Fundamental Discovery

Accelerators are responsible for many fundamental discoveries as well as many practical applications. An example of a fundamental discovery was the observation of the W and Z particles that carry the weak force that is responsible, along with the strong and electromagnetic forces, for the fact that the sun shines. An example of a practical application is the use of accelerator beams to kill cancerous tumors in patients. 

Pauling was a scientific giant, who made fundamental discoveries in fields ranging from chemical bonding to molecular biology to medicine. A lifelong pacifist,... 

This fundamental discovery dramatically affected the whole chemistry of main-group elements. Subsequently, a series of new compounds with silicon element multiple bonds has been introduced. Within only a few years, stable silenes (silaethenes with a Si = C double bond) [8-11], silaimines Si = N [12-14], and silaphosphenes Si = P [15] were synthesized. As a pacemaker, silicon chemistry has exerted a strong influence on further areas of main-group chemistry a variety of stable molecules with Ge = Ge [16], P = P [17], As = As [18], P = C and P = C [19-22] bonds were subsequently isolated, and systems with cumulated double bonds P = C = P [23-25] are also known today. 

We refer to footnotes 6 and 8 for the details of this problem, but mention only one conclusion the fact that Li6nard s argument was purely geometrical enabled him to make a fundamental discovery, the significance of which was fully understood only at a later date. 

To master one scientific topic after another, Haber skipped dinners and studied until 2 a.m. With overflowing enthusiasm, he ignored the conventional boundaries between abstract and practical science between chemistry, physics, and engineering and between mechanics, technicians, and scientists. He solved industrial problems posed by the iron plates used to print banknotes and by Karlsruhe s corroded water and gas mains, and then made fundamental discoveries in electrochemistry. Conversely, he used the abstract theory of gas reactions in flames to explain to manufacturers why some reactions continue spontaneously while others stop. Soon he had contributed basic scientific insights to almost every area of physical chemistry. 

The fundamental discovery by Burk et al. that the analogous trans-2,5-disub-stituted phospholanes formed a more rigid steric environment led to the introduction of the DuPhos and BPE ligand classes (Fig. 24.1) [8-13]. Subsequently, these ligands have been successfully employed in numerous enantiomeric catalytic systems [4 a, 5], the most fruitful and prolific being Rh-catalyzed hydrogenations. The reduction of N-substituted a- and /1-debydroarnino acid derivatives,... 

In the development of the discussed fluorinated products a lot of fundamental insight has been gained into permeation and adhesion properties of surface-fluorinated polymers. Although this insight is not discussed in this paper, it may be of interest to mention a few significant fundamental discoveries and also to suggest directions for future development. 

Two fundamental discoveries about the structure of the atom and electromagnetic radiation also occurred during this period and provided a foundation for instrumentation that would be fundamental in furthering our understanding of soil chemistry. One was the discovery of X-rays, also sometimes called Rontgen rays, discovered in 1895, by W. Rontgen [24], The second was made by J. J. Thomson in 1912. He observed positive rays and described how these could be used to identify compounds and elements. Subsequently, he presented a clear description of the process in 1913. This led to the development of mass spectrometry [25],... 

A high plasma concentration of LDL (usually measured as LDL-cholesterol) is a risk factor for the development of atheroma whereas a high concentration of HDL is an anti-risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Fundamental discoveries relating to cholesterol metabolism and the importance of the LDL receptor made by Nobel laureates Joseph Goldstein and Michael Brown led to an understanding of the role of LDL in atherosclerosis. The impact of HDL in reducing CVD risk is often explained by the removal of excess cholesterol from tissues and its return to the liver, a process known as reverse cholesterol transport. However, evidence from research by Gillian Cockerill and others shows that HDL has a fundamental anti-inflammatory role to play in cardioprotection. 

In 1975 Kuntz has described that the complexes formed from various rhodium-containing precursors and the sulfonated phosphines, TPPDS (2) or TPPTS (3) were active catalysts of hydroformylafion of propene and 1-hexene [15,33] in aqueous/organic biphasic systems with virtually complete retention of rhodium in the aqueous phase. The development of this fundamental discovery into a large scale industrial operation, known these days as the Ruhrchemie-Rhone Poulenc (RCH-RP) process for hydroformylation of propene, demanded intensive research efforts [21,28]. Tire final result of these is characterized by the data in Table 4.2 in comparison with cobalt- or rhodium-catalyzed processes taking place in homogeneous organic phases. 

