200 years after his birth, Robert Bunsen’s famous burner is used in laboratories around the world
31 March marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Bunsen (1811-1899). Bunsen was a German chemist most famous for his invention of the Bunsen Burner; this was actually the latest in a series of improvements to the laboratory burners already in use. This final version withstood the tests of time, making him a household name familiar to every young chemistry student.
Google celebrated Bunsen's birthday with their own Google Doodle today, which is a cute picture for those with older browsers and a brilliant little animation for those with more modern browsers.
The burner might not be considered the most impressive piece of technology these days, but it’s still widely used not only in schools but in academic labs. Its soot-free, controllable flame is still helpful for drying equipment used in experiments sensitive to water, among other things.
But Bunsen did a lot more than improve the humble gas burner: he was a respected teacher, discovered new elements, and came up with analytical techniques that changed chemistry.
Robert Bunsen was one of the most influential chemistry teachers of his time, teaching at the Universities in Marburg, Breslau & Heidelberg as well as the Polytechnic School of Kassel. Some of his more notable students included Henry Roscoe, Friedrich Beilstein, John Tyndall, Edward Frankland and Dmitri Mendeleev (creator of the Periodic Table).
With Gustav Kirchhoff, Robert Bunsen pioneered the use of spectroscopy in chemical analysis. Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. For example when an element is heated it emits energy in the form of light, and this light can be examined with a spectroscope to determine its unique spectrum. Kirchhoff and Bunsen used this process to eventually discover the elements caesium and rubidium.
The RSC archive holds many items written by and about Robert Bunsen. These include the handwritten 'Photochemical Researches' (c. 1851) conducted by him and Sir Henry Roscoe as well as 'Roscoe's Lectures on Bunsen's and Kirchhoff's Spectrum Observations' (1861) and letters written by Bunsen to Roscoe.
Roscoe and Bunsen were to become lifelong friends as well as collaborators in research, Roscoe said of Bunsen:
"As an investigator he was great, as a teacher he was greater, as a man and friend he was greatest."
Bunsen never married and devoted most of his time to his research and his teaching. It is clear that he was extremely popular and well-liked by both his contemporaries and his students. After meeting Bunsen for the first time, Agnes Fischer, the wife of Emil Fischer (another notable German chemist) said:
"First, I would like to wash Bunsen, and then I would like to kiss him because he is such a charming man."
So don't just remember the man for his Bunsen burner; remember the man who invented chemical techniques used to this day, discoverer of elements, and well-liked and respected teacher of chemistry.
This article is adapted from a piece on the RSC Library's website.