Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville: A physician turned metallurgist
Abstract
Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville (1818-1881) is well known for his work on metallurgy, on the separation and preparation of many metals on a large scale and in a very pure state, and developing the concepts and principles of the dissociation of gases. He was the first to prepare N2O5 in crystalline state and to develop an inexpensive process for the industrial manufacture of sodium and aluminum. Among the many metals he separated susccessfully are silicon, magnesium, platinum, iridium, osmium, manganese, and chromium. His development of the platinum-iridium alloy led to its adoption for manufacturing the meter and kilogram standards.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
- Pub Date:
- April 2004
- DOI:
- 10.1361/10599490418271
- Bibcode:
- 2004JMEP...13..117W
- Keywords:
-
- aluminum;
- Deville;
- dissociation;
- iridium-rhodium alloy;
- magnesium;
- metric standards;
- silicon