Mikkel Frandsen
Encyclopedia
Mikkel Frandsen was a Danish American physical chemist noted for experiments involving chemical thermodynamics
, oil
, and heavy water
. Heavy water is water that has an unusual and distinctive atomic structure. Also known as deuterium oxide (D2O), heavy water is used to produce nuclear power
and is used in other nuclear applications such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
in Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality
in Region Midtjylland
in Denmark
. He emigrated from Denmark to the United States
in 1921. Frandsen earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California
in 1926.
In 1928, Frandsen invented the Liquid Phase Cracking Process, discovering that when oil is heated to a point at which cracking (chemistry)
takes place, the heat consumed causes the oil temperature to decrease. This results in an increased yield of gasoline
and a decreased knocking tendency of gasoline
.
, and an isotope fractionation
took place. The heavy water produced displayed a higher density than regular water. Heavy water has a higher freezing point, higher boiling point, and lower refractive index
than regular water.
Heavy water differs from regular water in that the two atoms of hydrogen
have been substituted with two atoms of deuterium
, which is an isotope
of hydrogen. The mass of heavy water is about 10% more than that of regular water due to the extra neutron in deuterium. Heavy water was discovered by Gilbert N. Lewis
in 1933.
In 1934, Frandsen, along with Washburn and Smith, also published "On Change in Density, Index of Refraction, Boiling Point, and Freezing Point of Water after Electrolysis."
, Washburn, and Frandsen authored “The Calorimetric Determination of the Intrinsic Energy of Gases as a Function of the Pressure.” This experiment resulted in the development of the Washburn Correction for bomb calorimetry
, a decrease or correction of the results of a calorimetric procedure to normal states.
Frandsen also co-authored two articles with Merle Randall
in 1932, The Standard Electrode Potential of Iron and the Activity Coefficient of Ferrous Chloride and Determination of the Free Energy of Ferrous Hydroxide from Measurements of Electromotive Force. Randall, along with Lewis, wrote one the most influential books in chemical thermodynamics, Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances (1923). In 1933, Frandsen conducted research on the Heat Capacity of Phosphorus Pentoxide. Another of Frandsen's experiments in 1933 was entitled, A Method of Determining Solvent Properties of Volatile Thinners in Varnishes. http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/doilookup?in_doi=10.1021/ac50083a014
, Frandsen conducted chemical and spectrographic analyses of steels and copper alloys that led to a more effective testing procedure, the Quantometric Method. His research led to an article entitled, "Preparation of Vanadium Monoxide (1952)." http://acsinfo.acs.org/acs/journals/toc.printer_friendly?incoden=jacsat&indecade=&involume=74&inissue=20
Chemical thermodynamics
Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics...
, oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, and heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
. Heavy water is water that has an unusual and distinctive atomic structure. Also known as deuterium oxide (D2O), heavy water is used to produce nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and is used in other nuclear applications such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Early years
Frandsen was born in Sønder Lem Sogn in the town of RingkøbingRingkøbing
Ringkøbing is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The town has a population of 9,742 .-History:...
in Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality
Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality
Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality is a municipality in Denmark. It was formed on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 administrative reform from the former municipalities of Egvad, Holmsland, Ringkøbing, Skjern, and Videbæk. The new municipality has an area of 1,485 km², the largest, area wise,...
in Region Midtjylland
Region Midtjylland
Central Denmark Region or Central Jutland Region is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. He emigrated from Denmark to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1921. Frandsen earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
in 1926.
In 1928, Frandsen invented the Liquid Phase Cracking Process, discovering that when oil is heated to a point at which cracking (chemistry)
Cracking (chemistry)
In petroleum geology and chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or heavy hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors. The rate of cracking and the end products...
takes place, the heat consumed causes the oil temperature to decrease. This results in an increased yield of gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
and a decreased knocking tendency of gasoline
Antiknock agent
An antiknock agent is a gasoline additive used to reduce engine knocking and increase the fuel's octane rating.The mixture known as gasoline, when used in high compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to ignite early causing a damaging "engine knocking" noise...
