Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner observes the action of platinum black on Hydrogen, which leads to his invention of the pneumatic gas lighter (Feuerzeug) and to Berzelius’ concept of catalysis.
Döbereiner observed that if a jet of hydrogen was directed at the platinum from a distance of 4 cm so that it was premixed with air, the platinum became red-hot, then white-hot and the jet ignited spontaneously. This was the basis for what was to be called the Döbereinersche Feuerzeug (lighter). This discovery, in which fire was produced without flint and tinder, quickly created an international sensation and was immediately tested and confirmed by many chemists and physicists..
This timeline entry suggestion courtesy of
Simon J. Lancaster
Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry
University of East Anglia.
