Technikatörténeti szemle 11. (1979)

TANULMÁNYOK - Vajda Pál: Creative Hungarians in mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, technical sciences and industry. A selected bio-bibliography

tes in different proportions. Szily was, consequently, the inventor of artifical buffer solutions. Research in this area was extended by S. P. L. Sorensen, who introduced the concept of pH in 1909.

F. Szabadváry: Development of the pH concept (= Journ. Chem. Education 41/ 1964/pp. 105—109.), Szabadváry, F.: Potentia Hydrogenii: Die Bedeutung ungarischer Chemiker und Ärtze bei der Entdeckung, methodischen Entwicklung und Messung von Körperflüssigkeiten (Waage 13/1974. pp. 154—156.)

DSB, SZA, RPF

VASS, József (1867—1954). Engineer.

In 1908 Vass invented a process that is now universally used. The invention is the ,,beton-gun”, or „torkret” process: the diluted beton is sprayed at high pressure upon the surface to be covered by a beton layer of certain thickness. Vass developed his invention further and devised the „centribeton” process which can be used for producing hollow rotationally symmetric bodies, such as reinforced concrete pipes. In 1916 he patented a process for making light- beton, the essential part of the operation being to compress air into a diluted mass of beton. This became the basic component of all later processes for light-beton manufacture.

Feldhaus, F. M.: Die Mörtelberappmaschine (= Technische Monatshefte 1912. H. 1. pp. 9—10.), Schmidt, Fr. W.: Das Torket- Verfahren (Z. Verein Deuscher Ingenieure 1921. pp. 1363—1364.), Tramdach, A.: Mitteilungen über das Betonspritzverfahren (= Rigaer Zeitschrift für Handel und Industrie 1924. H. 5.), The Gunit (= I. C. E. Maritime Paper no. 2. 1945—1946)

VIDÉKY, Emil (1879—1960). Mechanical engineer.

At the beginning of the century in the study of the kinematics of gears coupling Vidéki elucidated the phenomena of undercutting and over-coupling and suggested methods to eliminate them. In 1922 he dealt with a then scientifically completely neglected problem, that of the degree of homogenuity of materials, and with the possibility of numerically quantifying it and measure it by photocells. In 1927 he worked out a completely new method for the computation of gear toothings and introduced a new trigonometric function, later called involute function, and gave numerical tables for it. Computations on the basis of involute functions then fast became generally used.

Seherr-Thoss, H.—Chr. Fronius, S.: Die Entwicklung der Zahnradtechnik, Berlin— Heidelberg—New York 1965. pp. 312, 313, 405—409. Terplán, Z.: Prof. D. Eng. Emil Vidéky (= ATH 33/1961. pp. 221—230.)

WARTHA, Vince (1844—1914). Chemist.

Wartha specialized in the application of theoretical results in, for instance, wine chemistry, city water supply, ceramic manufacture, etc. Wartha pioneered in the analysis of eosin and devised a very good method for manufacturing eosin-glazed pottery.

HYFC pp. 70—71, 77, 84., Korach M.; Vincenzo Wartha. Fondatore della technológia scientifica ungherese (= Faenza 54/1968 pp. 9—13.)

WHC, VHP, SZA

WINKLER, Lajos (1863—1939). Chemist.

„Winkler’s iodometric determination” has become a classic in chemical analysis. Winkler acquired world fame with many of his achievements: interception of

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