Walter Noddack

Walter Noddack

Walter Noddack (17 August 1893 – 7 December 1960) was a German chemist who is best known for his role in the discovery of the element rhenium. Alongside his wife, Ida Tacke, and Otto Berg, Noddack also claimed to have discovered element 43, which they named masurium, though this claim is controversial and the discovery of technetium (element 43) is now generally credited to Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè in 1937.

Early Life and Education

Walter Noddack was born in Berlin, Germany. He pursued his higher education in chemistry, obtaining his doctorate from the Technical University of Berlin in 1920. His early work focused on the chemistry of rare elements and their compounds.

Career and Discoveries

In 1925, Walter Noddack, together with his wife Ida Tacke and Otto Berg, announced the discovery of two new elements, element 75 and element 43, which they named rhenium and masurium, respectively. The discovery was made through a series of meticulous chemical experiments and spectroscopic analyses. Rhenium was named after the Latin name for the Rhine River, reflecting the region where the research was conducted. The discovery of rhenium was widely accepted and confirmed by subsequent research. Rhenium is a rare, high-melting, silver-white metal that is used in high-temperature superalloys for jet engines, in filaments, and in thermocouples. The claim to the discovery of element 43 (masurium), however, was met with skepticism. Despite Noddack's assertion, other scientists were unable to replicate the findings, and the existence of masurium remained unproven until the discovery of technetium years later. The controversy over masurium highlighted the challenges in the early 20th-century element discovery, including the difficulties in detecting and confirming the presence of new elements.

Later Life and Legacy

Walter Noddack continued his research in chemistry throughout his life, contributing to various fields, including geochemistry and radiology. He held several academic positions and was recognized for his contributions to chemistry with numerous awards and honors. Noddack's work on rhenium has had a lasting impact, with the element finding applications in various high-tech industries. However, his claim to the discovery of technetium remains a notable episode in the history of chemistry, illustrating the complexities and controversies that can arise in the pursuit of scientific discovery. Noddack passed away on 7 December 1960 in Berlin, leaving behind a legacy marked by both significant achievements and contentious debates in the field of chemistry.

See Also

• Ida Tacke
• Otto Berg
• Rhenium
• Technetium
• History of chemistry