Annotated list of references on Iceland spar and polarized light

studies on chemical processes. O. Wallach, Chem. 1910, was awarded the prize for his
work on terpene and camphor compounds from plants, including optical activity
measurements. The research <strong>of</strong> R.A. Zsigmondy, Chem. 1925, on colloids which
included observations <strong>of</strong> light scattering and polarization, was preceded by his studies on
colored glasses (see Zsigmondy 1901, Siedentopf and Zsigmondy 1903). Zsigmondy’s
investigations in turn inspired the work by J.B. Perrin, Phys. 1926, on the structure <strong>of</strong>
matter. H. Euler, Chem. 1929, employed polarimeters in some <strong>of</strong> his research on
fermentation.
Several Nobel prizes in Chemistry have been awarded for discoveries which relied to
some extent on results from previous work employing polarimeters, polarization
photometers etc., such as those <strong>of</strong> A. v. Baeyer 1905, E. Buchner 1907, R. Willstätter
1915, H.O. Wieland 1928, A. Windaus 1928, A. Harden 1929, and later W.N. Haworth
1937, R. Robinson 1947, C.F. and G.T. Cori also 1947, etc. As an example, a synthesis <strong>of</strong>
the optically active compound ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), first carried out by Haworth,
starts from sorbose or other sugars whose structure was clarified by E. Fischer. Fischer
also studied nucleic acids and polypeptides, as mentioned in A. Kossel’s lecture upon
receiving the 1910 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for research on these
compounds. The same applies to some Physics prizes, such as that <strong>of</strong> A. Kastler 1966: it
was awarded for work which began around 1930 and concerned the polarization <strong>of</strong>
resonance radiation, Raman-scattered light etc.
4. Nobel prize winners who published papers on work involving polarized light or
calcite, but received their prizes for discoveries in different fields: prominent among
these are W.C. Röntgen, Phys. 1901; H. Becquerel, Phys. 1903; Rayleigh, Phys. 1904;
J.J. Thomson, Phys. 1906; A.A. Michelson, Phys. 1907; R.A. Millikan, Phys. 1923.
Further: M. Born who received the Physics prize in 1954 wrote important papers and
books on crystal optics, the Kerr effect, and optical activity (e.g. Born 1935). J.H. van’t
H<strong>of</strong>f, Chem. 1901, put organic chemistry on a new foundation by his suggestion (H<strong>of</strong>f,
1874) that optical activity <strong>of</strong> asymmetric carbon-containing molecules is due to threedimensional
bonds. W. Ostwald, Chem. 1909, used the interference <strong>of</strong> polarized light in
his later influential studies on color perception. W. Nernst, Chem. 1920, wrote a wellknown
paper with P. Drude on the polarization <strong>of</strong> standing light waves, and also papers
where a Wanner pyrometer with Nicol prisms was employed. Both N. Bohr, Phys. 1922,
J. Franck and G. Hertz, Phys. 1925, W. Heisenberg, Phys. 1932, and E. Fermi, Phys.
1938 wrote on polarized fluorescence, resonance radiation and related topics. R. Kuhn,
Chem. 1938 did some <strong>of</strong> his prize-winning work on carotenes with a polarimeter, as well
as research on mutarotation, fermentation and amygdalin derivatives in the early 1920s.
A. Gullstrand, Physiology or Medicine 1911, described some ophthalmological work
with the aid <strong>of</strong> Nicol prisms. O. Warburg, Physiology or Medicine 1931, began his
scientific career with research on optically active organic compounds with E. Fischer.
F.W. Aston, Chem. 1922, began his career by writing on a similar topic with P.F.
Frankland. P. Karrer, Chem. 1937, did his doctoral research on cobalt complexes with A.
Werner and later carried out various studies (on polysaccarides, vitamins, tannins,
glucosides, alkaloids etc.) where polarimeters were employed.
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