Louis Pasteur
A Brilliant Chemist
Louis Pasteur carried out his first notable experiment from about 1844-47. In this experiment, he would investigate a puzzle involving tartrate crystals, obtained from tartaric acid, found in many fruits. The puzzle was the difference between this acid and another substance, paratartaric acid. Pasteur used polarized light to determine that these two crystals were exactly the same shape and that they were exact mirror images of each other. Although this may not seem like such a great advance in science, this discovery was a vital part of the chemical investigations of the time period in which Pasteur lived.
In 1849, Pasteur became a chemistry professor at a regional faculty department of the French university in Strasbourg. It was here that he met and married Marie Laurent. Together, they had five children but only two survived until adulthood. His children dying of typhoid fever helped to spur him to his later research on human diseases. Although Marie was sometimes concerned with how much time her husband spent working, she was supportive as he assured her that he would lead her to fame.
In 1854 Pasteur became dean and chemistry professor at the new Science Faculty in Lille. Here, his interests in fermentation began. Fermentation basically describes the way sugary juices from grapes and other fruits turn to alcohol. In 1856, the head of one of the alcohol making industries in Lille, Monsieur Bigo, asked Pasteur for help in finding a way to keep his products from spoiling. This subject was overlooked by many people as most assumed that the yeast in the fermentation process were not alive. Pasteur thought outside of the box however and hypothesized that the yeast were living organisms. He was correct. He found that the yeast were microbes and as they lived they turned sugar into alcohol. Without the yeast present though, the sugar turned into lactic acid and spoiled the fermentation. People made fun of Pasteur at first but were quiet when they saw proof that he was correct.
In 1849, Pasteur became a chemistry professor at a regional faculty department of the French university in Strasbourg. It was here that he met and married Marie Laurent. Together, they had five children but only two survived until adulthood. His children dying of typhoid fever helped to spur him to his later research on human diseases. Although Marie was sometimes concerned with how much time her husband spent working, she was supportive as he assured her that he would lead her to fame.
In 1854 Pasteur became dean and chemistry professor at the new Science Faculty in Lille. Here, his interests in fermentation began. Fermentation basically describes the way sugary juices from grapes and other fruits turn to alcohol. In 1856, the head of one of the alcohol making industries in Lille, Monsieur Bigo, asked Pasteur for help in finding a way to keep his products from spoiling. This subject was overlooked by many people as most assumed that the yeast in the fermentation process were not alive. Pasteur thought outside of the box however and hypothesized that the yeast were living organisms. He was correct. He found that the yeast were microbes and as they lived they turned sugar into alcohol. Without the yeast present though, the sugar turned into lactic acid and spoiled the fermentation. People made fun of Pasteur at first but were quiet when they saw proof that he was correct.
