Ernst Homburg - Böcker

This text analyzes the development of the chemical industry during the Second Industrial Revolution in a large number of European countries. It focuses on the importance of environmental issues, and on the role of the chemical profession both in industrial and in environmental matters. It is intended for a large audience of historians of technology and chemistry, social historians, economic and business historians, and historians of the environment.

This volume represents the proceedings of the European Science Foundation History of Chemistry in Europe 1789-1939 conference held in Strasbourg in October 1996. The contributors investigate the ways in which the chemical industry developed throughout much of Europe prior to, and in some cases during, World War II. Emphasis is placed on fertilizer production, which stimulated research into electrochemical and high pressure processes and polymer chemistry. The main focus is on the interwar period, when political strategies for self-sufficiency dictated that innovations were to be based on the availability of raw materials, and the needs of new user industries. Commercial factors also played an important role, particularly the mergers which led to the formation of companies such as IG Farben and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Nevertheless, smaller and independent companies also produced many new products. While much of the European chemical industry was dependent on coal and coal tar products, there were strong moves towards the foundation of science-based biochemical industries.This work provides a close examination of technologies, particularly chemical engineering and the control of processes, research in industry, and countries that were not mentioned in previous literature. It contains contributions from specialists in business and engineering history, as well as by historians of chemistry and technology. The book should be of interest to historians of chemistry, business, engineering and technology.

The modern research university originated in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century, largely due to the creation and expansion of the teaching and research laboratory. The universities and the sciences underwent a laboratory revolution that fundamentally changed the nature of both. This revolutionary development began in chemistry, where Justus Liebig is credited with systematically employing his students in his ongoing research during the 1830s. Later, this development spread to other fields, including the social sciences and the humanities. The consequences for the universities were colossal. The expansion of the laboratories demanded extensive new building programs, reshaping the outlook of the university. The social structure of the university also diversified because of this laboratory expansion, while what it meant to be a scientist changed dramatically. This volume explores the spatial, social, and cultural dimensions of the rise of the modern research laboratory within universities and their consequent reshaping.

Ernest Solvay, philanthropist and organizer of the world-famous Solvay conferences on physics, discovered a profitable way of making soda ash in 1861. Together with a handful of associates, he laid the foundations of the Solvay company, which successfully branched out into other chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Since its emergence in 1863, Solvay has maintained world leadership in the production of soda ash. This is the first scholarly book on the history of the Solvay company, which was one of the earliest chemical multinationals and today is among the world's twenty largest chemical companies. It is also one of the largest companies in the field to preserve its family character. The authors analyze the company's 150-year history (1863-2013) from economic, political and social perspectives, showing the enormous impact geopolitical events had on the company and the recent consequences of global competition.

Ernest Solvay, philanthropist and organizer of the world-famous Solvay conferences on physics, discovered a profitable way of making soda ash in 1861. Together with a handful of associates, he laid the foundations of the Solvay company, which successfully branched out into other chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Since its emergence in 1863, Solvay has maintained world leadership in the production of soda ash. This is the first scholarly book on the history of the Solvay company, which was one of the earliest chemical multinationals and today is among the world's twenty largest chemical companies. It is also one of the largest companies in the field to preserve its family character. The authors analyze the company's 150-year history (1863-2013) from economic, political and social perspectives, showing the enormous impact geopolitical events had on the company and the recent consequences of global competition.

Although poisonous substances have been a hazard for the whole of human history, it is only with the development and large-scale production of new chemical substances over the last two centuries that toxic, manmade pollutants have become such a varied and widespread danger. Covering a host of both notorious and little-known chemicals, the chapters in this collection investigate the emergence of specific toxic, pathogenic, carcinogenic, and ecologically harmful chemicals as well as the scientific, cultural and legislative responses they have prompted. Each study situates chemical hazards in a long-term and transnational framework and demonstrates the importance of considering both the natural and the social contexts in which their histories have unfolded.

Although poisonous substances have been a hazard for the whole of human history, it is only with the development and large-scale production of new chemical substances over the last two centuries that toxic, manmade pollutants have become such a varied and widespread danger. Covering a host of both notorious and little-known chemicals, the chapters in this collection investigate the emergence of specific toxic, pathogenic, carcinogenic, and ecologically harmful chemicals as well as the scientific, cultural and legislative responses they have prompted. Each study situates chemical hazards in a long-term and transnational framework and demonstrates the importance of considering both the natural and the social contexts in which their histories have unfolded.

This book analyses the development of the chemical industry during the Second Industrial Revolution in a large number of European countries. It is the first book-length study of the European chemical industry that pays proper attention to the importance of environmental issues, and to the role of the chemical profession both in industrial and in environmental matters. It is intended for a large audience of historians of technology and chemistry, social historians, economic and business historians, and historians of the environment.

This volume represents the proceedings of the European Science Foundation History of Chemistry in Europe 1789-1939 conference held in Strasbourg in October 1996. Leading scholars investigate the ways in which the chemical industry developed throughout much of Europe prior to, and in some cases during, World War II. Emphasis is placed on fertiliser production, which stimulated research into electrochemical and high pressure processes and polymer chemistry. The main focus is on the interwar period, when political strategies for self-sufficiency dictated that innovations were to be based on the availability of raw materials, and the needs of new user industries. Commercial factors also played an important role, particularly the mergers which led to the formation of companies such as IG Farben and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Nevertheless, smaller and independent companies also produced many new products. While much of the European chemical industry was dependent on coal and coal tar products, there were strong moves towards the foundation of science-based biochemical industries.This book is unique in its close examination of technologies, particularly chemical engineering and the control of processes, research in industry, and countries that were not mentioned in previous literature. It is enhanced by contributions from specialists in business and engineering history, as well as by historians of chemistry and technology. Audience: This work will be of great value to historians of chemistry, business, engineering and technology.