Skip to main content

Google Doodle Is Celebrating S.P.L. Sorensen, the Scientist Behind the pH Scale



Google (GOOGL, -1.49%) is celebrating a little-known but hugely influential scientist with the Google Doodle today.
The Danish scientist S.P.L. (Soren Peder Lauritz) Sorensen is the man who invented the pH scale (remember those pink and blue strips from your high school chemistry class?)
S.P. L. Sorensen developed the method of measuring acidity and alkalinity in 1909 while studying the effect of ion concentration on proteins. Today the method is hugely important for daily necessities like clean water and medicine.
Credit: Google
Credit: Google
Sorensen was born in Havrebjerg, Denmark 1868. He studied at the University of Copenhagen with the intention of studying medicine, but went on to have a career as a scientist. Sorensen was the head of the prestigious Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen for 37 years, where he worked alongside his second wife, Margrethe Høyrup Sørensen. He worked in the lab until the year before his death at age 71.
With the interactive feature of today’s Google Doodle, you can learn where common foods fall on the scale.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kilauea Volcano Update, The Latest: Some Hawaii residents leave as Kilauea spews ash

 Kilauea Volcano Update, The Latest: Some Hawaii residents leave as Kilauea spews ash HONOLULU (AP) — The Latest on the summit eruption of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island (all times local): 8:30 a.m. The summit explosion of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano created booming sounds in the nearby town of Pahoa and resident Toby Hazel says she's had enough and is preparing to leave town. Hazel said Thursday that it was "time to go" after the volcano sent an ash plume high into the sky following two weeks of lava eruptions from fissures that emerged on the flanks of the volcano. In Hilo 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the volcano, Pua'ena Ahn says he has experienced labored breathing, itchy, watery eyes and some skin irritation as ash plumes intensified in recent days. Hawaii County officials say the volcano's summit exploded at 4:17 a.m. Some schools are closed following the explosion but there have been no additional evacuations. About 2,000 p...

NBA star Sterling Brown Tasered in arrest | Police apology as video shows

NBA star Sterling Brown Tasered in arrest | Police apology as video shows  An NBA player has received an apology from the Milwaukee police chief after his arrest over an alleged parking violation in January escalated into the use of a stun gun. Sterling Brown, a Milwaukee Bucks player, said the incident was "an attempt at police intimidation" and that it "shouldn't happen to anybody". Police chief Alfonso Morales said some officers had been disciplined over the incident as the force released body-camera footage which showed how an interaction over an illegally parked car rapidly escalated. It began at around 2am on 26 January in a Walgreens car park when Brown walked out of the store to find an officer standing by his car asking him for his driver's licence. The video shows Brown telling an officer not to touch him as he approaches the passenger door of his car. "Back up! Back up!" the officer yells. "For what? I ain't d...

Former Playboy centerfold falls to death with son after checking into New York hotel

Former Playboy centerfold falls to death with son after checking into New York hotel A woman and her 7-year-old son fell to their deaths at a Manhattan hotel Friday morning, police said. Investigators have yet to determine whether it was a murder-suicide or an accident. Police officials told the  Associated Press  the dead were Stephanie Adams, 46, and her son, Vincent. Adams, a former Playboy model and author, had been locked in a custody battle with her estranged husband, her former attorney, Raoul Felder, told The Washington Post on Friday. A spokesman for the New York Police Department declined to confirm the identity of the woman and the child. Felder said Adams had been his client for 20 years but had ended his services in the past couple of months. Employees at his law office have been in tears since hearing the news, he added. [ DUI suspect smiles for mug shot hours after crash that left a woman dead ] Many of the employees knew Adams a...