SVANTE AUGUST ARRHENIUS THE FOUNDER OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY

The dinner had already started when Aurora Borealis caught the attention of the host. Excited by the scene, he invited everyone to accompany him outside. He explained to them the cause of a beautiful phenomenon of nature which showed colorful lights in the sky. He took so much time that when the guest returned to the dinner, the food was cold. Narrated by one of his student, Hubert Alyea, this event corresponds to the last years of a great teacher and scientist Svant August Arrhenius. During those years he enjoyed the love and respect of the students and his peers across the world. Being the first Rector of Noble Institute of Physical Chemistry, he was very influential. But was he always so influential? To answer this question, let us start from his early life. He was born in Wijk, Swedan on February 19, 1859. He taught himself to read in the age of three. When he graduated from high school he was the youngest and the brightest student. Early life of Arrhenius shows him to be a very bright student. However what happened to him in the University of Upsala had to defend his research to get a PH.D. degree . He faced from members of review committees, tried to explain the theory he had proposed but could not satisfy the professors. Although he had strong belief in his theory, he surrendered before them for the sake of his degree……and eventually awarded the PH.D. degree with a fourth class (barely passing) rank.

The theory young scholar was propounding was a revolutionary one. Like all revolutionary ides, it had to face strong opposition. The theory is called “Ionic Theory”. Arrhenius was studying Conductivity of Solutions. Some solutions allow the current to pass through them. The challenge before Arrhenius was to find the reason for this behavior. Passage of current is actually the flow of charges, like in metals current is flow of negatively charged particles i.e electrons. Arrhenius thought that charged particles in solution must be fragments of solute molecules. In other words solute molecules break in solution to from charged particles. The flow of these particles caused the current to pass through solutions.

      What Arrhenius faced is common to everyone with new ideas. However, determined and sure about his history, Arrhenius sent copies of his history to international scientists. Several scientists especially the young ones took interest in the theory. He worked on his theory to make it clearer. With Wilhelm Ostwald and JacobusHenricusvan’t Hoff, he laid the foundation of a new discipline of Chemistry, Physical Chemistry. The Ionic Theory is not the only work he contribute to. In fact he worked on solutions, reaction rates, effects of Carbon Dioxide on climate and diverse issues and contributed significantly to chemistry by writing textbooks. As regards his Ionic Theory, after the discovery of charged sub-atomic particles in 1890’s, it was accepted widely. Arrhenius received Noble Prize in Chemistry for his revolutionary theory in 1903. After leading a successful and fruitful life, he died in Stockholm on 2nd October 1927.