S. P. L. Sørensen
Encyclopedia
Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen (9 January 1868 – 12 February 1939) was a Danish
chemist
, famous for the introduction of the concept of pH
, a scale for measuring acid
ity and basicity
. He was born in Havrebjerg
, Denmark
.
From 1901 to 1938 he was head of the prestigious Carlsberg Laboratory
, Copenhagen
. While working at the Carlsberg Laboratory he studied the effect of ion concentration on proteins, and because the concentration of hydrogen ions was particularly important, he introduced the pH
-scale as a simple way of expressing it in 1909. The article in which he introduced the scale (using the notation pH), described two new methods for measuring acidity. The first method was based on electrodes, while the second involved comparing the colors of samples and a preselected set of indicators.
He is also known for the Sørensen formol titration
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
, famous for the introduction of the concept of pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
, a scale for measuring acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
ity and basicity
Base (chemistry)
For the term in genetics, see base A base in chemistry is a substance that can accept hydrogen ions or more generally, donate electron pairs. A soluble base is referred to as an alkali if it contains and releases hydroxide ions quantitatively...
. He was born in Havrebjerg
Havrebjerg
Havrebjerg, is a small town with a popualation of 429 in Slagelse Municipality, Denmark. It is also the birthplace of the inventor of the pH scale, Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
From 1901 to 1938 he was head of the prestigious Carlsberg Laboratory
Carlsberg Laboratory
The Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark was created in 1875 by J. C. Jacobsen, the founder of the Carlsberg brewery, for the sake of advancing biochemical knowledge, especially relating to brewing. It featured a Department of Chemistry and a Department of Physiology...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. While working at the Carlsberg Laboratory he studied the effect of ion concentration on proteins, and because the concentration of hydrogen ions was particularly important, he introduced the pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
-scale as a simple way of expressing it in 1909. The article in which he introduced the scale (using the notation pH), described two new methods for measuring acidity. The first method was based on electrodes, while the second involved comparing the colors of samples and a preselected set of indicators.
He is also known for the Sørensen formol titration
Sørensen formol titration
The Sørensen formol titration invented by S. P. L. Sørensen in 1907 is a titration of an amino acid with formaldehyde in the presence of potassium hydroxide....
.