.
Heavy Water
In 1931 while at the National Bureau of Standards, Frandsen began a study with Edward W. Washburn and Edgar R. Smith, "The Isotopic Fractionation of Water," the results of which were published in 1933. In Frandsen et al.’s experiment, the scientists subjected water to electrolysisElectrolysis
In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a method of using a direct electric current to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction...
, and an isotope fractionation
Isotope fractionation
Isotope fractionation is the separation of a mixture of isotopes into its components.There are four types of isotope fractionation:* equilibrium fractionation* kinetic fractionation* transient kinetic isotope fractionation* mass-independent fractionation...
took place. The heavy water produced displayed a higher density than regular water. Heavy water has a higher freezing point, higher boiling point, and lower refractive index
Refractive index
In optics the refractive index or index of refraction of a substance or medium is a measure of the speed of light in that medium. It is expressed as a ratio of the speed of light in vacuum relative to that in the considered medium....
than regular water.
Heavy water differs from regular water in that the two atoms of hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
have been substituted with two atoms of deuterium
Deuterium
Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...
, which is an isotope
Isotope
Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
of hydrogen. The mass of heavy water is about 10% more than that of regular water due to the extra neutron in deuterium. Heavy water was discovered by Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert Newton Lewis was an American physical chemist known for the discovery of the covalent bond , his purification of heavy water, his reformulation of chemical thermodynamics in a mathematically rigorous manner accessible to ordinary chemists, his theory of Lewis acids and...
in 1933.
In 1934, Frandsen, along with Washburn and Smith, also published "On Change in Density, Index of Refraction, Boiling Point, and Freezing Point of Water after Electrolysis."
Other Experiments at the National Bureau of Standards
From 1931 to 1934, Frandsen authored or co-authored a series of experiments while at the National Bureau of Standards, the first of which was entitled, Cryoscopic Constant Heat of Fusion, and Heat Capacity of Camphor (1931). In 1932, Frederick RossiniFrederick Rossini
Frederick Dominic Rossini was an American thermodynamicist noted for his work in chemical thermodynamics.In 1920, at the age of twenty-one, Rossini entered Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and soon was awarded a full-time teaching scholarship. He graduated with a B.S. in chemical...
, Washburn, and Frandsen authored “The Calorimetric Determination of the Intrinsic Energy of Gases as a Function of the Pressure.” This experiment resulted in the development of the Washburn Correction for bomb calorimetry
Calorimetry
Calorimetry is the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes. Calorimetry is performed with a calorimeter. The word calorimetry is derived from the Latin word calor, meaning heat...
, a decrease or correction of the results of a calorimetric procedure to normal states.
Frandsen also co-authored two articles with Merle Randall
Merle Randall
Merle Randall was an American physical chemist famous for his work, over the period of 25 years, in measuring free energy calculations of compounds with Gilbert N. Lewis...
in 1932, The Standard Electrode Potential of Iron and the Activity Coefficient of Ferrous Chloride and Determination of the Free Energy of Ferrous Hydroxide from Measurements of Electromotive Force. Randall, along with Lewis, wrote one the most influential books in chemical thermodynamics, Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances (1923). In 1933, Frandsen conducted research on the Heat Capacity of Phosphorus Pentoxide. Another of Frandsen's experiments in 1933 was entitled, A Method of Determining Solvent Properties of Volatile Thinners in Varnishes. http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/doilookup?in_doi=10.1021/ac50083a014
Later years
In 1952, working at the U.S. Naval Gun FactoryWashington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
, Frandsen conducted chemical and spectrographic analyses of steels and copper alloys that led to a more effective testing procedure, the Quantometric Method. His research led to an article entitled, "Preparation of Vanadium Monoxide (1952)." http://acsinfo.acs.org/acs/journals/toc.printer_friendly?incoden=jacsat&indecade=&involume=74&inissue=20
Related Reading
- Coffey, Patrick Cathedrals of Science: The Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry (Oxford University Press. 2008)