chemistry

Magda Staudinger

Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger rather than just read about it. In short: Magda Staudinger (Latvian: Magda Štaudingere; 17 August 1902 – 21 April 1997) was a Latvian biologist and botanist who studied macromolecules with her husband Hermann Staudinger and their application to biology. She was acknowledged as his collaborator when he won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and she published seven volumes of his works after his death.

Key takeaways

Magda Staudinger belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Magda Staudinger from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Magda Staudinger (Latvian: Magda Štaudingere; 17 August 1902 – 21 April 1997) was a Latvian biologist and botanist who studied macromolecules with her husband Hermann Staudinger and their application to biology. She was acknowledged as his collaborator when he won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and she published seven volumes of his works after his death. She was awarded the Grand Order of the Latvian Academy of Sciences Medal for her contributions to the furtherance of science.

Biography Magda Voita (German: Magda Woit) was born on 17 August 1902 in Elva, Estonia to the Latvian physician Oskars Voits. As a child, she lived in Saint Petersburg, later traveled extensively throughout Germany, Hungary and Switzerland and gained fluency in English, French, German and Russian. She was also an accomplished pianist and violinist. She settled in Germany for her university studies at the University of Berlin. She studied plants under Gottlieb Haberlandt and obtained a degree in natural sciences in 1925. She then continued her studies at the University of Latvia in Riga under Nikolajs Malta until 1927, when she earned her PhD. That year, Voita married Hermann Staudinger, who would later win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and moved with him to take up a position at Freiburg University in Germany. She met Hermann after she had passed her Latvian state examination and was studying at the Biological Institute on Helgoland in the summer of 1927. Hermann had recently published results on cellulose models and Voita was working on algae cell membranes. From that point on, they began collaborating on macromolecules. Magda Staudinger studied macromolecules and their chemical structure and collaborated with Hermann for many years. In the 1940s she returned to applying macromolecule studies to biology, conducting trials from 1945 forward on living cells. In 1946, Hermann founded a journal to focus on developments in macromolecular chemistry, Makromolekulare Chemie, and Staudinger served on the editorial board of the journal. When Hermann received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry he acknowledged Magda's collaboration in his research. Between 1937 and 1956, she published 30 scientific papers on molecular mass and the microscopic evaluations of fiber morphology and colloids. Between 1969 and 1976, Staudinger edited and published seven volumes of the collected works of her husband. After Hermann's death in 1965, she became president of the International Federation of University Women, serving until 1968. She strove for more recognition of women in science and joined UNESCO to further those aims in the 1970s, acting as president of the UNESCO German Science Commission from 1970 to 1975. She also was the first coordinator of the UNESCO Biosphere program. In 1990, she was made an honorary member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and in 1991 she established a fund to assist those studying biology, chemistry and medicine in Latvia. In 1995, Staudinger set up a trust, the Magda and Hermann Staudinger Fund, for the benefit of retired members of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, to be used at the discretion of the academy for scholarships or other compensation. In 1996, she was awarded the Grand Order of the Latvian Academy of Sciences Medal. Staudinger died in Freiburg im Breisgau on 21 April 1997 and was buried beside her husband at the Hauptfriedhof Freiburg Cemetery.

Selected works Woit, Magda (1925). Umgestaltungen an Blattgeweben infolge des Wundreizes (u.d.T) (in German). University of Berlin. Staudinger, Magda (9 June 1942). "Der fibrilläre Bau natürlicher und künstlicher Cellulosefasern. 299. Mitteilung über makromolekulare Verbindungen". Journal für Praktische Chemie (in German). 160 (5–7): 203–216. doi:10.1002/prac.19421600505. Staudinger, Magda (1943). Mikroskopische und elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen an makromolekularen Stoffen (in German). Köthen, Germany: Verl. d. Chemiker-Zeitg. Otto von Halem. Staudinger, Magda (December 1944). "Über den Faserabbau im mikroskopischen Bild". Journal für Praktische Chemie (in German). 2 (1–5): 67–77. doi:10.1002/prac.19440020107. Rózsa, György; Staudinger, Magda (December 1944). "Elektronenmikroskopische untersuchungen an muskelproteinen1". Die Makromolekulare Chemie (in German). 2 (1): 66–76. doi:10.1002/macp.1948.020020105. Staudinger, Hermann; Staudinger, Magda (1954). Die makromolekulare Chemie und ihre Bedeutung für die Protoplasmaforschung (in German). Vienna, Austria: Springer. ISBN 978-3-211-80344-8. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) Staudinger, Magda (1969). Arbeiten über Isopren, Kautschuk und Balata. Das wissenschaftliche Werk von Hermann Staudinger (in German). Vol. 1. Basel, Switzerland: Huethig & Wepf Verlag. Staudinger, Magda (1972). Arbeiten über Cellulose und Cellulosederivate. Das wissenschaftliche Werk von Hermann Staudinger (in German). Vol. 2. Basel, Switzerland: Huethig & Wepf Verlag. Staudinger, Magda (1974). Arbeiten über synthetische makromolekulare Stoffe. Das wissenschaftliche Werk von Hermann Staudinger (in German). Vol. 3. Basel, Switzerland: Huethig & Wepf Verlag. Staudinger, Magda (1975). Arbeiten nach Sachgebieten geordnet. Das wissenschaftliche Werk von Hermann Staudinger (in German). Vol. 4. Basel, Switzerland: Huethig & Wepf Verlag. Staudinger, Magda (1975). Arbeiten allgemeiner Richtung. Das wissenschaftliche Werk von Hermann Staudinger (in German). Vol. 5. Basel, Switzerland: Huethig & Wepf Verlag. ISBN 9781566378086. Staudinger, Magda (1976). Arbeiten über Die Ketene. Das wissenschaftliche Werk von Hermann Staudinger (in German). Vol. 6. Basel, Switzerland: Huethig & Wepf Verlag. Staudinger, Magda (1976). Arbeiten über niedermolekulare organische Verbindungen. Das wissenschaftliche Werk von Hermann Staudinger (in German). Vol. 7. Basel, Switzerland: Huethig & Wepf Verlag. Staudinger, Magda (December 1971). ""The Biosphere". September-Ausgabe 1970 der Zeitschrift Scientific American, Band 223. Nr. 3., W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco". Biologie in unserer Zeit (in German). 1 (6): 189–190. doi:10.1002/biuz.19710010609. S2CID 86760058. Staudinger, Magda (10 August 1982). "Zur geschichte der zeitschrift "die makromolekulare chemie"". Die Makromolekulare Chemie (in German). 183 (8): 1829–1831. doi:10.1002/macp.1982.021830801.

References

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Magda Staudinger

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger

In research: Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger 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: Magda Staudinger is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1902 births, 1997 deaths, 20th-century German chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Magda Staudinger in simple terms?

Why does Magda Staudinger 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 Magda Staudinger?

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 Magda Staudinger.