Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Indian chemist (Bhera, Shahpur District, West Punjab 21 February 1894 – New Delhi 01 January 1955)

ACHIEVEMENTS

Authored over 100 papers

Gave original contributions to colloidal physical chemist and magneto-chemistry

Showed that the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibilities are different for symmetric molecules, associative liquids and aromatic compounds

Provided definitive evidence for the existence of ionic micelles by the study of magnetic rotation of solutions of salts of higher fatty acids in water and alcohol (1934)

Established a method to detect the inversion points and the exact amount of electrolytes required to inversion

Established that emulsification is influenced by the mass of the emulsifying agent, the ease with which it can be absorbed at the interface and the nature of ions absorbed by the resulting film

Showed that the sum of ionic susceptibilities gave the molecular susceptibility

Formulated 2 empirical rules: 1) a water in oil emulsion can be transformed into oil in water emulsion by electrolytes  having anions like OH^– and PO₄^3-  ; 2) an emulsion of oil in water can be reversed by electrolytes having cation like H⁺, Al³⁺ and Fe³⁺

Proposed a simple rule: all emulsifying agents with an excess of negative ions on them and wetted by water will yield oil-in-water emulsions while those having excess of adsorbed positive ions and wetted by oil will give water-in-oil emulsions

DEVELOPED

With R.N. Mathur invented and patented Bhatnagar-Mathur magnetic interference balance (1928) and improved Faraday method of measuring magnetic susceptibilities (1929)

Improved a process of drilling for oil

Showed how to make a substitute for carbon electrodes used in battery by heating molasses and carbonaceous matter under pressure (1911)

Developed a magnetic method for studying complex problems associated to colloids, solutions, solid solutions, photochemical decomposition and others

http://www.ias.ac.in/resonance/April2002/pdf/April2002p90-97.pdf