chemistry

Richard Kuhn

Richard Kuhn 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 Richard Kuhn rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Johann Kuhn (German pronunciation: [ˈʁɪçaʁt ˈkuːn] ; 3 December 1900 – 31 July 1967) was an Austrian-German biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1938 "for his work on carotenoids and vitamins". Biography Early life Kuhn was born in Vienna, Austria, where he attended grammar school and high school.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard Johann Kuhn (German pronunciation: [ˈʁɪçaʁt ˈkuːn] ; 3 December 1900 – 31 July 1967) was an Austrian-German biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1938 "for his work on carotenoids and vitamins".

Biography

Early life Kuhn was born in Vienna, Austria, where he attended grammar school and high school. His interest in chemistry surfaced early; however he had many interests and decided late to study chemistry. Between 1910 and 1918 he was a schoolmate of Wolfgang Pauli, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1945. Beginning in 1918, Kuhn attended lectures at the University of Vienna in chemistry. He finished his chemistry studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich) and received his doctoral degree in 1922 with Richard Willstätter for a scientific work on enzymes. After graduating, Kuhn continued his scientific career, first in Munich, then at the ETH Zurich and from 1929 onwards at the University of Heidelberg, where he was head of the chemistry department beginning in 1937. In 1928 he married Daisy Hartmann and the couple subsequently had two sons and four daughters.

Research

Kuhn's areas of study included: investigations of theoretical problems of organic chemistry (stereochemistry of aliphatic and aromatic compounds; syntheses of polyenes and cumulenes; constitution and colour; the acidity of hydrocarbons), as well as extensive fields in biochemistry (carotenoids; flavins; vitamins and enzymes). Specifically, he carried out important work on vitamin B2 and the antidermatitis vitamin B6. In 1929 he became Principal of the Institute for Chemistry at the newly founded Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research (which, since 1950, has been renamed the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg). By 1937 he also took over the administration of this Institute. In addition to these duties he also served as of Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Heidelberg, and for one year he was at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, as a Visiting Research Professor for Physiological Chemistry. He was subsequently awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1938 for his "work on carotenoids and vitamins," but rejected the prize as Hitler had forbidden German citizens to accept it. In a handwritten letter, he even described the awarding of the prize to a German as an invitation to violate a decree of the Führer. He received the award after World War II. Kuhn is also credited with the discovery of the deadly nerve agent Soman in 1944. Kuhn was editor of Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie from 1948. Kuhn died in 1967 in Heidelberg, Germany, aged 66.

Nazi era Kuhn collaborated with high-ranking Nazi officials and denounced three of his Jewish co-workers in 1936. In 2005, the Society of German Chemists (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, GDCh) declared their intention to no longer award the Richard Kuhn Medal: "The board of the GDCh intends to discontinue awarding the Medal named after the organic chemist, Nobel Prize laureate of the year 1938 and President of the GDCh in 1964–65, Richard Kuhn. The board thereby draws the consequences out of research on Richard Kuhn's behaviour during National Socialism. Even though the question of whether Kuhn was a convinced National Socialist or just a career-oriented camp follower is not fully answered, he undisputably supported the Nazi-regime in administrative and organizational ways, especially by his scientific work. Despite his scientific achievements, Kuhn is not suitable to serve as a role model, and eponym for an important award, mainly due to his unreflected research on poison gas, but also due to his conduct towards Jewish colleagues."

Honours and awards 1938: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1952: Wilhelm Exner Medal 1960: Honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna 1961: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art

References

Shampo, M. A.; Kyle R A (October 2000). "Richard Kuhn – Nobel Prize for work on carotenoids and vitamins". Mayo Clin. Proc. 75 (10): 990. doi:10.4065/75.10.990. ISSN 0025-6196. PMID 11040844. Baer, H. H. (1969). Richard Kuhn; 1900–1967. Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry. Vol. 24. pp. 1–12. doi:10.1016/S0065-2318(08)60347-9. ISBN 978-0-12-007224-8. ISSN 0065-2318. PMID 4909158.[this reference does not seem to say what it is claimed to]

External links

Grandin, Karl, ed. (1938). "Richard Kuhn Biography". Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 29 July 2008. 1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Richard Kuhn on Nobelprize.org

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Kuhn

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Kuhn 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 Richard Kuhn 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 Richard Kuhn 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 Richard Kuhn

In research: Richard Kuhn 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 Richard Kuhn 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: Richard Kuhn is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1900 births, 1967 deaths, 20th-century biochemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Kuhn 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 Richard Kuhn in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Kuhn in simple terms?

Why does Richard Kuhn 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 Richard Kuhn?

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 Richard Kuhn.