrived the next day to find worldwide even to this day. simply underscored the difficulties in predicting they had another gas with new blue lines. They The pioneering work of Hampson and Linde 7 of atomic weights from the Periodic Table. named this gas xenon, for "stranger." depended not only on adiabatic expansion, but Ramsay preferred the simplicity and success of Next, upon liquifaction of a sample of air, the also on the Joule-Thomson effect, where a real Dobereiner's Law of Triads and boldly predict- remaining uncondensed gas was studied. (nonideal) gas experiences van der Waals inter- ed 20 for the atomic weight for the Along with the yellow line of helium, it also molecular effects. Liquifying hydrogen was par- "Undiscovered Gas." exhibited brilliant red lines, a"blaze of crimson ticularly difficult, because the Joule-Thomson 7 light." It was named neon for "new." Although effect at room temperature actually warms the Morris Travers.14 Morris William Travers the other heavier gases-argon, krypton, and lighter gases (e.g., helium, hydrogen, and neon) (1872-1961), (Figure 8) an undergraduate of xenon-could be separated and isolated by a upon expansion. In order to take advantage of a University College, London, joined the group of series of fractional low-temperature distilla- negative Joule-Thomson effect, hydrogen gas Ramsay in 1894, just after the discovery of tions, the volatile neon could not be separated must first be cooled below the "inversion"tem- argon. The excitement of a possible entire new from helium. Thus, the atomic weights and perature (-68C).

FALL 2012/THE HEXAGON 39 Hampson was a fascinating individual- Ramsay's entry into radioactive chem originally trained in the classics and law, he was istry. (1877-1956) returned -- self-educated in engineering.15 He stunned the from McGill University in Canada"d to England scientific community by suddenly presenting in 1903 to work with Ramsay," taking advan- his own invention of a compact refrigeration tage of Ramsy's expert techniques of micro- unit (size of a washing machine) that in 20 management with gases. Soddy wanted to minutes would produce liquid air in liter quan- know specifically: Was (known at that "O tities (Linde's unit was four times as large and time as "niton") a member of the "argon fami- 8 took hours to prime).17a Hampson was a quiet, ly"?' A supply of radium was now available unambitious, generous person; he personally (Figure 10) and Soddy was able to collect suffi- delivered flasks of liquid air to Ramsay's labora- cient quantities of this radioactive gas and fl *Kfl~c7"'7^ a Ir F- I L tories, literally enabling the discovery of the prove that indeed radon did belong to the new inert gases. Hampson then passed on to adult family of inert gases IU zUFILF~di''1 IISrr:.Li 01211 . q 7.I .7.. 7 education, writing popular books in science The phenomenon of transmutation, discov -b ir rte-lT, 3LW and mechanics, later progressing into the med- ered by Soddy and Rutherford5d and observed 79

ii z ea a ical field where he invented the precursor to the in the generation of helium in Ramsay's labora- 95ii'

5'CT'Yli"- L heart pacemaker. Then he moved on to social tories,5h impressed Ramsay greatly. After Soddy ti_.,,L

I :IC . i7 1U Ca; 1750 and economic issues,"like Frederick Soddy.5 left his laboratory for , some very

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'ZE6'031iLd James Dewar's contributions.9 Sir James strange results began to appear from Ramsay's rr Alli-L ~m3.! CL

Dewar (1842-1923) at the Royal Institution (the laboratory. 1 Ramsay's successful prophecy of the 1 home of Sir Humphry Davy and Michael "undiscovered element" neon had been a I 1

