I was looking for named condesers lately and managed to find out the improvers/inventor that gave it the name.
Allihn condenser - Felix Richard Allihn
Dimroth condenser - Otto Dimroth
Friedrichs condenser - Fritz Walter Paul Friedrichs
Graham condenser - Thomas D. Graham
Vigreux condenser - Henri Vigreux
Liebig condenser - Justus Baron von Liebig
Hopkins condenser - ???????????
Liebig is well known, but the other guys are not that famous. I tried to give some information about Vigreux here, but I was unable to find out who this Hopkins fellow is. So I hope I can find some publication or patent somewhere sometime...
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Hopkins wanted
There are so many named things in chemistry, reactions, elements, units, equations etc etc. With some named things there is someting quite odd. The names are often well known, but that is it. I recently did a post about Dean-Stark equipment. Most synthetic chemists know the names, but only because of their apparatus. One of them was not even a chemist but a director of the 'Bureau of mines. I think it is quite weird to have a famous name but the person himself is forgotten.
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3 comments:
A week ago the postdoc here and I were staring at a Vigreux condenser and wondering what the hell it was supposed to be. Now I know! Thanks!
The more venerable members of our lab think it may have something to do with Hopkins and Williams - a chemical supply company (from the 60's and before) based in Essex. Can't find much about them though...
You could be right!!! I suspect that this is the Williams
http://www.open.ac.uk/ou5/Arts/chemists/person.cfm?SearchID=5678
Can not find Hopkin though. Maybe I should say, Hopkin wanted instead of Hopkins wanted. Because of the design I think the condenser has to be from the 19th century.
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