Linus Pauling: biography, contribution to science. Multivitamins Linus Pauling and reviews about them

One of the most famous American chemists is Linus Pauling. His biography interests not only US residents, but also people around the world. It is no wonder, after all he investigated vitamins - biologically active additives so popular today. And it must be said, Linus Karl Pauling came to interesting results. It is about this scientist who became the winner of two Nobel Prizes, and we will talk today.

The Origin and Childhood of Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling, photo and biography of which is presented in the article, was born in Portland on February 28, 1901. The boy's father was a pharmacist (pictured below), and his mother was a housewife. When Linus turned 9 years old, his father died. Because of this, the family had a difficult financial situation.

Linus grew up as a closed and thoughtful child. He could watch insects for a long time, but especially Pauling attracted minerals. He was fascinated and beckoned to the world of colored stones. This passion for crystals was sometimes manifested in adulthood: the scientist studied several minerals, based on the theory he created.

At the age of 13 Pauling first visited the chemical laboratory. What he saw there, made a great impression on him. Linus decided to immediately engage in experiments. He borrowed "chemical" utensils in the kitchen from his mother, and his own room became a place for research.

Studying in the college

Pauling never graduated from high school, which did not stop him from enrolling in the Oregon Agricultural College, later converted to the University of Oregon. During training Linus seriously took a great interest in chemical technology. And in the evenings and nights he had to earn a livelihood. Pauling worked in the restaurant as a dish washer, and also sorted the paper in the printing house.

Linus studied brilliantly. The child prodigy was noticed by the teachers and on the penultimate year they offered him to become an assistant. So Pauling began working at the Department of Quantitative Analysis. A year later he became an assistant in mechanics, chemistry and materials.

Defense of doctoral dissertation, the beginning of the career of a scientist

Linus Pauling in 1922 became a bachelor of science (chemical technology). To work on his doctoral thesis he was invited to the California Institute of Technology, located in Pasadena. He brilliantly defended his work in 1925.

A young scientist began to make a career in a technology institute. He became an assistant professor in 1927, an associate professor in 1929. In 1931 Pauling was already a professor of chemistry.

Study of X-ray crystallography

During this time, he acquired important skills in the field of X-ray crystallography. Linus read the radiographs with ease, as if he could observe the atomic structure of substances with his own eyes. This knowledge brought the scientist closer to the nature of chemical bonding - the main area of research for the rest of his life. He went to Europe, where he visited famous scientists: in Munich - A. Sommerfeld, in Zurich - E. Schrödinger, in Copenhagen - N. Bora.

The theory of hybridization (resonance)

In 1928, Linus put forward his theory of hybridization (in a different way - the theory of resonance). This was a real breakthrough in structural chemistry. At this time, the problem of reflecting the structure and properties of the compound in the chemical formula remained unsolved. Despite the fact that the scientists agreed to use a dash to denote a valence bond, many ambiguities arose. The fact is that in reality everything turned out to be more complicated than the schemes drawn on paper.

Soon additional notation was needed. In particular, if the connection was polar, this was indicated by an additional arrow; If it was ionic, additional minuses and pluses were added to the atoms. However, this did not help much. It turned out that in order to adequately depict the properties and structure of a multitude of molecules, especially complex ones, it was necessary to resort to several structural formulas. In particular, for benzene, there were five. Since each was treated separately, none of them could accurately describe the properties and structure of this aromatic compound.

The idea suggested by Pauling was that the molecule is the result of resonance, that is, overlapping several structures. Each of these structures describes various features of the chemical properties and structure of the molecule.

In 1939 appeared the work of Linus "The nature of the chemical bond." The scientist applied the quantum theory to solve various problems facing science. This allowed him to explain many disparate facts from a single theoretical position.

New discoveries

Linus Pauling studied the structure of molecules in the second half of the 1930s on the basis of the theory of resonance. He was also interested in antibodies, in particular the ability to provide them with immunity. The scientist made a number of discoveries in the field of virology, immunology and biochemistry. For example, he studied the molecule of hemoglobin. Linus Pauling in 1951 published the first description of the three-dimensional molecular structure of proteins (co-authored with R. Korn). It was obtained on the basis of X-ray crystallography data.

Relationship to Pauling's theory in the USSR

The Pauling theory caused a real storm in the USSR. In our country after the defeat of linguists, cybernetics and geneticists took up quantum mechanics, and then the chemistry became the target of the NKVD. The Pauling resonance theory, as well as K. Ingold's mesoderm theory, related to her, were the main objects of attack. The Soviet Union announced that Pauling's ideas about the real molecule as an average between two or more extreme abstract structures are idealistic and bourgeois. June 11, 1951 was held All-Union meeting, which addressed the problems of chemical structure. At this event, the theory of resonance was crushed.

Nobel prizes and other achievements Pauling

However, Linus's achievements were appreciated abroad. Pauling in 1954 was awarded the Nobel Prize for studying the nature of chemical bonding, and also for using it to study the structure of compounds. And in 1962, the scientist received this award for the second time - as a fighter for peace.

