astronomy

William Francis Hillebrand

William Francis Hillebrand is a astronomy 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 William Francis Hillebrand rather than just read about it. In short: William Francis Hillebrand (December 12, 1853 – February 7, 1925) was an American chemist. Biography He was the son of the renowned botanist William Hillebrand.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

William Francis Hillebrand (December 12, 1853 – February 7, 1925) was an American chemist.

Biography He was the son of the renowned botanist William Hillebrand. He studied at Cornell University and then in Germany at the University of Heidelberg where he received his Ph.D. in 1875. He then worked with Robert Bunsen for two semesters. His research on metallic cerium, which he together with Thomas Norton obtained first in 1872, started his academic career. He studied organic chemistry for three semesters with Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig at the University of Strasbourg, but changed to geochemistry and metallurgy by studying at the Freiberg Mining Academy. After returning home to the United States in 1878, he opened an assay office in Leadville, Colorado, in 1879, and then started working as a chemist at the United States Geological Survey in 1880. That year he was sent to Denver to establish a chemical laboratory for the Rocky Mountain Division of the Survey. For five years he remained in charge of this laboratory, and then was transferred to the chief laboratory in Washington. He changed to the National Bureau of Standards in 1909 where he was chief chemist. He was professor of general chemistry and physics at the National College of Pharmacy, from 1892 to 1910; president of the American Chemical Society in 1906; and in 1908 he became editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. He was the author of several books on chemical subjects. His son was the professor of English literature Harold Newcomb Hillebrand (1887–1953).

Studies of uranium During an analysis of the uranium containing mineral uranite he discovered that a gas evolved. He identified this gas by spectroscopic methods to be nitrogen. Several years later in 1895 William Ramsay did similar experiments with uranium containing minerals and discovered by similar methods that the gas was a mixture of argon and helium which until then had only been detected in the corona of stars. A reexamination by Ramsay of Hillebrand's samples showed that the gas from uranite contained a large amount of nitrogen.

Works Analyse der Silikat- und Karbonatgesteine . Engelmann, Leipzig 2nd German edition by Ernst Wilke-Dörfurt 1910 Digital edition by the University and State Library Düsseldorf

Awards and honors Hillebrand was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1906 and the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1908. The Chemical Society of Washington, a division of the American Chemical Society, awards the Hillebrand Prize Award each year for "original contributions to the science of chemistry". The award was first given in 1925.

Notes

References Frank Wigglesworth Clarke. "William Francis Hillebrand" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Francis Hillebrand

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Francis Hillebrand claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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 William Francis Hillebrand 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 William Francis Hillebrand 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 William Francis Hillebrand

In research: William Francis Hillebrand appears in astronomy 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 William Francis Hillebrand 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: William Francis Hillebrand is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1853 births, 1925 deaths, 19th-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Francis Hillebrand 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 William Francis Hillebrand in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is William Francis Hillebrand in simple terms?

William Francis Hillebrand (December 12, 1853 – February 7, 1925) was an American chemist. Biography He was the son of the renowned botanist William Hillebrand.

Why does William Francis Hillebrand matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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 William Francis Hillebrand?

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 William Francis Hillebrand.