chemistry

James Cullen Martin

James Cullen Martin is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand James Cullen Martin rather than just read about it. In short: James Cullen Martin (January 14, 1928 – April 20, 1999) was an American chemist. Known in the field as "J.C.", he specialized in physical organic chemistry with an emphasis on main group element chemistry.

Key takeaways

James Cullen Martin belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect James Cullen Martin to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of James Cullen Martin from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

James Cullen Martin (January 14, 1928 – April 20, 1999) was an American chemist. Known in the field as "J.C.", he specialized in physical organic chemistry with an emphasis on main group element chemistry. Martin received his undergraduate and master's degree at Vanderbilt University. His PhD work was conducted with Paul Bartlett at Harvard. Most of his professional career was at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was a colleague of Roger Adams, Speed Marvel, David Y. Curtin, Nelson J. Leonard, and Reynold C. Fuson. Late in his career, he moved back to Vanderbilt, but soon succumbed to poor health. Professor Martin is best known for his work on bonding of main group elements. He is responsible for the hexafluorocumyl alcohol derived "Martin" bidentate ligand and a tridentate analog. With his doctoral student Daniel Benjamin Dess, he invented the Dess–Martin periodinane that is used for selective oxidation of alcohols. He is also known for the creation of the Martin's sulfurane. His later work included studies of the hexaiodobenzene dication that indicated σ-delocalization ("aromaticity") between the iodine atoms.

J.C. Martin received much recognition during his career, including Senior Research Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was chair of the Organic division of the American Chemical Society.

References

Literature

Anthony J. Arduengo (1999). "From the editor". Heteroatom Chemistry. 10 (5): 349–350. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-1071(1999)10:5<349::AID-HC1>3.0.CO;2-G.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Cullen Martin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Cullen Martin claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to James Cullen Martin before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about James Cullen Martin ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of James Cullen Martin

In research: James Cullen Martin appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses James Cullen Martin in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: James Cullen Martin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1928 births, 1999 deaths, 20th-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Cullen Martin outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study James Cullen Martin in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what James Cullen Martin means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain James Cullen Martin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is James Cullen Martin in simple terms?

Why does James Cullen Martin matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study James Cullen Martin?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on James Cullen Martin.