How Did Rosalind Franklin Contribute To Chemistry

Rosalind Franklin
What is chemistry? According to the American Chemical Society, chemistry can be described as “the study of matter and the changes it can undergo.” This science has been improved by many amazing scientists, and, because of them, our world have never been more advanced. Rosalind Franklin was one of those scientists, and she most definitely contributed to the science of chemistry. Rosalind Elsie Franklin was born in Notting Hill, London, England on July 25, 1920. Early on, Franklin showed signs of being very intelligent and, at the age of 15, decided that she wanted to be a scientist. Her father discouraged this notion, claiming that it was hard for a woman to have that career; however, Franklin proved him wrong when, at the age of 18, she entered Cambridge University to study chemistry. She even received Second Class Honors on her finals in 1941 which was equated to a bachelor's degree at the time. Using this, Franklin went to work at the British Coal Utilisation Association where she studied coal, and published several papers on the topic. This is where she earned her doctorate degree at Cambridge University.

She was offered a job as a "chercheur" which translates roughly to "research worker." At this job is where Franklin met a man named Jacques Mering. Mering was a crystallographer who taught Franklin how to use X-ray diffraction. X-ray diffraction is a complicated process that involves shooting a beam of X-ray radiation through an object and then onto a film. The film should have a spotted design on it from the diffraction of the X-rays off of the object. This allows scientists to see a general shape of the object which might be too microscopic to be observed even with a microscope. Franklin mastered this technique and a friend of hers described Franklin's stay in Paris by saying "She loved Paris... She was very happy