Justus von Liebig tried to burn seaweed into ashes, soak it in hot water, and then introduce chlorine into it, so that iodine in seaweed could be extracted. But he found a layer of brown liquid deposited on the bottom of the remaining residue, and when these liquids were collected, they would smell a pungent smell. He repeated the experiment and got the same result. What kind of liquid is this?
Justus von Liebig thought that these liquids were obtained after chlorine gas was introduced, indicating that chlorine gas and iodine in seaweed had a chemical reaction, and iodine chloride was generated. So he put a label on the bottle containing these liquids, which said "iodine chloride".
A few years later, Justus von Liebig saw a paper-"New Elements in Seaweed". He held his breath and read carefully. After reading it, he regretted it. It turns out that the French youth Pollard, the author of the paper, also did the same experiment as Justus von Liebig and found brown liquid. Unlike Justus von Liebig, Pollard didn't stop the experiment. He continued to study the properties of this brown liquid and the similarities and differences with the elements that had been discovered at that time. Finally, he judged that it was a new element that had not been discovered. Pollard named it "salt water". Pollard informed the Paris Academy of Sciences of his discovery, which renamed this new element "bromine". New Elements in Seaweed is a paper on bromine.
This incident deeply educated Justus von Liebig. He carefully tore off the label "iodine chloride" from the bottle, put it in a picture frame and hung it on the bedside. He not only reads it by himself every day, but also often shows it to his friends. Later, he wrote in his autobiography: "From now on, unless there is a very reliable experiment as the basis, I will never make up my own theory out of thin air."
Since then, Justus von Liebig has been engaged in research more seriously and rigorously. Once, he visited a chemical factory. At that time, the factory was producing a painting pigment called "Berlin Blue". The workers poured the solution into a large iron pot, then heated it and stirred it with iron bars, making a loud noise. Seeing the workers struggling to stir, Justus von Liebig asked the workers, "Why are you working so hard?" Wang Chang told him: "The louder the stirring, the higher the quality of Berlin Blue."
Justus von Liebig has not let go of this problem. He pondered repeatedly: What is the relationship between the sound of stirring and the quality of pigment? When he came back, he began to experiment and finally found the reason. He wrote to tell the factory: "When the iron bar is stirred in the iron pot, it will make a noise. In fact, it is to rub the iron bar with the iron pan to grind off some iron chips, and the iron chips are combined with the solution to improve the quality of Berlin Blue. If you can add some iron-containing substances to the solution, you don't have to grind the iron pot hard, and it will also improve the quality of Berlin Blue. "
That factory did as Justus von Liebig said, which really improved the quality of pigments and reduced the labor intensity of workers.
After learning the lesson, Justus von Liebig was good at finding problems in abnormal phenomena and finding solutions through experiments, so he became a giant in the history of chemistry.
Four characteristics of this paper:
1. Unique title.
Justus von Liebig, a "giant in the history of chemistry", has a modest and prudent scientific attitude and a scientific spirit of perseverance and seeking truth from facts. At the same time, "tag" also plays a clue role in the article, organically combining Justus von Liebig's failure and success, making the structure of the article more complete.
2. Carefully select materials.
This paper chooses two things, namely 1 1% failure, a gain and a loss. This selection of materials makes readers feel that scientists are ordinary people and they are successful.
Joy, also tasted the pain of failure. Only by writing in this way can the characters be more vivid and full. At the same time, it also makes readers understand that on the road of science, only by constantly learning the lessons of failure can we usher in success again and again.
3. This article is cleverly described and detailed.
There are two detailed descriptions in this article: one is that when Justus von Liebig saw a paper that could prove his mistake, he "held his breath and read it carefully". The detailed description here shows Justus von Liebig's cautious attitude towards scientific research and his remorse. The second place is to describe the process of making "labels" in Justus von Liebig. It said, "He carefully tore off the label of' iodine chloride' from the bottle, put it in a frame and hung it on the bedside, not only for himself but also for his friends every day." Justus von Liebig's realistic and self-disciplined image is vividly reproduced.
4. The result of Justus von Liebig's "regret" after writing the paper, and then write the reason of "regret". This is to emphasize Justus von Liebig's pain when he found the mistake. Prepare to write below that he made a "label on the bed" to warn himself.
I hope I can help you.