In 1931, the American physical chemist Harold Urey demonstrated the existence of what type of 'weighty' liquid that proved important in the development of the atomic bomb?
Harold Urey He declined to attend the ceremony in Stockholm, so that he could be present at the birth of his daughter Mary Alice. Working with Edward W. Washburn from the Bureau of Standards, Urey subsequently discovered the reason for the anomalous sample. Brickwedde's hydrogen had been separated from water by electrolysis, resulting in depleted sample. Moreover, Francis William Aston now reported that his calculated value for the atomic weight of hydrogen was wrong, thereby invalidating Birge and Menzel's original reasoning. The discovery of deuterium stood, however. Urey and Washburn attempted to use electrolysis to create pure heavy water. Their technique was
Harold Urey is also named for him, as is Urey Hall, the chemistry building at Revelle College, UCSD, in La Jolla. UCSD has also established a Harold C. Urey chair whose first holder is Jim Arnold. Harold Urey Harold Clayton Urey (April 29, 1893 – January 5, 1981) was an American physical chemist whose pioneering work on isotopes earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 for the discovery of deuterium. He played a significant role in the development of the atom bomb, as well as contributing to theories on the development of organic life from non-living matter. Born in Walkerton,