Ronald George Wreyford Norrish
Encyclopedia
Ronald George Wreyford Norrish (9 November 1897 – 7 June 1978) was a British
chemist
. He was born in Cambridge
and attended The Perse School. He was a former student of Eric Rideal
. Norrish was a prisoner for part of World War I
(1914–1918) and later commented, with sadness, that many of his contemporaries and potential competitors at Cambridge had not survived the War.
He became the Head of the Physical Chemistry Department at Cambridge, occupying part of the Lensfield Road Building with the separate department 'Chemistry' (which encompassed organic, theoretical and inorganic chemistry). Both departments had separate administrative, technical and academic personnel until they merged to form one chemistry department under Sir JM Thomas FRS in the early 1980s. Norrish researched photochemistry using continuous light sources (including after the 1945 war, searchlights). As a result of the development of flash photolysis, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
in 1967 along with Manfred Eigen
and George Porter
for their study of extremely fast chemical reactions. One of his accomplishments is the development of the Norrish reaction
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
. He was born in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and attended The Perse School. He was a former student of Eric Rideal
Eric Rideal
Sir Eric Keightley Rideal FRS was an English physical chemist. He worked on a wide range of subjects, including electrochemistry, chemical kinetics, catalysis, electrophoresis, colloids and surface chemistry. He is best known for the Eley-Rideal mechanism, which he proposed in 1938 with Daniel D....
. Norrish was a prisoner for part of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(1914–1918) and later commented, with sadness, that many of his contemporaries and potential competitors at Cambridge had not survived the War.
He became the Head of the Physical Chemistry Department at Cambridge, occupying part of the Lensfield Road Building with the separate department 'Chemistry' (which encompassed organic, theoretical and inorganic chemistry). Both departments had separate administrative, technical and academic personnel until they merged to form one chemistry department under Sir JM Thomas FRS in the early 1980s. Norrish researched photochemistry using continuous light sources (including after the 1945 war, searchlights). As a result of the development of flash photolysis, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
in 1967 along with Manfred Eigen
Manfred Eigen
Manfred Eigen is a German biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.-Career:...
and George Porter
George Porter
George Hornidge Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, OM, FRS was a British chemist.- Life :Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, South Yorkshire. He was educated at Thorne Grammar School, then won a scholarship to the University of Leeds and gained his first degree in chemistry...
for their study of extremely fast chemical reactions. One of his accomplishments is the development of the Norrish reaction
Norrish reaction
The Norrish reaction in organic chemistry describes the photochemical reactions taking place with ketones and aldehydes. This type of reaction is subdivided in Norrish type I reactions and Norrish type II reactions...
.
External links
- Norrish's Nobel Foundation biography
- Norrish's Nobel Lecture Some Fast Reactions in Gases Studied by Flash Photolysis and Kinetic Spectroscopy