Technikatörténeti szemle 19. (1992)

KÖNYVISMERTETÉS - Papers of the First „MINERALKONTOR” International Conference on the History of Chemistry and Chemical Industry (Veszprém, 12-16 August, 1991)

method, Albert Szent-Györgyi who won the Nobel prize for his theory of cellular oxidation and for discovering vitamin C, and physicists who became worldfamous of their contribution to the Manhattan-project, e. g. Leo Szilárd, Eugene Wigner or Edward Teller, John von Neumann who became most famous of building^ the first computer and so forth. Michael Polányi, one of the most interesting personalities in this remarkable group, became a physical chemist, one of the best of his time. He was bora in 1891, we celebrate his anniversary this year. He went to high school in Budapest, to an interesting „Gimnasium" as it was called, founded by the father of another great emigrant scientist, Theodore von Kármán. Incidentally, Edward Teller, the well known physicist, Nicholas Kürti, and the oustanding economists, Nicholas Káldor and Thomas Balog of England went to the same school (3). Polányi's career was quite unusual. He emigrated not only from countries, like Hungary and Germany to settle down finaUy in Manchester, England, but from different scientific fields as well. Though as a schoolboy he was deely interested in science, he became physician. He decided this way since his famüy got into permanent financial troubles after his father's early death, and they hoped that a good physician can always make a fair amount of money. But his attraction to science prevented him from a longer medical practice and turned him to physical chemistry and some parts of physics. As a respected, very successful professor, however, he emigrated once more. In 1948, he left his chair of physical chemistry and became professor at large of social sciences, at the same university in Manchester. He died in England in 1976. As a chemist, he was mosfly engaged in the theory of absorption, mechanical characteristics of solid states, Röntgen analysis, but his most successful field was reaction kinetics, the mechanism of chemical reactions (4). He foUowed an ambition, originated in his youth, to become phUosopher only after establishing himself as scientist (5). At that time, he was already 57, and had enough energy and talent to reach the highest level particularly in the field of phüosophy of science where he is a classic by now. His views became very influential in sociology, political phüosophy, ethics and even in esthetics and religious studies. Polányi's long way from medicine to physical chemistry went through different stages. 1. As a student he began to work in the laboratory of Ferenc Tangl. 2. With the help of Ignác Pfeiffer he studied physical chemistry in Karlsruhe in 1912. 3. He became doctor from chemistry in 1917. 4. He worked as assistant of George de Hevesy in 1919 and 5. in the same year, he left for Karlsruhe then for Berlin to work with Fritz Haber. There are two Nobel laureates on this path, Hevesy and Haber, and there are two internationaUy less known persons, Tangl and Pfeiffer. Ferenc Tangl (1872—1917), professor of physiology had a somewhat unusual career comparing to his foUow-professors of the time. He did not coUect high university or political positions but was a very serious, precise researcher. His results concerned with the field of physiology, in subjects like ontogenesis of bird embryos, energetics of the metamorphosis of insects, problems of metabolism and so forth. Perhaps his most important achievement was that he could organize research laboratories which attracted very good people. As he could not find position at the faculty of medicine of the Budapest University, he worked for the veterinary school (which was at the university level), and received the Chair of