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Here, Arrhenius began by assisting Edlund in his
work on electromotive force measurements in spark discharges but soon
moved to an interest of his own. This resulted in his thesis (1884)
Recherches sur la conductibilité galvanique des électrolytes
(Investigations on the galvanic conductivity of electrolytes). From
his results the author concluded that electrolytes, when dissolved in
water, become to varying degrees split or dissociated into electrically
opposite positive and negative ions. The degree to which this dissociation
occurred depended above all on the nature of the substance and its concentration
in the solution - being more developed the greater the dilution. The
ions were supposed to be the carriers of the electric current, e.g.
in electrolysis, but also of the chemical activity. The relation between
the actual number of ions and their number at great dilution (when all
the molecules were dissociated) gave a quantity of special interest
("activity constant").
The idea of a connection between electricity and chemical affinity,
once advocated by Berzelius, had, however, so completely vanished from
the general consciousness of scientists that the value of Arrhenius'
publication was not well understood by the science faculty at Uppsala,
where the dissertation took place. On the other hand, Otto Pettersson,
Professor of Chemistry at Stockholms
Högskola, emphasized the originality of the dissertation*,
and Wi. Ostwald travelled to Uppsala
to make the acquaintance of the young author. The fundamental importance
of Arrhenius' work was thus made clear, and at the end of 1884 he got
a docentship at Uppsala in physical chemistry - the first in Sweden
in this new branch of science. Through Edlund's influence he was awarded
a travelling fellowship from the Academy of Sciences which enabled him
to work in 1886 with Ostwald in Riga and with Kohlrausch in Würzburg.
In 1887 he was with Boltzmann in Graz and in 1888 he worked with van't
Hoff in Amsterdam. During these years Arrhenius was able to prove
the influence of the electrolytic dissociation on the osmotic pressure,
the lowering of the freezing point and increase of the boiling point
of solutions containing electrolytes. Later on he studied its importance
in connection with biological problems such as the relationship between
toxins and antitoxins, serum therapy, its role for digestion and absorption
as well as for the gastric and pancreatic juices. The paramount importance
of the electrolytic dissociation theory is today universally acknowledged,
even if certain modifications have been found necessary.
In 1891, Arrhenius declined a professorship offered to him from Giessen,
Germany, and soon afterwards he obtained a lectureship in physics at
Stockholms Högskola. In 1895 he became Professor of Physics there.
He was in addition Rector from 1897 to 1905, when he retired from the
professorship. He had got an invitation to a professorship in Berlin,
and the Academy of Sciences then decided (1905) to start a Nobel Institute
for Physical Chemistry with Arrhenius as its chief. Initially he had
to work in a rented flat, but a new building was inaugurated in 1909.
A large number of collaborators came to him from Sweden and from other
countries, and helped to give his ideas wider currency.
In 1900 Arrhenius published his Lärobok i teoretisk elektrokemi
(Textbook of theoretical electrochemistry), in 1906 followed Theorien
der Chemie (Theories of Chemistry) and Immunochemistry and
in 1918 the Silliman lectures Theories of solutions. He took
a lively interest in various branches of physics, as illustrated by
his theory of the importance of the CO2-content of the atmosphere
for the climate, his discussion of the possibility that radiation pressure
might enable the spreading of living spores through the universe (panspermy)
and by his various contributions to our knowledge of the northern lights.
In 1903 appeared his Lehrbuch der kosmischen Physik (Textbook
of cosmic physics).
Many lectures and short publications gave witness of his interest and
capacity for writing for the general public. Especially during the last
decades of his life he published a number of popular books, which were
usually translated into several languages and appeared in numerous editions.
To these belong Världarnas utveckling (1906, Worlds in the
Making), Stjärnornas Öden (1915, Destiny of the Stars)
and others. In 1913 appeared Smittkopporna och deras bekämpande
(Smallpox and its combating) and in 1919 Kemien och det moderna livet
(Chemistry and modern Life).
Arrhenius was elected a Foreign member of the Royal
Society in 1911, and was awarded the Society's Davy medal and also
the Faraday Medal of the Chemical Society (1914). Among the many tokens
of distinction that he received were honorary degrees from the Universities
of Birmingham, Cambridge,
Edinburgh, Greifswald, Groningen,
Heidelberg,
Leipzig and Oxford.
Arrhenius was a contented man, happy in his work and in his family life.
During the First World War, he made successful efforts to release and
repatriate German and Austrian scientists who had been made prisoners
of war.
He was twice married - in 1894 to Sofia Rudbeck, by whom he had one
son, and in 1905 to Maria Johansson by whom he had one son and two daughters.
He died at Stockholm on October 2, 1927, and is buried at Uppsala.
* The Stockholms Högskola (High School of
Stockholm) corresponded in those days to a science faculty of the universities,
but it was a private foundation and did not have the right to hold examinations
for degrees or to judge the value of theses. It was not until 1960 that
the University of Stockholm, with its many faculties, was established
by the State.
From Nobel
Lectures, Chemistry 1901-1921.
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