50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Haber-Bosch Process

Haber-Bosch Process

11/14/16 • 8 min

2 Listeners

Saving lives with thin air - by taking nitrogen from the air to make fertiliser, the Haber-Bosch Process has been called the greatest invention of the 20th Century – and without it almost half the world’s population would not be alive today. Tim Harford tells the story of two German chemists, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, figured out a way to use nitrogen from the air to make ammonia, which makes fertiliser. It was like alchemy; 'Brot aus Luft', as Germans put it, 'Bread from air'.

Haber and Bosch both received a Nobel prize for their invention. But Haber’s place in history is controversial – he is also considered the 'father of chemical warfare' for his years of work developing and weaponising chlorine and other poisonous gases during World War One.

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Photo: A farmer sprays fertiliser. Credit: Remy Gabalda/Getty Images)

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Photo: A farmer sprays fertiliser. Credit: Remy Gabalda/Getty Images)

Previous Episode

Diesel Engine

Rudolf Diesel died in mysterious circumstances before he was able to capitalise on his extraordinary invention: the eponymous engine that powers much of the world today. Before Diesel invented his engine in 1892, as Tim Harford explains, the industrial landscape was very different. Urban transport depended on horses and steam supplied power for trains and factories. Incredibly, Diesel’s first attempt at a working engine was more than twice as efficient as other engines which ran on petrol and gas, and he continued to improve it. Indeed, it wasn’t long before it became the backbone of the industrial revolution; used in trains, power stations, factories and container ships.

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Image: Stamp depicting Rudolf Diesel, Credit: Boris15/Shutterstock)

Next Episode

Shipping Container

The boom in global trade was caused by a simple steel box. Shipping goods around the world was – for many centuries – expensive, risky and time-consuming. But, as Tim Harford explains, 60 years ago the trucking entrepreneur Malcolm McLean changed all that by selling the idea of container shipping to the US military. Against huge odds he managed to turn 'containerisation' from a seemingly impractical idea into a massive industry – one that slashed the cost of transporting goods internationally and provoked a boom in global trade.

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Photo: Container ship travelling along the Suez Canal, Credit: Science Photo Library)