TCE     
|
The Chemical Educator
ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)
Abstract Volume 6
Issue 1 (2001) pp 55-61
Frederick Thomas Trouton: The Man, the Rule, and the Ratio
Jaime Wisniak
Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev,
Beer-Sheva, Israel 84105
Received July 12, 2000. Accepted October 17, 2000
Published online: 29 December 2000
Abstract. Trouton was
a multifaceted theoretician and experimentalist who left his name in several
fields. Here, his many contributions to science are described and analyzed
with particular emphasis on Trouton's rule and its further development,
his contributions to rheology (Trouton's ratio), and the famous Trouton–Noble
experiment, which is related to the absolute movement of the Earth through
the æther.
Chemists and chemical engineers are familiar with Trouton through the
rule that carries his name. Trouton’s rule states that at the normal boiling
temperature the entropy of vaporization is constant. They are generally
unaware of his rich contributions in other scientific areas, such as rheology,
osmotic pressure, and physics. Here we describe his personal life and
career, his scientific achievements, and, in particular, how his rule
has been further developed by others.
Key Words: Chemistry and History; Trouton
(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: wisniak@bgumail.bgu.ac.il)
Article in PDF format (194 KB) HTML format
Issue date: February 1, 2001
© The Chemical Educator 1996-2024