OLSZEWSKI, Karol Stanisław

After attending the gymnasium in Tarnow, O. began studying chemistry at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow in 1866. In 1869, he became a demonstrator, and two years later an assistant to Professor Emilian Czyrniański at the Institute of Chemistry. In 1872, he received a national scholarship, which helped him to depart for the University in Heidelberg. There he studied under Robert Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, and on 3rd August 1872 received a doctorate in the field of philosophy. After a short study trip across Germany and Austria, he returned to Krakow and in 1873 finished the habilitation procedure. He was appointed full professor in 1891; until 1915, he ran the Institute of Analytical and Inorganic Chemistry. He published approximately 110 works on the liquefaction of gases and the properties of various substances at low temperatures, and some 20 works on analytical chemistry. In February 1883, together with Sigmund (Zygmunt) Wróblewski, he became engaged in the liquefaction of gases. In April 1883, O. and Wróblewski liquefied oxygen and other so-called permanent gases, such as nitrogen and carbon monoxide, in a static state with the use of an apparatus invented by L. Cailletet, which they only slightly modified. This was reported at the seats of academies of sciences in Krakow, Paris, and Vienna. In 1884, O. succeeded in liquefying hydrogen in a dynamic state. In the same year, O. designed an apparatus that enabled the extraction of 2 to 3 cm3 of cryogenic fluid, after using the so-called thermal key. The apparatus had a cascade cooling system, which lowered the pressure of the coolant, thus enabling the necessary drop in temperature. The mechanical workshop of the Jagiellonian University made over 200 of these liquefaction apparatuses in the subsequent years, which were sold all over Europe. At that time, O. was also engaged in the liquefaction and solidification of other gases, for instance, ozone, hydrogen sulphide, ethane, and propane. The research conducted in Krakow by O. and Wróblewski presented a turning point in the field of cryogenics (research at low temperatures). In 1895, they achieved the lowest temperature so far with –225o C. In 1894, O. succeeded in liquefying and solidifying argon, and from 1900 onwards, did so with helium as well. He was given the models for this by a later Nobel Prize winner, William Ramsay. O.'s field of research also included the analysis of water. This was of great significance in the series of plans for a water supply system in Krakow. He was also engaged in electrochemistry and inorganic chemistry. In 1891, he became a member of the Parisian Academy of Sciences.