Difference between revisions of "Berlman Isadore"

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1971-1991 worked as a Professor of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he taught Physics and continued research on organic scintillation solutions.In1977-1990, during summer vacations, he con-sulted at EG&G in Goleta, CA.
 
1971-1991 worked as a Professor of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he taught Physics and continued research on organic scintillation solutions.In1977-1990, during summer vacations, he con-sulted at EG&G in Goleta, CA.
Comments by I.B. Berlman:
+
 
 +
'''Comments by I.B. Berlman''':
 +
 
 
Since I have not kept up with the literature I can only comment on my work as I remember it. Noting that I am 95 years old and of failing memory.
 
Since I have not kept up with the literature I can only comment on my work as I remember it. Noting that I am 95 years old and of failing memory.
One comment concerns my book “Handbook of Fluorescence Spectra of Aromatic Molecules”[1] second edition (1970). I believe that the flu-orescence decay times recorded therein are very accurate even though they are in the nanosec range. This was possible as I chose a digital technique instead of an analogue one. My assistant Orville Steingraber designed and built the system as described in our article. [2]  
+
 
 +
One comment concerns my book “Handbook of Fluorescence Spectra of Aromatic Molecules”[1] second edition (1970). I believe that the flu-orescence decay times recorded therein are very accurate even though they are in the nanosec range. This was possible as I chose a digital technique instead of an analogue one. My assistant Orville Steingraber designed and built the system as described in our article.[2]
 +
 
 
When Prof. Förster visited my laboratory at the Argonne National Lab and saw the equipment in operation he said something like, “that’s the way how to measure fluorescence decay times”. As far as I remember everyone else was working in the microsec range.
 
When Prof. Förster visited my laboratory at the Argonne National Lab and saw the equipment in operation he said something like, “that’s the way how to measure fluorescence decay times”. As far as I remember everyone else was working in the microsec range.
 
At that time, the digital technique began to be used in other fields such as photography, etc.
 
At that time, the digital technique began to be used in other fields such as photography, etc.
 
My second comment concerns my collaboration with a chemistry grad-uate student, S. Gershuni, and two members of the Chemistry Depart-ment, Professor I. Agranat and Professor M. Rubinovitz. Our study was to investigate the effects of adding substituents to known fast scintilla-tors to lower their melting point to below room temperature, i.e. to the state of an oil. These substituents were not to interfere with favorable fluorescence characteristics. The results of this paper are given in the following article. [3]  
 
My second comment concerns my collaboration with a chemistry grad-uate student, S. Gershuni, and two members of the Chemistry Depart-ment, Professor I. Agranat and Professor M. Rubinovitz. Our study was to investigate the effects of adding substituents to known fast scintilla-tors to lower their melting point to below room temperature, i.e. to the state of an oil. These substituents were not to interfere with favorable fluorescence characteristics. The results of this paper are given in the following article. [3]  
 +
 
Several fluorescent oils were reported in this paper, mainly substituted P-terphenyls. Their fluorescence characteristics were measured by ex-citing them with pulsed UV radiation. Their quantum yield was between 90-100% and their fluorescence decay time was about 1 nsec. As an aside, it would have been interesting to excite one of these oils with io-nizing radiation such as gamma rays. I have not kept up with the litera-ture concerning these compounds to learn if any further progress has been achieved.
 
Several fluorescent oils were reported in this paper, mainly substituted P-terphenyls. Their fluorescence characteristics were measured by ex-citing them with pulsed UV radiation. Their quantum yield was between 90-100% and their fluorescence decay time was about 1 nsec. As an aside, it would have been interesting to excite one of these oils with io-nizing radiation such as gamma rays. I have not kept up with the litera-ture concerning these compounds to learn if any further progress has been achieved.
 
My third comment, concerns my working as a consultant at EG&G in Goleta CA. My contact there was Dr. John Flournoy. Occasionally the two us would cooperate with Prof. B. Rickborn and one of his students in the Chemistry Department at the University of California in Santa Barbara. The chemicals involved were fluorescent. An example of such a collaboration is [4].  
 
My third comment, concerns my working as a consultant at EG&G in Goleta CA. My contact there was Dr. John Flournoy. Occasionally the two us would cooperate with Prof. B. Rickborn and one of his students in the Chemistry Department at the University of California in Santa Barbara. The chemicals involved were fluorescent. An example of such a collaboration is [4].  
 +
 
My final comment is the most difficult, it concerns my second book, “Energy Transfer Parameters of Aromatic Compounds” Academic Press 1973. There is a high probability that the data is faulty. My problem now arises from the fact that as I am 95 years old and my memory is failing. Examples of memory loss have been as follows: recently some-one sent me the following reprint [5].  
 
My final comment is the most difficult, it concerns my second book, “Energy Transfer Parameters of Aromatic Compounds” Academic Press 1973. There is a high probability that the data is faulty. My problem now arises from the fact that as I am 95 years old and my memory is failing. Examples of memory loss have been as follows: recently some-one sent me the following reprint [5].  
 
Not only did I not remember being involved with” fulvenes”, I also for-got that Richter was a graduate student of mine.  
 
Not only did I not remember being involved with” fulvenes”, I also for-got that Richter was a graduate student of mine.  
 
