ChemViews Magazine has just published the 50th Guess the Chemist. Since 2011, the quiz has covered many eminent scientists, who have made important discoveries for chemical research, significant inventions for everyday life, or both.
A closer look at the names behind many scientific discoveries has shown what amazing things chemists and chemistry can do. Read about the interesting life stories of famous chemists in the Guess the Chemist answers and have a crack at the newest question until February 8, 2016.
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1 |
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Discovered Boyle’s law, which describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a gas |
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2 |
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Pioneered research in the field of surface tension and the measurement of surface films |
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3 |
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Proposed the theory of the wave-particle duality of matter |
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4 |
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Invented pasteurization, which conserves food by killing pathogens |
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5 |
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Introduced hydroborations to organic chemistry and co-discovered sodium borohydride |
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6 |
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Discovered the diffraction of X-rays by crystals |
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7 |
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Invented partition chromatography together with Richard Synge |
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8 |
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Made important contributions to probability theory and the understanding of the equilibrium of fluids |
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9 |
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Was the first chemistry professor at Tokyo University and helped found the Japanese research institute RIKEN |
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10 |
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Worked on the isolation of natural products and collected over 4000 signatures from famous scientists |
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11 |
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Invented dynamite and established the Nobel Prize in his will |
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12 |
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Was the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an environmental chemist |
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13 |
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Determined the exact atomic weights of many chemical elements |
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14 |
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Discovered the transition metal tantalum |
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15 |
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Patented the use of supercritical fluid extraction in the decaffeination of coffee |
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16 |
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Invents the fictional faster-than-light “warp drive” in the Star Trek universe |
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17 |
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Discovered chromium and beryllium |
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18 |
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Invented the Clemmensen reduction, which converts carbonyls to methylene groups |
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19 |
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Made important contributions to the understanding of enzymatic reactions |
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20 |
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Friedrich Heinrich August Klatte Received the first patent for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) |
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21 |
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Developed chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions using ruthenium–BINAP complexes |
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22 |
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Performed pioneering work on reaction mechanisms and coined terms such as nucleophilic and electrophilic |
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23 |
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Discovered the psychopharmacological effects of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) |
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24 |
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Developed the Bergius process for producing synthetic fuel from coal |
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25 |
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Co-invented the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia (see also Guess the Chemist (40)) |
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26 |
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Invented bakelite, one of the first synthetic plastics |
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27 |
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Co-developed the Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions, which can functionalize aromatic rings |
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28 |
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Studied fatty acids and improved soap and candle production |
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29 |
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Was one of the inventors of the incandescent light bulb |
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30 |
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Is best known for the Nernst equation, which gives the potential of a half-cell in electrochemistry |
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31 |
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Pioneered the study of biomolecules by X-ray crystallography |
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32 |
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Elucidated the quantum mechanical nature of the chemical bond |
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33 |
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Made important contributions to the inception of supramolecular chemistry |
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34 |
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Discovered critical details of the cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism |
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35 |
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Explained the ezymatic fermentation of sugar |
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36 |
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Developed the first commercially successful thermal cracking method for producing gasoline |
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37 |
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Assigned the cyclic structure to benzene |
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38 |
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Confirmed the existence of the carbon isotope 14C, which is used in radiocarbon dating |
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39 |
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Performed the first synthesis of succinic acid |
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40 |
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Co-invented the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia (see also Guess the Chemist (25)) |
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41 |
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Was the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in chemistry in Germany and an activist for women’s rights |
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42 |
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Developed the Knoevenagel condensation, a modified aldol condensation |
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43 |
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Co-discovered 12 chemical elements |
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44 |
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Made seminal contributions to immunology and developed treatments for syphilis and diphteria |
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45 |
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Is considered the “father of polymer chemistry” and discovered the first ketene |
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46 |
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Co-discovered the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, which predict the barrier heights of pericyclic reactions |
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47 |
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Made seminal contributions to the understanding of electron exchange and ligand exchange in complexes |
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48 |
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Co-discovered ten transuranium elements |
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49 |
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Is credited with the first scientific description of platinum |
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50 |
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The scientist we are looking for this time had an important impact on modern organic chemistry. You can guess who it is until February 8, 2016. |
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