Pauling is the author of about 250 scientific publications and many books, including a unique in its depth and simplicity presentation of a manual on modern chemistry. In 1948, for his achievements in science, he headed the American Chemical Society, and was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and many other scientific societies of various countries.

Peacekeeping activities

Deeply aware of the threat posed to mankind by atomic weapons, Linus began to actively fight against the creation of new nuclear weapons. This scientist was among the initiators of the Pugwash movement. Pauling in 1957 passed the appeal to the UN Secretary General, signed by 11 021 scientists, who represented 49 countries. In the 1958 book "Do not be a war!" Linus Pauling expressed his pacifistic views.

In June 1961, the scientist together with his wife convened a conference in Norway (Oslo), the theme of which is the counteraction to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Despite Linus' appeals to Nikita Khrushchev, in September of the same year the USSR resumed the tests. And in March next year the same was done by the United States. Then the scientist began to perform dosimetric control of radioactivity. Pauling in October 1962 disseminated information that her level had doubled compared to the previous 16 years. In addition, Pauling drafted an agreement to ban such tests. In July 1963, the USSR, the United States and Great Britain signed it.

The scientist stopped working at the California Institute of Technology in 1963 and began working at the Center for Studies of Public Institutions in Santa Barbara. Here he began to deal with the problems of war and peace. Linus carried out a number of experiments on the threat of radioactive contamination. The scientist found out that the radioactive elements cause leukemia, bone cancer, thyroid cancer and some other diseases. Despite the fact that Linus equally actively condemned the arms race of the governments of the USSR and the US, some conservative politicians questioned his loyalty to the United States.

In 1969, the scientist stopped working at the University of California, where he carried out his research for two years. He did this in protest against the educational policy pursued by R. Reagan, Governor of California. Linus began working at Stanford University as a professor.

Personal life Pauling

In 1922, the scientist married a student of the Oregon Agricultural College - Ave Helen Miller (photo below). They had a daughter, and also three sons. In 1981, Ava Helen died. After her death, Pauling lived in the state of California, in Big Sur, where was their country house.

Pauling Orthomolecular Medicine

Pauling is an adherent and popularizer of the so-called orthomolecular medicine. Its essence lies in the fact that the treatment is carried out with the help of substances that are present in the human body. The scientist believed that to defeat this or that disease, you just need to correctly change their concentration. Its Scientific Medical Institute was founded in 1973 to study the method of treatment and prevention of disease by consuming the necessary doses of minerals and vitamins. Pauling believed that it is especially important to consume a large amount of vitamin C. In 1979, the book appeared this scientist called "Cancer and Vitamin C". It described how ascorbic acid helps to cope with this dangerous disease. Linus Pauling "Vitamin C and runny nose" created in the same year. Both of these books were met with ambiguous treatment by physicians, but became very popular.

Study of ascorbic acid

The vitamins of Dr. Lainus Pauling were already interested in the elderly. The scientist devoted the research of ascorbic acid and the possibilities of its clinical use to the last 30 years of his life and came to the conclusion that its use in large quantities positively affects the human body.

At once it is necessary to tell, that any vitamins will not rescue or save you in the event that you conduct an unhealthy way of life. They can be compared to seat belts. When a person is buckled on, it simply protects him during an accident, but is not a guarantee of safe driving. Vitamins also only give us additional protection. Confirmation of their action is the active and long life of such a scientist as Linus Pauling. Vitamin C he took in the amount of 18 grams per day, and vitamin E (tocopherol) - 800 IU, starting from the seventh decade. Linus managed to live up to 93 years! In 1994 Linus Pauling died. A brief biography of his testifies that he did not suffer from serious illnesses.

By the way, even irreconcilable opponents of this scientist agree that ascorbic acid is useful for health. The fierce debate has been conducted for many years only about its quantity, which should be taken.

What does statistics say?

The US Academy of Sciences recommends that an adult male take 60 mg of vitamin C daily. Russian standards vary depending on the age, gender and profession of the person. For men, this is 60-110 mg, for women it is 55-80. With these and large amounts, there is no hypovitaminosis (gum bleeding, fatigue), or scurvy. In people who consume more than 50 mg of ascorbic acid per day, according to statistics, signs of old age occur 10 years later than others.

Linus Pauling's vitamins

Reviews about their use come from all over the world. Vitamins strengthen immunity, give a good appearance, a charge of vivacity and energy, as people say. They are becoming more popular as a dietary supplement. It is a question of such complex let out today, as "Super Multi-vitamins" of Dr. Linus Pauling. It consists of more than 40 vitamins, plant components, minerals and royal jelly. The latter has immunostimulating and anti-inflammatory properties, and also increases physical and mental performance. Multivitamins Linus Pauling are recommended as a general restorative. This complex is an additional source of mineral substances and vitamins.