Paul Flory
American polymer chemist who won the 1974 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on macromolecules.
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Paul John Flory (June 19, 1910 – September 9, 1985) was an American chemist whose research transformed the understanding of polymers, the long chain molecules also called macromolecules. He pioneered the study of how polymers behave in solution and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1974 for theoretical and experimental advances in the physical chemistry of macromolecules. His book Principles of Polymer Chemistry, published in 1953, became the standard reference for the field and remains in wide use. Concepts bearing his name, from Flory-Huggins Solution Theory to the Flory exponent, are still basic tools for polymer scientists.
Background
Flory was born in Sterling, Illinois, to Ezra Flory, a clergyman-educator, and Martha Brumbaugh, a teacher. Carl W Holl, a chemistry professor at Manchester College, sparked his interest in science. He finished Elgin High School in 1927, earned his bachelor's degree from Manchester College in 1931 and completed a Ph.D. at the Ohio State University in 1934 with a thesis on the photochemistry of nitric oxide.
That year he joined DuPont to work with Wallace Carothers. After Carothers died in 1937 he moved to the University of Cincinnati, then to Standard Oil Development Company and, from 1943 to 1948, to Goodyear. He married Emily Catherine Tabor in 1936.
Did You Know?
- President Gerald Ford presented him with the National Medal of Science in 1974.
- He received the Charles Goodyear Medal in 1968.
- He was posthumously inducted into the Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame in 2002.
- His ancestors were German Huguenots with roots in Alsace.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Paul Flory's best-known book?
Principles of Polymer Chemistry, published in 1953 by Cornell University Press.
What is the theta point?
The set of conditions under which the excluded volume effect is cancelled, so a polymer chain behaves like an ideal chain.
Also in the Codexery
More in Physicists And Chemists Of The 20Th Century
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Paul Flory (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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