chemistry

Samuel Ruben

Samuel Ruben 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 Samuel Ruben rather than just read about it. In short: Samuel Ruben (14 July 1900 – 16 July 1988) was an American inventor who made lasting contributions to electrochemistry and solid-state technology, including the founding of Duracell. He is listed as an inventor in over 200 patents.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Samuel Ruben (14 July 1900 – 16 July 1988) was an American inventor who made lasting contributions to electrochemistry and solid-state technology, including the founding of Duracell. He is listed as an inventor in over 200 patents.

Early life Born in Harrison, New Jersey to a Jewish family, Samuel Ruben got his start in electronics when he became a licensed ham radio operator and built radios with spare parts. He had no college degree, withdrawing from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn after a few years due to stress. Samuel Ruben met professor Bergen Davis of Columbia University who tutored him and allowed him to sit in on some Columbia classes. He later returned as a research student at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Ruben received several honorary degrees. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from his alma mater Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, as well as from Columbia University in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Science where he served as a Senior Staff Associate, and Butler University. He also taught at Harvard as a lecturer in chemistry. He endowed a scholarship for Chemical Engineering at Polytechnic (1968–1972).

Company history Samuel Ruben established Ruben Laboratories in the early 1920s, when Bergen Davis persuaded Electrochemical's main investor Malcolm Clephane to finance a private laboratory for Ruben in lower Manhattan. Ruben moved himself and the lab to New Rochelle, New York, where he would stay for the next 60 years. Clephane would finance the project for 50% of any future royalties. Throughout his lifetime his work accumulated over 300 patents. Ruben teamed with Philip Mallory to create what would become Duracell International. Ruben developed the mercury button cell in 1942 to replace the zinc-carbon batteries at a request from the Army Signal Corps. With over 100 inventions credited to him personally, one of the most important was the dry electrolytic aluminium capacitor, the solid-state magnesium/cupric sulfide rectifier (a device that converted regular household electric current for use in radios), the vacuum tube relay, the quick heater vacuum tube, and the concept of a balanced-cell mercury battery. Ruben worked as a researcher from 1918–1921 for the Electrochemical Products Company. He was awarded the Acheson Award by the Electrochemical Society in 1970. He died two days after his 88th birthday in Milwaukie, Oregon.

Books Samuel Ruben published multiple books,

"Handbook of the Elements" - A unique way he chose to display the elements. "Necessity's Children: Memoirs of an Independent Inventor" - An autobiography. "The Founders of Electrochemistry" "The Electronics of Materials" "The Evolution of Electric Batteries in Response to Industrial Needs"

Awards and honors Edward Longstreth Medal of the Franklin Institute (1972) Columbia University Honorary Doctorate Butler University Honorary Doctorate Polytechnic Institute Honorary Doctorate(1968) Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1966) Named Inventor of the Year by George Washington University(1965)

References

External links The Samuel Ruben papers 1932-1984. Retrieved March 26, 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help) Bullock, Kathryn R. (2006). "Samuel Ruben: Inventor, Scholar, and Benefactor" (PDF). The Electrochemical Society Interface. 15 (3): 16–17. doi:10.1149/2.F02063IF. Retrieved March 26, 2018. FOWLER, GLENN (1988). "Samuel Ruben, 88, an Inventor Noted for Electrochemical Work". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2018. Duracell History Electrochemistry Encyclopedia, entry: nonrechargeable batteries

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Samuel Ruben

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Samuel Ruben 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 Samuel Ruben 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 Samuel Ruben 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 Samuel Ruben

In research: Samuel Ruben 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 Samuel Ruben 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: Samuel Ruben is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1900 births, 1988 deaths, 20th-century American Jews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Samuel Ruben 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Samuel Ruben in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Samuel Ruben in simple terms?

Why does Samuel Ruben 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 Samuel Ruben?

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 Samuel Ruben.