Carl Reichenbach
Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAR : Carl Reichenbach
Baron Dr. Carl (Karl) Ludwig von Reichenbach (full name: Baron Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach) (February 12, 1788 - January 19, 1869) was a recognized chemist, metallurgist, naturalist and philosopher, a member of the prestigious Prussian Academy of Sciences. He is best known for his discoveries of kerosene (essential to rocket fuels), paraffin (a waxy solid added to many foods), and phenol (an antiseptic and anesthetic, used against sore throats).
He spent the last part of his life developing the now popular vitalist theory of the Odic force, the life principle which he believed permeates and binds together all living things. This never acquired currency among mainstream scientists, so instead it lies today among mystical concepts such as chi and prana of the far east.
He was born in Stuttgart, and died in Leibzig.
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.