Linus Pauling: Investigating the Magic Within (Innovative Minds) Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid, Ascorbate)

120 Pages·1997·4.788 MB·English

by  Victoria Sherrow

INNOVATIVE MINDS
Pauline
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INVESTIGATING THE MAGIC WITHIN

Linus Pauling : investigating the magic —
808533
92 PAULING
Sherrow, Victoria.
FALLBROOK UNION HIGH SCHOOL
92 Sherrow, Victoria
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FALLBROOK HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
2400 S. STAGECOACH LN.
FALLBROOK, CA 92028
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INNOVATIVE MINDS
Linus priiling
INVESTIGATING THE MAGIC WITHIN
Victoria Sherrow
FALLBROOK HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
2400 S. STAGECOACH LN.
FALLBROOK, CA 92028
„ RAINTREE
Steck-vaughN
PUBLISHERS
The Steck-Vaughn Company
Austin, Texas
Acknowledgments
The publisher would like to acknowledge James R. Sheats of Hewlett
Packard Laboratories for his expert review of the manuscript.
Copyright © 1997 Steck-Vaughn Company
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Published by Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, an imprint of
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Editor: Lisa Clyde Nielsen
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sherrow, Victoria.
Linus Pauling: investigating the magic within / Victoria Sherrow.
p. cm. — (Innovative minds)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: Examines the life and accomplishments of scientist and
umamtarian Linus Pauling, known for his work on vitamins and
environmental safety.
ISBN 0-8172-4400-X
J’ P^lmg' Li™s' 1901-1994—Juvenile literature. 2. Biochemists—United
States Biography—Juvenile literature. 3. Chemists—United States—
lography—Juvenile literature. 4. Social reformers—United States—
lography-Juvenile literature. [1. Pauling, Linus, 1901-1994.] I. Title.
QP511.8.P37S48 1997
540'.92—dc20
[B]
96-20311
CIP
AC
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 LB 00 99 98 97 96
Table df Contents
"Entranced by Chemical Phenomena".5
From College Student to Professor.17
"The Nature of the Chemical Bond".33
A Tumultuous Decade.50
Science and Politics.68
"A First-Class Genius".90
Glossary. 106
Further Reading.108
Sources.108
Index 110
Linus Pauling was one of the most important scientists of the twentieth
century. His model-making technique was a major innovation.
CHAPTER 0 N E
II
CEO BY
o
li college junior stood in the corner of the chemistry
library poring over scientific journals. Though still a student
himself in the year 1920, Linus Pauling was also a teacher.
Professors in the chemistry department at Oregon State
Agricultural College had been so impressed with Pauling's
work during his freshman and sophomore years there that
they had hired him to teach a course to other students. His
"office" was a desk in the corner of the library.
When not preparing lessons or grading papers, Pauling
enjoyed reading the new scientific journals that came to the
library. It was in one of these journals that he encountered a
remarkable idea that was to influence his research for more
5
than 50 years. Professor Gilbert Newton Lewis of the
University of California at Berkeley had proposed a new
explanation for how atoms—tiny units that make up mat¬
ter—join together to form molecules of different substances.
(In living things, groups of atoms called molecules, in turn,
make up cells. Cells are the basic building blocks of most
forms of life.)
Like other chemistry students, Pauling had learned an
older theory: that atoms are linked somewhat like a hook
and eye connect to each other. However, as yet no one had
any idea of what this link consisted of or how the kind of
atoms could affect it. Professor Lewis, building on the very
recent work of Danish scientist Niels Bohr, proposed that
chemical bonds consisted of pairs of electrons shared by two
atoms. (An electron is a negatively charged particle. It is
found in the atom along with the nucleus, which is com¬
posed of positively charged protons and neutrons, which
are particles with no charge.)
Intrigued, Pauling read more about the electron-pair
bond, or covalent bond, as scientists called it. As he studied
the subject, many possibilities suggested themselves. He
could imagine how the electron pair might explain the way
in which atoms are held together to form molecules. These
molecules often have very different properties, or traits,
even though the number and type of atoms present are the
same or similar. The electron-pair bond, he believed, was a
foundation that would lead to systematic study of structur¬
al chemistry (the study of how elements and substances are
composed). He was fascinated by how chemical reactions
create entirely different substances. He later told an inter¬
viewer: "I was simply entranced by chemical phenomena,
by the reactions by which different substances disappear
6
Linus Pauling