SPL Sørensen: The Danish chemist whom Google is honouring with its Doodle
Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen introduced the world to the pH scale in 1909.
By ET Online | Updated:
Agencies
Google on Tuesday paid tribute to Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen, the chemist responsible for introducing the pH scale to the world, with an interactive doodle.
Commonly known as SPL Sørensen, the Danish scientist was born in Havrebjerg in 1868 to a farmer, and went on to develop the scale that is still used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a substance or solution in 1909.
Initially, Sørensen wanted to pursue a career in the field of medicine, and only turned to Chemistry later under the guidance of the influential chemist SM Jørgensen.
While completing his studies, he also worked as as a consultant at the royal naval dockyard. He then went on to serve as the director of the chemical department at the Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen from 1901 to 1938.
Opened by Carlsberg brewery founder JC Jacobsen in 1875, the laboratory aimed to expand the boundaries of biochemical knowledge, especially in the field of brewing.
