From the Periodic Table to Production: The Life of Thomas Midgley, Jr., the Inventor of Ethyl Gasoline and Freon Refrigerants (Hardcover)

~ Thomas Midgley (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Stargazer Pub Co (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964385309
• ISBN-13: 978-0964385306
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,037,429 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing read of how one man's hard work, creative genius, and passion for research transformed the modern world, December 10, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

From The Periodic Table To Production: The Life Of Thomas Midgley, Jr. is the compelling biography of the American scientist who invented high-octane ethyl gasoline and freon refrigerants. His accomplishments allowed America to advance its technology in both civilian and military applications; ethyl gasoline enabled carrier-based Army aircraft, and fueled the Enola Gay when it dropped the atomic bomb that ended World War II. Though Midgley was only 55 when he died, his immense contributions to modern chemistry are all the more fascinating considering his background - he was originally trained as an engineer, not a chemist. From the Periodic Table to Production is an amazing read of how one man's hard work, creative genius, and passion for research transformed the modern world.

3.0 out of 5 stars More than a biography, September 24, 2008

By	Chemistry One "Retired Professor" (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This book is more than a biography. Its eight appendices contain( among other things)texts of Midgley's speeches given on various occasions, and examples of his poems. Appendix "B" , his presidential address to the American Chemical Society(ACS), shows a fascination with the subject of inventions and the ages of the inventors. Unfortunately it contains numerous references to a graph which I could not find anywhere. One of the other appendices lists a number of prominent inventions and the ages of the inventors.
Surprising to me was the information that Midgley suffered from polio,
and had difficulty rising from his bed-so much so that he devised a lifting apparatus he could use to achieve independence. He died when
he became entangled in the device and strangled.
There is an interesting account of the incident when the first freon
was tested for toxicity. Differerent samples were tested by exposing a mouse to the vapor. In one case, the mouse survived, in a second case
the mouse died. The difference was traced to the antimony trifluoride
used in preparing the samples- one batch contained moisture, which led to
toxic impurities in the freon prepared from it. The dry antimony trifluoride led to a pure non-toxic freon. Midgley in retelling this
anecdote says that if the toxic sample had been tested first, the project
might have been abandoned.
Midgley's achievements are justly praised, but in the passage of time
both the lead gasoline additives and the freons have proved objectionable
in the environment.