By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow. Richard died April 21, 2025; honoring the work he did with hazmat history is one small way to keep his memory alive.
The saying, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” is more than a cliché. It is a reminder that we must constantly be learning from the past. Here’s a look back at major historical events that happened today in the world of hazardous materials.
June 13, 1944
Germany began launching V-1 rocket attacks against Britain. Although the military results of initial rocket attacks were underwhelming, the era of using hazardous materials to propel ballistic missiles for long distances was on the horizon.
June 13, 1911
Erwin Müller, American Physicist, was born in Germany. He first invented the field emission microscope and later the field ion microscope. Via these inventions, Müller became the first person ever to “see” atoms. Field emission is emission of electrons from the surface of a conductor subjected to a high electric field. Müller used this phenomenon as the basis of a new type of microscope that enabled him to approach atomic resolution and which would have a profound effect on the study of solid surfaces.
The field emission microscope is lens-less, instead consisting of, in its simplest form, a sample formed into a sharp, needle-like emitter and fluorescent screen. When a field is applied to the emitter, electrons tunnel out of the emitter towards the screen. This creates a field contrast that occurs due to the differences in current densities of the electrons, revealing details about the sample’s surface.
Müller’s field ion microscope, with a magnification of 1 million or more and resolution of 0.25 nanometers, made it possible for the first time to obtain clear images of individual atoms and their arrangement on the surface of a sample. Like the field emission microscope, the field ion microscope consists of a sample in the shape of a pointed tip and fluorescent screen. But unlike the other device, it requires the presence of an imaging gas, such as hydrogen or helium, in a vacuum chamber before an electric field is applied to the tip, which is also located in the chamber. Atoms of the gas absorbed on the tip once positive voltage is applied are ionized and are repelled towards the fluorescent screen, effectively imaging the surface of the tip.
June 13, 1831
James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish physicist and mathematician, was born. His research united electricity and magnetism within the concept of the electro-magnetic field. Maxwell calculated that the speed of propagation of an electromagnetic field is approximately that of the speed of light. He proposed that the phenomenon of light is therefore an electromagnetic phenomenon. His ideas paved the way for Einstein’s special theory of relativity and his quantum theory.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
