Lajos Winkler

Lajos Winkler (May 21, 1863 – April 14, 1939) was a Hungarian analytical chemist. He is best known today for his discovery of the Winkler method for the measurement of oxygen dissolved in water.

Lajos Winkler
Lajos Winkler
Born(1863-05-21)May 21, 1863
DiedApril 14, 1939(1939-04-14) (aged 75)
Alma materUniversity of Budapest
Scientific career
Doctoral advisorCarl von Than

Life

Relatively little is in print in English concerning the life of Lajos Winkler.[1] Winkler studied science at the Budapest University of Science, receiving his doctorate there in 1890, while working with Carl von Than. He stayed on to work as a lecturer, among other positions, and directed the Institute of Chemistry, starting in 1909, for more than 25 years. He is said to have published several hundred papers, to have helped found the Hungarian Journal of Chemistry, and to have been a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.[2] See also the study of Vamos for more information and references.[3]

Dissolved oxygen

Natural water contains molecular oxygen (O2), necessary for life in ponds, rivers, and so on. A common nineteenth-century test for determining dissolved oxygen, as described by Alfred Wanklyn, involved boiling the water sample and collecting, over mercury, the gases released, for subsequent analysis.[4]

In 1888, while still a doctoral student, Lajos Winkler discovered a much safer, and more precise, method of dissolved-oxygen analysis, which is still widely used today.[5] The Winkler method uses the dissolved oxygen to convert manganese(II) hydroxide into manganese(III) species, and then analyzing for the latter by titration.[6]

See also

Further reading
  • McCormick, Patrick G. (1972). "The Determination of Dissolved Oxygen by the Winkler Method. A Student Laboratory Experiment". The Journal of Chemical Education. 49 (12): 839–841. Bibcode:1972JChEd..49..839M. doi:10.1021/ed049p839.

References
  1. "Winkler Lajos".
  2. "Lajos Winkler". Hungarian Patent Office. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  3. Vámos, Éva. "Chemistry Buildings at Budapest University of Sciences, 1860-2006". Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  4. Wanklyn, J. Alfred (1907). Water-Analysis, A Practical Treatise on the Examination of Potable Water (11 ed.). Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, and Co. Ltd. pp. 131–134. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  5. Winkler, L. W. (1888). "Die Bestimmung des in Wasser Gelösten Sauerstoffes". Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. 21 (2): 2843–2855. doi:10.1002/cber.188802102122.
  6. Crosson, Mary; Gibb, Reen (1992). "Dissolved Oxygen and Chloride Determination in Water". The Journal of Chemical Education. 69 (10): 830–832. doi:10.1021/ed069p830.
- See also the complete on-line copy here.
- Uses a modified Winkler method and shows a Winkler bottle


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