Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production

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Vaclav Smil (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba)

Enriching the Earth

Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production

Vaclav Smil (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba)

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English

Massachusetts Inst of Tec
27 February 2004

Agriculture & related industries; Mathematics & Sciences; History of science; Heavy chemicals; Environmental science, engineering & technology; Fertilisers & manures

Series: The MIT Press

Dr. Smil is the world's authority on nitrogenous fertilizer.

The industrial synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen has been of greater fundamental importance to the modern world than the invention of the airplane, nuclear energy, space flight, or television. The expansion of the world's population from 1.6 billion people in 1900 to today's six billion would not have been possible without the synthesis of ammonia.

In Enriching the Earth, Vaclav Smil begins with a discussion of nitrogen's unique status in the biosphere, its role in crop production, and traditional means of supplying the nutrient. He then looks at various attempts to expand natural nitrogen flows through mineral and synthetic fertilizers. The core of the book is a detailed narrative of the discovery of ammonia synthesis by Fritz Haber-a discovery scientists had sought for over one hundred years-and its commercialization by Carl Bosch and the chemical company BASF. Smil also examines the emergence of the large-scale nitrogen fertilizer industry and analyzes the extent of global dependence on the Haber-Bosch process and its biospheric consequences. Finally, it looks at the role of nitrogen in civilization and, in a sad coda, describes the lives of Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch after the discovery of ammonia synthesis.

By: Vaclav Smil (Distinguished Professor Emeritus University of Manitoba)
Imprint: Massachusetts Inst of Tec
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 178mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780262693134
ISBN 10: 0262693135
Series: The MIT Press
Pages: 358
Publication Date: 27 February 2004
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Vaclav Smil was Distinguished Professor at the University of Manitoba until 2011. He is the author of many books, including, most recently, P rime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines (MIT Press, 2010). In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Reviews for Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production

I am tremendously impressed with this book. It will make a verysignificant contribution to the literature on the Haber-Bosch processof nitrogen synthesis, but perhaps even more significant, to puttinginto perspective the importance of nitrogen fertilizer tohumanity. E. T. York, Chancellor Emeritus, University System ofFlorida, and Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Institute ofFood and Agriculture Sciences, University of Florida