S. P. L. Sørensen

S. P. L. Sørensen

S. P. L. Sørensen
Born 9 January 1868
Died 12 February 1939(1939-02-12) (aged 71)
Nationality Danish
Fields Chemistry
Institutions Carlsberg Laboratory
Known for pH

Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen (9 January 1868 – 12 February 1939) was a Danish chemist, famous for the introduction of the concept of pH, a scale for measuring acidity and basicity. He was born in Havrebjerg, Denmark.

From 1901 to 1938 he was head of the prestigious Carlsberg Laboratory, Copenhagen.[1] While working at the Carlsberg Laboratory he studied the effect of ion concentration on proteins,[2] and because the concentration of hydrogen ions was particularly important, he introduced the pH-scale as a simple way of expressing it in 1909.[3] The article in which he introduced the scale (using the notation pH[4]), described two new methods for measuring acidity.[5] The first method was based on electrodes, while the second involved comparing the colors of samples and a preselected set of indicators.

He is also known for the Sørensen formol titration.

References

  1. ^ "Sørensen, Søren Peter Lauritz (1868-1939)". 100 Distinguished European Chemists. European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences. http://www.euchems.eu/nc/publications/100-distinguished-european-chemists/20th-century/soerensen-soren-peter-lauritz.html. Retrieved 2011-10-14. 
  2. ^ "Søren Sørenson". Chemical Achievers - The Human Face of the Chemical Science. Chemical Heritage Foundation. http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/chemistry-in-history/themes/electrochemistry/sorensen.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-14. 
  3. ^ Alberty, Robert; Silbey, Robert (1996). Physical Chemistry (second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. pp. 244. ISBN 0-471-10428-0. 
  4. ^ Sørensen, S. P. L. (1909). "Enzymstudien. II: Mitteilung. Über die Messung und die Bedeutung der Wasserstoffionenkoncentration bei enzymatischen Prozessen" (in German). Biochemische Zeitschrift 21: 131–304. 
  5. ^ Nielsen, Anita Kildebæk (2001). "S.P.L. Sørensen" (in Danish). Biokemisk forening. http://www.biokemi.org/biozoom/2001_2/bz_0201h.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-09.