chemistry

Wilhelm Schlenk

Wilhelm Schlenk 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 Wilhelm Schlenk rather than just read about it. In short: Wilhelm Johann Schlenk (22 March 1879 – 29 April 1943) was a German chemist. He was born in Munich and studied chemistry there at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wilhelm Johann Schlenk (22 March 1879 – 29 April 1943) was a German chemist. He was born in Munich and studied chemistry there at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Schlenk succeeded Emil Fischer at the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin in 1919. Schlenk was an organic chemist who discovered organolithium compounds around 1917. He also investigated free radicals and carbanions and discovered (together with his son) that organomagnesium halides are capable of participating in a complex chemical equilibrium, now known as a Schlenk equilibrium. Today Schlenk is remembered mostly for developing techniques to handle air-sensitive compounds and for his invention of the Schlenk flask. The latter is a reaction vessel with a glass or Teflon tap for the addition and removal of gases, such as nitrogen or argon. He is also known for the Schlenk line, a double manifold incorporating a vacuum system and a gas line joined by double oblique taps that allow the user to switch between vacuum and gas for the manipulation of air-sensitive compounds.

References

Further reading Morawetz, Herbert (1996). "Herman Francis Mark". Biographical Memoirs. 68: 195–208. Sella, Andrea (January 2008). "Schlenk Apparatus". Chemistry World: 69. Retrieved 30 January 2008. Tidwell, Thomas (2001). "Wilhelm Schlenk: The Man Behind the Flask". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 40 (2): 331–337. doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20010119)40:2<331::AID-ANIE331>3.0.CO;2-E. PMID 11180319.

External links Picture of Schlenk The Arfvedson-Schlenk Award Archived 11 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in German) [1] Archived 18 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine English Translation of Schlenk's 1929 German article on Grignard reagents. English title: 'On the constitution of the Grignard reagent'; German title "Über die Konstitution der Grignardschen Magnesiumverbindungen".

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wilhelm Schlenk

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wilhelm Schlenk 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 Wilhelm Schlenk 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 Wilhelm Schlenk 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 Wilhelm Schlenk

In research: Wilhelm Schlenk 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 Wilhelm Schlenk 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: Wilhelm Schlenk is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1879 births, 1943 deaths, 20th-century German chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wilhelm Schlenk 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 Wilhelm Schlenk in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Wilhelm Schlenk in simple terms?

Wilhelm Johann Schlenk (22 March 1879 – 29 April 1943) was a German chemist. He was born in Munich and studied chemistry there at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Why does Wilhelm Schlenk 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 Wilhelm Schlenk?

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 Wilhelm Schlenk.