Robert Bunsen facts for kids

Robert Bunsen
Quick facts for kids Robert Bunsen
Born	Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen ; 30 March 1811; Göttingen, Westphalia, Rhine Confederation (now Germany)
Died	16 August 1899 (aged 88); Heidelberg, Baden, German Empire (now Germany)
Alma mater	University of Göttingen
Known for	Discovery of cacodyl radical; discoveries of caesium and rubidium. Invention of the Bunsen burner; carbon-zinc electrochemical cell; methods of gas analysis; development of spectrochemical analysis
Awards	Copley medal (1860); Davy Medal (1877); Albert Medal (1898);
	Scientific career
Fields	Chemistry (career); Geology and mineralogy (retirement);
Institutions	Polytechnic School of Kassel; University of Marburg; University of Heidelberg; University of Breslau;
Doctoral advisor	Friedrich Stromeyer
Doctoral students	Adolf von Baeyer; Fritz Haber; Philipp Lenard; Georg Ludwig Carius; Hermann Kolbe; Adolf Lieben; Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig; Viktor Meyer; Friedrich Konrad Beilstein; Henry Enfield Roscoe; John Tyndall; Edward Frankland; Thomas Edward Thorpe; Francis Robert Japp;
Other notable students	Dmitri Mendeleev

Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (31 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He improved the bunsen burner which now has his name. It was invented by Michael Faraday.

Much more important was the work he did which led to spectroscopy. Together with Gustav Kirchhoff, he developed a method of using the spectrum of light to identify the composition of solids,liquids or gases. Spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, for example, by a prism. Bunsen found the elements caesium and rubidium with his spectroscope.

In 1841, Bunsen developed the Bunsen cell, by improving the galvanic cell William Grove had developed in 1839.

Images for kids

Gustav Kirchhoff (left) and Robert Bunsen (right)
Bunsen's grave in Heidelberg's Bergfriedhof