Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Appendix A: RNA: A Proile
of the Carbon Paste Inventor
and a Great Scientist
Ralph Norman Adams
.was.born.on.August.26,.1924,.in.Atlantic.City.(NJ,.USA)..Young.Ralph.
had.begun.his.college.education.before.the.World.War.II,.but,.in.1942,.he.was.recruited.into.the.
Chemical Warfare Service
..He.had.always.had.a.desire.to.be.a.pilot,.and.his.wish.came.true.after.
joining.the.
Army Air Corps
.1.year.later..During.this.eventful.period.of.his.life,.he.piloted.military.
aircrafts.“B-17s”.and.“B-29s”.and,.as.a.irst.lieutenant,.operating.in.the.Paciic.Territory..At.that.
time,.he.also.earned.his.well-known.nickname,.“Buzz.”
RNA (1924-2002)
After. returning. to. the. academic. sphere,. Adams. received. a. BS. degree. in. chemistry. from. the.
Rutgers.University.(in.1950)..Then,.he.attended.Princeton.University,.where.he.worked.under.the.
direction.of.Professor.N..H..Furman,.receiving.a.PhD.in.chemistry.(1953)..At.the.Princeton.faculty,.
the.scientist.at.the.beginning.of.his.career.remained.for.the.next.2.years.after.which.he.joined.the.
staff.of.the.department.of.chemistry.at.the.Kansas.University,.KU.(1955)..Since.then,.his.research.
interests.have.been.centered.on.electrooxidations.in.solid.electrodes.and.the.mechanisms.of.organic.
electrode.reactions..In.the.late.1950s,.Adams.and.his.students.experimented.with.a.dropping.carbon.
electrode.(DCE),.but,.despite.enormous.effort.invested.in.the.exciting.idea,.the.concept.of.a.carbon-
based.alternative.to.Heyrovský's.mercury.dropping.electrode.inally.failed..Luckily,.meanwhile,.
the.tireless.Adams.discovered.a.hitherto.unknown.carbonaceous.mixture—the.carbon.paste—that.
had.been.soon.shown.to.replace.fully.the.originally.wanted.DCE,.thus.entering.electrochemistry.as.
the.new.and.a.very.progressive.type.of.the.electrode.material..No.need.to.say.that.the.carbon.paste.
and.the.respective.electrodes.(CPEs).made.Adams's.discovery.to.be.one.of.the.milestones.within.
the. electrochemistry. of. the. twentieth. century.. In. fact,. Dr.. Adams. was. a. leading. authority. in. the.
development.of.CPEs.during.the.entire.1960s.
449
Search WWH ::
Custom Search