Faraday) is perhaps best known for his Dewar heady triumph, and with his breezy, unruffled 4 flask and for his liquification of static (liquid, manner he went on to make some preposter- not mist) hydrogen. A chemist by training, he ous claims: radium not only produced radon did not deeply understand theoretical physics, and helium, but also catalyzed copper to pro- Figure 10. This monument originally stood at and his success with liquid hydrogen has been duce lithium and argon, neon from water, car- 9 Frankfurter Strafe 294 in the center of described as the result of "brute force." He bon from thorium, etc." The announcements in Braunschweig, Germany made an intense effort to liquify helium, but in the sixpence newspapers captured the imagi- (N52 15.43 E10 1908 he lost out to Heike Kamerlingh Onnes nation of the gullible layman with convincing 30.77). It reads: "[in German] Herman A. Buchler, (1853-1926; , 1913) of news that transmutation occurred at everyone's 1815-1900,founder of the firm Hermbuchler London, sugar refinery and quinine works, the University of Leiden (Netherlands), who doorstep: "The philosopher's stone has been 2 0 Braunschweig, Buchler & Co., went on to discover superconductivity in 1911. found, and it turns out to be a gas!" Even 1858-1958. [in Latin] For many years."It was here that Friedrich Once it was clear even to Dewar that the inert Mary Elvira Weeks (author of Discovery of the gases were real, he made an effort to find the Elements21) was taken in; she stated Ramsay's Oskar Giesel (1852-1927) initiated the side "undiscovered element" first hypothesized by "later work on radioactivity is regarded as even venture of radium production; Rutherford, Soddy, Ramsay, but he lost this race as well, even more remarkable than his discovery of the inert and Ramsay obtained their radium from him. 2 This monument now stands at the new site of though he had liquified hydrogen before gases." 1 Travers. Leaders in nuclear chemistry were quite Buchler, Harxbutteler Strafe 3, Thune, 8.3 km James Dewer never published details on his upset;5f Rutherford said Ramsay, plagued with north (N52 19.90 E10 30.39). Giesel was the co-discoverer of actinium in 1902. cryogenic appliances, leading to ill feelings laboratory contaminations, was "more anxious 9 from others, especially Hampson who claimed for scientific notoriety than accuracy." 2 2Bertram 5 that Dewar plagiarized his own methods to B. Boltwood f (AX, Chi '21) queried, "I wonder ful set of experiments, using platinum appara- liquify hydrogen.1Th Hampson even went so far why it hasn't occurred to him that radium and tus instead of glass, that Ramsay's lithium and as to state that the the "Dewar flask"was actu- kerosine form lobster salad! !"22 other "transmutation products" were contami- ally a "modification and popularization" of the Adding to the indignation of scientists, nants from his glassware.24 Rutherford and vacuum flask originally invented by Crookes. 7a Ramsay's attitude regarding women particular- Ramsay were jubilant-"I do hope," Boltwood Hampson felt insulted when Dewar said "My ly offended and Madame wrote to Rutherford, "now that Ramsay has results would have been attained had Dr. Curie-Ramsay said that "all the eminent been treed, that you wont [sic] call off the dogs, Hampson never existed. .. "17c With a "strong women scientists have achieved their best work but that you keep hammering at him until you affinity for disliking people,"9 Dewar led a when collaborating with a male colleague"2 3 have brought him down. He should be "monastic" life, bitterly criticizing Rayleigh and and that "lady scientists would better serve by absolutely discredited in all matters radioactive, Ramsay's discoveries. Dewar maintained that it becoming nurses or secretaries to scientists or for he entered the field under false colors and was "not science"to present merely a swath of doctors." 23c Hertha Ayrton (1854-1923) a has been playing to the grandstand ever gaseous mixtures; he wrote letters to The Times respected researcher in her own right and one since."22 Madame Curie suggested to Ramsay that Ramsay's gases were fiction and that of the women specifically mentioned in that he might repeat his experiments; Ramsay "argon" was only an allotrope of nitrogen, a Ramsay's interview,23c retorted that all of blithely replied, "I am not going to repeat the perfect analogy of the next member of the same Ramsay's own work also had been done "when experiment on Cu-Li transformation. All I can 2 3 chemical family, phosphorus, which also dis- collaborating with a male colleague." a say is that we succeeded in bringing about this 9 played allotropic forms. Perhaps justice was served when Madame transformation and she didn't." 6 But the evi- Curie and her Norwegian colleague Ellen dence mounted: the neon and argon was cont- Gleditsch (1879-1968) proved with a very care- amination from the atmosphere, the carbon

