Hevesy, Gyorgy

Hafnium was discovered in 1923 by Danish chemist Dirk Coster working together with Hungarian physicist Gyorgy K. Hevesy. The electronic structure of hafnium had been predicted by Niels Bohr, and Coster and Hevesy found evidence of a substance whose pattern matched what had been predicted. The element predicted by Bohr was finally identified as being part of the mineral zircon by means of x-ray spectroscopy analysis. Due to its discovery in Copenhagen (whose ancient Latin name was Hafnia), the element was named hafnium. 

Moreover, Paneth, along with Gyorgy Hevesy, provided experimental evidence in support of this choice for chemists. They showed that the chemical properties of isotopes of the same element were, for all intents and purposes, identical. As a result, chemists could regard the isotopes of any element as being the same simple substance even though such atoms might occur in different isotopic forms. 

The application of radiotracer methods in electrochemistry dates back to the pioneering works by Gyorgy Hevesy in 1914. The aim of these studies was to demonstrate that isotopic elements can replace each other in both electrodeposition and equilibrium processes (Nernst law). Nevertheless, Joliot s fundamental work in 1930 is considered by electrochemists as a landmark in the application of radiochemical (nuclear) methods in electrochemistry. 

Mihaly Pol yi (Fig. 12.11)—similarly to Gyorgy Hevesy— was not an electrochemist. Originally he was a physician who started to deal with physical chemistry. By the way, to decide who is an electrochemist is not an easy question If one wants to monopolize, for instance, Faraday, Nemst, or even Volta, other chemists and physicists would be scandalized since the achievements of these great scientists were as important in other fields of science as in electrochemistry however, we rightly consider them as the founding fathers of electrochemistry. It seems to be... 

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