Some of you may be interested in this. It has an interesting footer.
> Which scientific discovery of the 20th Century had the greatest impact on
> humanity?
>
> Physicists might suggest the splitting of the atom, quantum theory or
> relativity theory; geologists might put forward continental drift theory;
> biologists would probably mention the discovery of the structure of DNA.
> After reading the following article (from Science Week Bulletin), you
might
> choose a chemical breakthrough as your 'discovery of the century': the
> Haber-Bosch method for the production of ammonia (largely through its
> nutritional implications). If you don't have time to wade through the
entire
> article, the final para summarises the point.
>
>
> ON AMMONIA AND THE POPULATION EXPLOSION
> An article in Science Week Bulletin, based on the paper by
> Vaclav Smil: Detonator of the population explosion.
> (Nature 29 Jul 99 400:415).
>
> Ammonia [NH(sub3)], a nitrogen hydride, is a colorless gas with a
> rather interesting human history that ranges from its discovery
> by the remarkable chemist Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) to the
> first large-scale synthetic production and use of ammonia in
> synthetic fertilizers and explosives in the 20th century. The
> human requirement for synthetic fertilizers and explosives is an
> instance of irony in the application of science, since the major
> use of synthetic fertilizers is in the production of crops to
> feed people, and the major use of explosives is in the production
> of weapons to kill people. Nitrogen compounds are essential to
> fertilizers and explosives, but in the early 20th century the
> best large-scale source of such compounds was in the nitrate
> deposits of Chile, which at that time was quite remote
> from Europe. Another possible source of nitrogen compounds, only
> theoretical at the time, was Earth's atmosphere, since the
> atmosphere is mostly nitrogen gas and therefore constitutes an
> inexhaustible supply. If atmospheric nitrogen could be converted
> to ammonia, the ammonia could be used in the synthesis of various
> nitrogen compounds, including fertilizers and explosives. Fritz
> Haber (1868-1934) and Carl Bosch (1874-1940) are credited with
> the discovery of the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of
> ammonia from its elements, a discovery that literally altered the
> course of 20th century history. The basis of the process is the
> combining of nitrogen and hydrogen at high pressure over a
> catalyst. Haber, who first demonstrated the synthesis in 1909,
> received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1918; Bosch, who
> engineered the application of the method to the large-scale
> production of ammonia, received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in
> 1931 Vaclav Smil (University of Manitoba, CA)
> presents an historical essay on the Haber-Bosch discovery, the
> author making the following points:
>      1) The author poses the question: What is the most important
> invention of the 20th century? The usual answers include
> airplanes, nuclear energy, space flight, television, and
> computers, but none of these are critical to human well-being.
> The synthesis of ammonia from its elements, however, is critical:
> the world's population could not have grown from 1.6 billion in
> 1900 to the 6 billion of today without the Haber-Bosch process.
>      2) The synthesis of ammonia belongs to that special group of
> discoveries -- including Edison's light bulb and the Wright
> brothers' flight -- for which we can pinpoint the date of the
> decisive breakthrough. The archives of Badische Anilin-Und Soda-
> Fabrik (BASF) contain a letter from Haber, at that time Professor
> of Physical Chemistry at Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe, to
> the company directors, a letter in which Haber recounts how the
> previous day the first demonstration to company scientists of the
> synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen was made: "All
> parts of the apparatus were tight and functioned well, so it was
> easy to conclude that the experiment could be repeated."
>      3) Although a number of company officials lacked confidence
> in the application of Haber's method because of the high pressure
> (over 100 atmospheres) required, Carl Bosch, who managed the BASF
> nitrogen-fixation research, was apparently confident: "I believe
> it can go. I know exactly the capability of the steel industry.
> It should be risked." It was Bosch who was responsible for the
> development of the proper steel housing necessary for large-scale
> ammonia production.
>      4) The present world output of ammonia amounts to
> approximately 130 million metric tons per year, and 80 percent of
> this goes into fertilizers, of which urea is the most important.
> The ammonia is absolutely essential to sustain today's
> population: rich countries might fertilize much less by cutting
> excessive food production and by eating fewer animals, but even
> the most assiduous recycling of organic wastes and the widest
> planting of *nitrogen-fixating legumes could not supply enough
> nitrogen for land-scarce, poor and populous nations. For several
> decades now, virtually all the fixed nitrogen added to the fields
> of China, Egypt, and Indonesia has come from synthetic
> fertilizers.
>      5) The author concludes: "Without this [the Haber-Bosch
> process], almost two-fifths of the world's population would not
> be here -- and our dependence will only increase as the global
> count moves from 6 to 9 or 10 billion people."
> -----------
> Practice safe eating: always use condiments.
>