Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom. Photo by Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Facts about Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom


 

Bakhuis Roozeboom (originally “Bakhuys Roozeboom”) was born in the Dutch city of Alkmaar. Due to financial constraints, he was unable to pursue a university education directly, and he left school to work in a chemical factory for a time. With the help of his mentor, J. M. van Bemmelen, he was able to begin his academic career as an assistant at the University of Leiden in 1878. In 1881, he began teaching at a girls’ school, and in 1884, he received his PhD for research on acid hydrates.

J. D. van der Waals introduced him to J. Willard Gibbs’ theoretical works on the phase rule, which had previously had little experimental verification in chemistry, prompting him to embark on a lifelong research program on phase equilibrium. He became a chemistry professor at the University of Amsterdam in 1896, where he died on February 8, 1907.

1. Roozeboom conducted systematic studies of heterogeneous equilibrium in Amsterdam

He paid close attention to mixed crystals, which revealed information about the homogeneous solid phase. Roozeboom used pressure-temperature-concentration diagrams to represent all phase equilibrium. He and his students applied phase theory to pseudo systems (such as tautomeric compounds), such as the acetaldehyde- paraldehyde system and the sulfur-chlorine system.

2. Bakhuis Roozeboom’s primary research was in thermodynamics

orange fire illustration

Orange fire illustration. Photo by Martin Adams. Unsplash

He was primarily interested in the equilibrium of multiple phase systems. J. Willard Gibbs laid the theoretical groundwork for this with his phase rule, but it would be Roozeboom who would apply the theory and demonstrate its utility.

3. He is best known for his melting phase diagrams of metal alloys

Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom. Photo by Digital Library for Dutch Literature. Wikimedia Commons

That is the study of how metal mixtures melt depending on the relative amounts of the components, which is useful in metallurgy. Roozeboom was also the first to plot ternary phase equilibrium in two-dimensional plots derived from three-dimensional solid diagrams as vertical or horizontal slices. These are known as isopleth and isotherms, respectively.

4. Bakhuis Roozeboom was elected to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1890  

Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom. Photo by Wikimedia Commons

At the University of Amsterdam, Roozeboom succeeded J. H. van’t Hoff. He published the first volume and the first part of the second volume of his multi-volume treatise on heterogeneous equilibria, Die Heterogenen Gleichgewichte von Standpunkte des Phasenlehre, in 1904.

5. Bakhuis wrote a dissertation about the dissociation of gas hydrates

Roozeboom’s dissertation On the Hydrates of Sulfurous Acid, Chlorine, Bromine, and Hydrogen Chloride focused on the dissociation phenomena of these gas hydrates (solids that split into a liquid and a gas when heated).
 
JD van der Waals pointed him to the phase rule of American physicist J. Willard Gibbs, which had appeared in a little-known journal in 1876, in 1886. This provided a theoretical foundation for Roozeboom’s research.

6. He studied Latin and Greek at the HBS in Alkmaar for four years

Bakhuis Roozeboom studied Latin and Greek until 1874 after attending the HBS in Alkmaar from 1868 to 1872. During these years, he continued to improve his practical and theoretical chemistry skills under the supervision of his HBS director, chemist DJ Boeke. In 1873, he collaborated with JM van Bemmelen, Van Boeke’s brother-in-law and later professor at Leiden, on soil analyses of the IJpolder in Arnhem. From 1881 to 1896, he taught at the Municipal HBS for Girls in Laiden.

7. Bakhuis Roozeboom was hired as a lecturer’s assistant at Van Bemmelen

In 1873, he collaborated with JM van Bemmelen, Van Boeke’s brother-in-law and later professor at Leiden, on soil analyses of the IJpolder in Arnhem. On 9 October 1874, he registered in Leiden after passing the university admission exam. Due to a lack of funds, he joined J.Th. Mouton’s food research bureau in The Hague, and later worked in Mouton’s chemical factory until it was closed due to a fire in 1878.

Bakhuis Roozeboom filed his candidacy on February 4, 1881. In addition to his assistant ship (until 1889), he taught at Leiden’s municipal HBS for girls from 1881 to 1896. He received his master’s degree on May 1, 1882, and his doctorate on June 7, 1884, both from Van Bemmelen. He received his Master’s degree on May 1, 1882, and his doctorate on June 7, 1884, both from Van Bemmelen.

8. Bakhuis Roozeboom meticulously studied the various forms of heterogeneous equilibrium with his students

Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom. Photo by Wikimedia Commons

He theoretically explained and experimentally investigated changes in aggregate composition in a variety of different systems using drawings and models. Meanwhile, he succeeded JH van’t Hoff as professor in Amsterdam in 1896. His inaugural address was titled The Scientific Practice and Results of Chemistry. He then applied his theory to a variety of subjects, including mixed crystals, liquid crystals, steel composition, and so on.

This life’s work was crucial not only to pure science, but also to metallurgy and geology. He meticulously documented his findings in Die heterogenen Gleich Weighte vom Standpunkte der Phasenlehre, of which he could only provide the first two parts (1901, 1904)

9. Roozeboom conducted numerous practical investigations into drinking water and Scheveningen seawater

clear drinking glass on gray surface

Drinking water in a glass. Photo by KOBU Agency. Unsplash

In addition to his scientific work in the field of phase theory, Roozeboom conducted a number of practical investigations, including chemical investigations into drinking water, seawater at Scheveningen, methods for restoring paintings in the Rijksmuseum that had been damaged by hydrogen sulfide gas from the Amsterdam canals, and so on. Roozeboom’s lectures are known to be clear. His scientific abilities had been recognized by this point. In 1890, he was elected to the Royal Academy of Sciences.

10. Despite his strong commitment to Science, Roozeboom bravely testified to his faith

Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom. Photo by Digital Library for Dutch Literature. Wikimedia Commons

Roozeboom boldly testified to his faith throughout his life, at a time when natural science and Christian faith appeared to be irreconcilable. For example, in 1895, he co-founded the Christian Association of Physicians and Physicians in the Netherlands with the doctors SR Hermanides, Th.G. den Houten, and EA Keuchenius op. His conviction is also reflected in his aforementioned inaugural lecture and the address to The Current State of Chemistry Problems (1904).