Hermann Lux (3 September 1904, in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

– 8 July 1999), was a prominent inorganic

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

from

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany. Lux studied chemistry in the

University of Karlsruhe The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; ) is both a German public university, public research university in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, and a research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 when the University of Ka ...

where he graduated with honors in 1928 and then completed his education in the University of Bonn in 1929. He returned to Karlsruhe and worked there until his move to

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

in 1937, where he worked as an assistant until 1940, then as a lecturer until 1946 and then became the head of the analytical chemistry department. He became an associate professor in 1944 and a full professor in 1955. He moved to the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

in 1968 where he was a full professor of

inorganic An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemistry''. Inor ...

and analytical chemistry until his retirement in 1973. He died on 8 July 1999, almost 95 years old.

Achievements

* Discovered a method of quantitative determination of 1 ppm quantities of mercury (1931, together with Alfred Stock) * Extensively studied chemical reactions in

molten salt Molten salt is salt which is solid at standard temperature and pressure but liquified due to elevated temperature. A salt that is liquid even at standard temperature and pressure is usually called a room-temperature ionic liquid, and molten salts ...

s, leading up to the Lux–Flood acid–base theory (1937) * Invented the "hanging melt" method which made it possible to study extremely aggressive molten salt systems, such as alkali oxides. * Investigated salts of metals in unusual

oxidation state In chemistry, the oxidation state, or oxidation number, is the hypothetical Electrical charge, charge of an atom if all of its Chemical bond, bonds to other atoms are fully Ionic bond, ionic. It describes the degree of oxidation (loss of electrons ...

s, such as bivalent

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

or pentavalent

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

. * Published a number of books including "Anorganisch-chemische Experimentierkunst" (''Inorganic-chemical experimental art'') and "Praktikum der quantitativen anorganischen Analyse" (''Practical course of the quantitative inorganic analysis'') which were translated into many languages and used by many analytic chemists.

References

External links

Books by Hermann Lux on amazon.de
1904 births 1999 deaths 20th-century German chemists Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Science teachers {{Germany-chemist-stub