40 THE HEXAGON/FALL 2012 was from oxalate contamination. 6 Soon the 2. These Rice inaugural talks include several 12. "An Undiscovered Gas,"Report, 67th radioactive experiments were dropped and factual errors, e.g., that Becquerel characterized Meeting Brit. Asso. Advancement of Science, Ramsay's radioactive research was forgotten by uranium radiation as "ak-rays"; and embarrass- Toronto, Canada, August, 1898, John others. ingly Ramsay was still insisting that radon Murray, London, 593-601; Electrical Review, ("niton") catalyzed copper to lithium, thorium 1897, 41, Alabaster, Gatehouse & Co., Ramsay's final days. In 1912 Ramsay to carbon, and water to neon. Ramsay never London, 255-257. toured America, including a visit to Houston, 6 understood the phenomenon of radioactive 13. L. Boisbaudran, Chem. News, 1895, 71, 116. Texas. Here he participated in the opening of decay; even Travers admitted Ramsay was "a Rice Institute (October 10-12), presenting three 14. K. Kostecka, Morris William Travers. A mere tyro" concerning transmutations."8 Soddy inaugural addresses among a group of seven Lifetime ofAchievement, 2011, XLibris. relates a story where Ramsay pinched a large international scholars and scientists invited for 15. M. Davies,"William Hampson fraction of his precious radium bromide and to the special occasion.25 Ramsay's talks are inter- (1854-1926): A Note,"Brit.,J Hist Sci., 1989, his "absolute horror"held it in a Bunsen burner esting as they represent the limits of the classi- 22, 63-73. to determine its flame color (carmine), thus cal nineteenth century science to understand "permanently spoiling the laboratory for any 16.J. Dewar, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London), 1899, 16, the electron, chemical bonding, and radioactiv- delicate laboratory work."' 8 1-14. ity-all on the eve of the Moseley's atomic 17. W. Hampson, Nature (a) 1897, 55(1430), numbers (1913-1914), Bohr's quantum atom References 485; (b) 1898, 58(1491), 77; (c) 1898, (1913), Soddy's radio-elements (1914), and 1. "Scientific papers of the Honourable Henry 58(1495), 174. Gilbert N. Lewis' (AXI, Sigma '13) covalent Cavendish,"vol 2, Cambridge University 18. M. Howorth, Pioneer Research on the Atom. bonding (1916) (Note 2). Press, Cambridge, England, 1921, 187-194; The Life Story of Frederick Soddy, 1958, New Returning to England, Ramsay gave his last taken from H. Cavendish, Phil. Trans., 1785, World Publications (London). lecture at the University College, London, in 75, 372-384. June, 1912. Always esteemed at his University 19. W. Ramsay, Chem. News, 1907, 96, 95; A. T. and popular with his students, a special cere- 2. R. J. Strutt, Life of John William Strutt Third Cameron and W. Ramsay, Chem. News, mony was held on March 18, 1914, where the Baron Rayleigh, 1968, University of 1907, 96, 241-246; J. Chem. Soc., Trans., Milbanke painting (Figure 4) was presented.to Wisconsin Press, Madison. 1907, 91, 1593-1606. him. Lady Ramsay remarked that the expres- 3. W. Prout, Ann, Phil., 1815, 6, 321-330; 1816, 20. The Outlook (London), 1907, 20(495) sion on her husband's face in the painting was 7, 111-113. (27 July 1907), 108. "that which he has when he is interrupted at 4. "[signed] Rayleigh,"Nature, 1892, 46(1196), 21. M. E. Weeks, Discovery of the Elements, 7th his work by a visitor and and wants to look as 512-513. Ed., 1968, . Chem. Ed., 768. 