To conclude this review I must pay a tribute to the work and figure of Giulio Natta who pioneered macromolecular stereochemistry and was an active protagonist in die field for many years. The most important aspects of his discoveries and the present significance of the research derived therefrom have been illustrated by his students and by scientists from all over the world (16, 18). As may be seen finom the present article, many of the fundamental discoveries were derived from the work of his research group at the Milan Polytechnic. A large part of the later development, also, is the fruit of a cultural tradition that has influenced the whole Italian school of polymer chemistry. 

Quinghaosu is the latest fundamental discovery in this area and is a heterocyclic compound that does not have a nitrogen atom in its structure. It is taken from a Chinese folk medicine. It is isolated from the plmt Artemisia annua. It is amazing that this compound, which is completely different than the other drugs described in this chapter in terms of structure, exhibits the exact same therapeutic effect. The main interest in quinoghaosu is based on the fact that it is active against resistant forms of malaria caused by P falciparum, and even its cerebral forms. Synonyms of this drug are artemisine, artemisinin, and others. 

These studies have much contributed to deepen our understanding of the biosynthetic mechanisms for polyketide production, particularly with the fundamental discovery of a novel RppA chalcone-synthase-related enzyme in bacteria (Funa 1999). 

Marignac, in the future, the credit of his fundamental discovery (52). The other oxide he called lutecia from an old name for his native city, Paris (3, 38, 39, 51). The spelling has been changed to lutetia. The element he named neoytterbium is now known simply as ytterbium. Although these elements were found to be identical with the alde-baranium and cassiopeium discovered independently by Auer von Welsbach at about die same time, Urbains names for them have been widely accepted. ... 

This chapter draws upon materials gathered on our travels relevant to the history of atoms. Much of the research described in this chapter is explained in greater detail elsewhere in this book. This chapter selects a few places where one can make contact with fundamental discoveries about the atom and the people who made them. 

In 1984, it was discovered that human genes contain short, repeating sequence of noncoding DNA, called short tandem repeats (STRs). The STR loci are slightly different for every individual except identical twins. By sequencing these loci, a unique pattern for each individual can be obtained. On the basis of this fundamental discovery, the technique of DNA fingerprinting was developed. 

As of the early 1980s. numerous hypotheses have been formulated by molecular biologists and this fundamental discovery has stimulated a whole new line of research in many laboratories throughout the world. Some scientists have observed that the extra DNA cannot be accounted for simply upon the basis of evolutionary theories. The extra DNA may play a role in controlling gene expression. The complexity and current uncertainty of these hypotheses are beyond the scope of this book at this juncture in the research program. Perhaps the lopic will be better clarified at the lime of the next edition. Several of the references listed shed further insights. 

Taylor, G. I., 1958-71, Scientific Papers. Ed. G. K. Batchelor. 4 vols. (Cambridge. Cambridge University Press). P. G. Saffman wrote, shortly after Taylor s death in 1975, that he said when in his seventies that he preferred to work outside the mainstream of scientific activity. .. But Taylor had only to be interested in a field and his fundamental discoveries, which followed as a matter of course, would put the topic in the mainstream. ... 

Short of fundamental discoveries over the past fifteen years, the chemical industry has gone forward by systematically developing its store of knowledge in processes and products. 

In 1953, Ziegler and Holzkamp (7) observed that the Aufbaureaktion (2) of triethylaluminum and ethylene [Eq. (1)] changed to a dimerization of ethylene to butene in the presence of traces of nickel salts [Eq. (2)]. This fundamental discovery, which has become known as the nickel effect, led to the development of Ziegler catalysts (3) and was the starting point for the organonickel chemistry of Wilke et al. (4, 5). 

In 1974, Dickson and Fraser reviewed the already substantial area of cobalt-alkyne complexes.1 Since then the number of examples and applications of this class of organometallic compounds, especially dinuclear complexes, has increased enormously. This review will present the chemistry of polynuclear cobalt-alkyne complexes, with emphasis on the more recent developments. Although there have been many exciting fundamental discoveries, this is a maturing area of research that is finding many important applications in organic synthesis,2 such as the use of [Co2(jU-alkyne)(CO)6] complexes in the synthesis of enediyne antitumor antibiotics.3-4... 

A family of ADMET model copolymers were synthesized and used to study the effects of regular microstructure on polymer properties, in particular functionahzed polyethylenes. The structure-property relationships of various ethylene copolymers can be clarified using these model systems. This is illustrated in Fig. 3 by the relationship of to functional group size. Future studies on these and similar systems should lead to fundamental discoveries concerning the class of materials known as polyethylenes and their physical properties. 

Scheme 2.2. Key synthetic methodologies developed for the formation of polycyclic ethers and fundamental discoveries.

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