September 7th is Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz's birthday. Kekulé was a German theoretical chemist who figured out how carbon atoms could have a valence of 4 and join together to make long isomers or even rings. He was the first to discover the ring structure of benzene and greatly advanced the understanding of organic chemistry and aromatic compounds of the time.
Kekulé wrote about the method of his discovery where he was sitting by the fireplace and started to nod off. He dreamed of atoms arranging themselves in groups of ever increasing size until they became long chains. The chains started to wind and turn like snakes until one snake grabbed its own tail. He woke up suddenly and spent the rest of the night working out the structure.
It just goes to show that if you let your mind wander, you may figure out a solution to a problem. That, or it shows chemists can have some strange dreams. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
Kekulé wrote about the method of his discovery where he was sitting by the fireplace and started to nod off. He dreamed of atoms arranging themselves in groups of ever increasing size until they became long chains. The chains started to wind and turn like snakes until one snake grabbed its own tail. He woke up suddenly and spent the rest of the night working out the structure.
It just goes to show that if you let your mind wander, you may figure out a solution to a problem. That, or it shows chemists can have some strange dreams. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
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