6 2 6 pleasant as possible." The ceremony high- 5. J. L. Marshall andV. R. Marshall, The 22. L. Badash, Rutherford and Boltwood. Letters lighted his being the "only man to discover a HEXAGON of Alpha Chi Sigma, (a) 2002, on Radioactivity, 1969,Yale University Press, complete Periodic Group of elements." He and 93(4), 78-81; (b) 2007, 98(1), 3-9; (c) 2007, New Haven CT. Lady Ramsay retired to the country (High 98(3), 50-57; (d) 2010, 101(2), 22-26; 23. (a) S. Quinn, . A Life, 1995, Wycombe, , 50 kilometers (e) 2010, 101(3), 42-47; (f) 2010, 101(4), Simon & Schuster, 336-337; (b) D. Brian, west of London), where he passed away two 68-71, 74; (g) 2011, 102(4), 62-67; (h) 2012, The Curies. A Biography of the Most years later. 0 103(2), 20-24. Controversial Family in Science, 2005, Wiley, In a future issue of The HEXAGON we will 6. M. W. Travers, A Life of Sir William Ramsay, 151; (c) the complete transcript of return to Connecticut,sh the origin of yet another 1956, Edward Arnold (London). Ramsay's comments may be found in element discovery. 7. M. W. Travers, The Discovery of the Rare "Women As Scientists,"Hawera & Acknowledgments Gases, 1928, Edward Arnold (London) Normandy Star, New Zealand, 1914, 68, (25 August), 6. The authors are indebted to the gracious 8. "A New Gas Constituent of Air,"Lord 24. Mdme. Curie and Mdlle. Gleditsch, Comptes hospitality of Lord and Lady Rayleigh (John Rayleigh and W. Ramsay, Report, 64th rendus, 1908, 147, 345-349, [translated] Gerald Strutt, 6th Baron) of Terling, who gave a Meeting Brit. Asso. Advancement of Science, Chem. News, 1908, 98, 157-158. personal tour of the historic laboratories on Oxford, August 1894, John Murray, London, their estate and furnished much important 614; full text in Lord Rayleigh; W. Ramsay 25. The Book of the Opening of the Rice Institute. information about his famous great-grandfa- (1894-1895), Proc. Roy. Soc. (London), 1894, The Inaugural Lectures, 1912, vol 3, Houston, ther scientist. 57 (1), 265-287. Texas; W. Ramsay,"The Electron as an 9. K. Gavroglu,"A Pioneer Who Never Got it Element"; "Compounds of Electrons"; "The Notes Right: James Dewar and the Elusive Disruption of the So-Called Elements," 1. Henry George Madan (1838-1901) also phenomena of Cold,"in Going Amiss in 929-980. had suggested the names for the newly discov- Experimental Research, G. Hon, J. Schickore, 26. , Nature, 1914, 93(2317), 91. [The date ered satellites of Mars (Phobos and Deimos).", and Friedrich Steinle, ed., 2009, Springer, of the ceremony was March 18, 1914.] Madan was originally trained in the classics, but 137-157. 27. (a) J. Blunk, Solar System Moons. Discovery became a chemist (M.A. at Oxford) and was 10. (a) Lord Rayleigh and W. Ramsay, Proc. and Mythology, 2010, Springer-Verlag, 5; Head of the Science Department at Eton Roy. Soc. (London), 1895, 57, 265-287; (b) (b) , Chemical News, 1902, 85(2197), College. Henry was the brother of Falconer K. Olszewski, 290-292; (c) W. Crookes, 10-11; , The Oxford Magazine,19o2. Madan (1851-1935), whose granddaughter, 287-289; (d) all reproduced with discussion 20(9), 144; , J. Chem. Soc., Trans., Venetia Burney (1918-2009), first suggested the in Chem. News, 1895, 71, 51-63. 1902, 81, 625-636. 2 name of the dwarf planet Pluto. Th 11. W. Ramsay, Chem. News, 1895, 71, 151.

FALL 2012/THE HEXAGON 41