CLEVER GERMAN SCIENTIST

Taranaki Daily News, 28 April 1934, Page 9 (Supplement)

CLEVER GERMAN SCIENTIST

WINNING AMMONIA FROM THE AIR. NOW DRIVEN TO EXILE. There has lately died a chemist whoso genius prolonged the war by prolonging the resistance of Germany. He has died an exile from the country he had done so much. to aid, and he came to find refuge in the country he fought so terribly against. This brilliant German ; chemist was Professor Fritz Haber, and . his great achievement was the harnessing of the air itself to fight-Germany’s battles for her. Early in the war he solved the. problem of converting' the nitrogen of tire air into ammonia, the source of the nitric acid required for explosives. A HELPER IN WAR AND PEACE. Ammonia, too, is an essential fertiliser, and the achievement enabled Germany to grow ample food supplies when the nitrates from Chile were cut off by the blockade. Though the process of, obtaining ammonia from . the air is comparatively simple, involving the passing of nitrogen mixed with oxygen over a special material at high pressure, the process cannot be carried out without expensive and complex machinery. Professor Haber found a German engineer, Dr. Bosch, to join him in setting up sufficient nitrate factories to relieve. Germany of any anxiety about explosives. But with the coming of peace it was as a fertiliser for crops that his great discovery proved invaluable. It will be remembered that Sir William Crookes made the dire prophecy that before many years had passed the earth would not yield sufficient food for its growing population. Sir William was basing his calculations to a large extent on the number of years the - Chilean nitrate deposits would last. A NOBEL PRIZE-WINNER. Brilliant scientist though he was, he had not realised that the ingenuity of man would quickly solve this problem. Professor Haber’s process has made the Chilean nitrate industry of little account. And yet this great man, to whom Germany should have been so grateful, was driven into exile. He was a Jew. His war work exempted him from the anti-Jewish decrees, but he resigned his chair at Berlin University as a protest against ’ the anti-Jewish persecution. Hitler and his followers hold intellectual genius as of little account, and the great chemist, one of the Nobel prize-winners, became the guest of England, working for many months in a laboratory at Cambridge University. But his lifework was finished and he died at Basle.

REMEMBER THESE TWO ALICE AND EMILY WATNEY Two dear women are recalled to memory by the news that the Archbishop of Canterbury has just unveiled a memorial to Emily Watney. She and her sister Alice were born to great wealth. They could have enjoyed every luxury and excitement the world provides. But they left their grand house, Haling Park, to live quite humbly in South Croydon an' work for the poor people there. They maintained a staff of nurses to visit the sick'. They gave generously to people in distress. Because they believed that there is no hope for the world unless it accepts the teaching of Christianity they built a church, a vicarage, and a parish hall. When Alice Watney died 17. years ago a memorial vzas placed in the church, and new it is companioned by one to her sister. They spent very little on themselves; but no people evef enjoyed spending money more than these two generous old ladies did. IN THE VALLEY OF FLAMES. SPRING WAKES UP TOO EARLY. Some six months ago certain gas wells in Transylvania caught fire and have been burning ever since. The flames, like those above the oil wells of Moreni, of which we have already told, rise tower-high night and day; and all through the summer curious pilgrims from all parts of the country came flocking to the spot to gaze fascinatedly at their awesome beauty. As autumn came on these pilgrimages gradually ceased. But lately a newer and still more extraordinary phenomenon has- started them again, for while everywhere else in Europe it is winter, in the valley of the flames it is > blossoming spring. The steady heat which is radiated from the burning gas has not only kept the surrounding fields and slopes free from snow, it has awakened sleeping Nature and duped her into mistaking February for May. Violets, daisies, and all kinds of other wild-flowers have come up and are blooming rioto"cly; while in the scented, blossom-laden branches of nearby acacias hasty nests are being built by surprised and shamefaced birds who think they have been caught napping. Those who have had the privilege of visiting this improvised spring enchantm:nt are unanimous in declaring that they will never forget the sight of the flowering valley lying serenely in the fold of the wintry hills, whose snow glows with an unearthly radiance in the light of the towering flames.