Polanyi, John Charles (1929- )

German physical chemist whose research on infrared light given off during chemical reactions (infrared chemical luminescence) laid the foundations for the development of chemical lasers. He analysed the chain reaction between hydrogen and chlorine, and showed that two distinct states of hydrochloric acid are formed. He shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1986 for his development of the dynamics of chemical elementary processes.

Hydrogen-chlorine reaction Polanyi studied radiation from strongly exothermic (heat-emitting) reactions to see how the released energy was distributed in the reaction products. In the hydrogen-chlorine reaction, he found one state of hydrochloric acid with high vibrational and rotational excitation but low translational energy; and another with low vibrational and rotational energy but high translational energy.

Life Born in Berlin, the son of the Hungarian-British physical chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi, he followed in his father's footsteps and studied chemistry at Manchester University, England. He then spent some time at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada, and in the USA at Princeton. In 1952, he obtained his PhD and moved to Toronto University, Canada, where he became a professor of chemistry in 1962.

Infrared chemical luminescence Polanyi carried on his research into reaction dynamics, and has published numerous papers on science policy and on control of armaments. His work on infrared light emittence during chemical reactions (infrared chemical luminescence) laid the foundations for the development of chemical lasers by Pimental and Kaspar in 1960.