Ronald Norrish Chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1967 (jointly with M. Eigen and D. Porter) Date of Birth: 09.11.1897 Country: Great Britain

1. Early Life and Education
2. Research in Photochemistry
3. Physical Chemistry and World War II
4. Flash Photolysis and Ultrafast Chemistry
5. Nobel Prize and Legacy

Early Life and Education

Ronald George Wreyford Norrish was born into a family of pharmacists on November 9, 1897, in Cambridge, England. At the age of 18, he received a scholarship to study natural sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. However, his studies were interrupted by World War I, during which he served in the military and was taken prisoner in 1918.

Upon his repatriation in 1919, Norrish returned to Emmanuel College and completed his degree in chemistry in 1921. He earned his doctorate in 1924 and became a fellow of Emmanuel College and a chemistry demonstrator in 1925.

Research in Photochemistry

Norrish's doctoral research focused on the effects of light on potassium permanganate solutions, making him an early pioneer in photochemistry. He went on to conduct groundbreaking studies on the combustion of methane and ethylene, discovering that formaldehyde plays a role as an intermediate compound that explodes when exposed to ultraviolet light. He also identified the importance of chain reactions in many photochemical processes.

Physical Chemistry and World War II

In 1930, Norrish became a lecturer in physical chemistry at Cambridge University. In 1937, he was appointed Professor of Physical Chemistry and Director of the Physical Chemistry Department, a position he held until his retirement in 1965.

During World War II, Norrish chaired the government's Munitions Incendiary Committee, leading research on the suppression of gunfire.

Flash Photolysis and Ultrafast Chemistry

After the war, Norrish and his former student, George Porter, collaborated on the study of ultrafast chemical reactions. They developed the technique of flash photolysis, which allowed them to investigate chemical reactions occurring in millionths of a second. This method revolutionized the study of free radicals, enabling researchers to observe and measure their concentrations continuously during reactions.

Nobel Prize and Legacy

In 1967, Norrish and Porter were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for their investigations of extremely fast chemical reactions, effected by the disturbance of the equilibrium by very short pulses of energy." Their work laid the foundation for the field of ultrafast chemistry.

Norrish's numerous colleagues and students published a monograph dedicated to his life and work in 1965, titled "Photochemistry and the Kinetics of Reactions." He passed away on June 7, 1978, leaving behind a legacy of groundbreaking research in physical chemistry and photochemistry.