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Today, the world population is 8 billion, but in 1900, that number was only two billion. A cause of the major population increase is attributable to Fritz Haber, a German chemist who invented the Haber-Bosh process (“The Nobel Prize”). Humans depend on food for survival, which requires ammonia, a main component of fertilizer, to grow. It was difficult to obtain ammonia before Haber created a reliable way to do so. Nitrogen in its natural form is formed from a triple bond between the two Nitrogen atoms. It is a very strong bond that prevents plants from using nitrogen unless it is turned into ammonia (“The Nobel Prize”). Nitrogen in the form of a single bond is a weaker bond that plants can break down and absorb. Previously, the only way to create ammonia was through lightning striking the air (“The Nobel Prize”). Some bacteria can decompose nitrogen into ammonia, but the amount of ammonia produced in this way is nowhere close to the amount needed to grow enough plants to feed the human population. Scientists understood that a more consistent process to produce ammonia was necessary in order to induce greater plant growth. Luckily, Haber, an experiential scientist of the time, discovered that high pressure and the use of a catalyst, chemicals that could provide energy for the process, lowering the energy needed to create ammonia; allowing ammonia to be created a lot more easily (“The Nobel Prize”). Haber’s discovery coupled with Bosh’s pressure chamber created the sequence known as the Haber-Bosch process. This invention would be a huge step towards increasing the global population. Today, while only one percent of the world’s energy is spent on the Haber-Bosch process, sufficient ammonia is produced for plants globally.
While Haber’s discovery should have earned him the respect of a hero, he is mostly remembered as a horrible war criminal. Haber was German, and in an effort to assist a rapid conclusion of World War I, he developed the use of chlorine gas which would mark the beginning of chemical warfare in modern history (Samuel). Chlorine gas is made mainly out of chlorine. When chlorine gas is inhaled, it combines with the water in a victim’s body to form poisonous acids that fill the victim’s lungs, causing them to “drown on land.” The Allies learned quickly and began to use chlorine gas as a torturing mechanism as well. This led to millions of deaths on both sides due to the inhalation of the poisonous gas. In the hopes of ending the war, Haber went on to create more chemical gases, including the deadly Mustard and Phosgene gasses that caused the deaths of even more people (Samuel). As a result of his clever innovation, Haber won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry; however, he was not allowed to receive his medal at the ceremony due to public protests about his inventions. Eventually, he received his medal six months later (Samuel).
Haber holds a controversial legacy. On one hand, he was a huge reason for the increase in population and why so many people are alive today; however, he was also responsible for the deaths of millions during World War I and ongoing chemical warfare. His life demonstrates how one’s actions can leave a rippling effect on a greater population, for better or worse, delineating the importance and power of human decision-making and judgment.
References
Samuel, Gill. “The Legacy of Fritz Haber: Who Fed Billions and Killed Millions.” Behaviour Change Cornwall, 18 Oct. 2022, behaviourchangecornwall.co.uk/the-legacy-of-fritz-haber-how-one-man-fed-billions-yet-killed-millions/#:~:text=The%20Man%20Who%20Killed%20Millions,it%20into%20fertiliser%2C%20feeding%20billions. Accessed 7 Jan, 2023.
“The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1918/haber/facts/. Accessed 7 Jan, 2023.
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