Regarding the book, I believe that results there may be wrong. My memory tells me that around 1970-73 I was interested in finding a for-mula that gives a value for the transfer distance between 2 molecules where the absorption spectrum of one of them overlaps the emission spectrum of the second one. I seem to remember such a formula ap-peared in an article written by J Birks and someone else. To my chagrin when I examined the formula more closely, I concluded that it was faul-ty. Therefore, I decided to wait until they published a correction but I have not seen such a correction.  Forgetting this I went ahead and used this formula. Years later I realized my mistake but did not know how to correct this.  Moreover, I was surprised to learn that I had not refe-renced this article. I tried to find the original article on the internet but to no avail. So much for my memory …
 
Regarding the book, I believe that results there may be wrong. My memory tells me that around 1970-73 I was interested in finding a for-mula that gives a value for the transfer distance between 2 molecules where the absorption spectrum of one of them overlaps the emission spectrum of the second one. I seem to remember such a formula ap-peared in an article written by J Birks and someone else. To my chagrin when I examined the formula more closely, I concluded that it was faul-ty. Therefore, I decided to wait until they published a correction but I have not seen such a correction.  Forgetting this I went ahead and used this formula. Years later I realized my mistake but did not know how to correct this.  Moreover, I was surprised to learn that I had not refe-renced this article. I tried to find the original article on the internet but to no avail. So much for my memory …
 +
 
There is a formula in the Introduction (page 68 of Energy Transfer Pa-rameters of Aromatic Compounds I.B. Berlman) which I apparently used, it looks like a standard formula found in many articles on energy transfer. If there is nothing wrong with this formula, the data in the book should be correct. At my age, I am not in the position to verify this.  
 
There is a formula in the Introduction (page 68 of Energy Transfer Pa-rameters of Aromatic Compounds I.B. Berlman) which I apparently used, it looks like a standard formula found in many articles on energy transfer. If there is nothing wrong with this formula, the data in the book should be correct. At my age, I am not in the position to verify this.  
Finally, if the data is incorrect and has caused any harm, I apologize.  
+
Finally, if the data is incorrect and has caused any harm, I apologize.
 +
 
 +
'''References'''
  
 
[1] Berlman, Isadore. Handbook of florescence spectra of aromatic molecules. Elsevier, 2012.
 
[1] Berlman, Isadore. Handbook of florescence spectra of aromatic molecules. Elsevier, 2012.
 +
 
[2] O.J. Steingraber and I.B Berlman Rev. Sci. Instr. 34, 524 (1963).
 
[2] O.J. Steingraber and I.B Berlman Rev. Sci. Instr. 34, 524 (1963).
 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0029554X73903522
 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0029554X73903522
 +
 
[3] The Effect of Substituents on the Melting Point and Spectroscopic Characteristics of Some Popular Scintillators”. (S. Gershuni, I. Agranat, M. Rubinovitz and I. B. Berlman) J. Phys. Chem. 84, 517 (1980).http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/j100442a013
 
[3] The Effect of Substituents on the Melting Point and Spectroscopic Characteristics of Some Popular Scintillators”. (S. Gershuni, I. Agranat, M. Rubinovitz and I. B. Berlman) J. Phys. Chem. 84, 517 (1980).http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/j100442a013
 +
 
[4] Tetraphenylbutadienes Via (1, 1 Diphenylallyl) lithium. Barbara M. Simes, Bruce Rickborn, John M. Flournoy and Isadore B. Berlman. J. Org. Chem. 53, 4613.
 
[4] Tetraphenylbutadienes Via (1, 1 Diphenylallyl) lithium. Barbara M. Simes, Bruce Rickborn, John M. Flournoy and Isadore B. Berlman. J. Org. Chem. 53, 4613.
 +
 
[5] Solvent effects on the absorption of fluorescence spectra of Diphe-nyltriafulvenes. “3 Modes of Dipole Moment Variation upon Excitation”. Y Richter, I B Berlman and I Agranat. Chem. Phys. Letters 49 238 1977. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0009261477805770
 
[5] Solvent effects on the absorption of fluorescence spectra of Diphe-nyltriafulvenes. “3 Modes of Dipole Moment Variation upon Excitation”. Y Richter, I B Berlman and I Agranat. Chem. Phys. Letters 49 238 1977. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0009261477805770

Revision as of 18:40, 17 February 2017

Isadore B. Berlman


by Isadore Berlman and Avia Gatt


Isadore B. Berlman was born in St. Louis MO. USA, January 13, 1922. Berlman completed his A.B. degree in Meteorology at NYU through the US Army. He served 3.5 years in the US Air Force as a Meteorologist (1943-1946). He completed his MA in Physics(1946-1948) and his PhD. in Nuclear Physics(1948-1950) both at Washington University, St. Louis MO. 1950-1970 worked at Argonne National Laboratory in the Radiological Physics Branch researching organic scintillation solutions.Being a nuc-lear physicist he saw the advantages of building radiation detectors us-ing aromatic compounds.

1971-1991 worked as a Professor of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he taught Physics and continued research on organic scintillation solutions.In1977-1990, during summer vacations, he con-sulted at EG&G in Goleta, CA.

Comments by I.B. Berlman:

Since I have not kept up with the literature I can only comment on my work as I remember it. Noting that I am 95 years old and of failing memory.

One comment concerns my book “Handbook of Fluorescence Spectra of Aromatic Molecules”[1] second edition (1970). I believe that the flu-orescence decay times recorded therein are very accurate even though they are in the nanosec range. This was possible as I chose a digital technique instead of an analogue one. My assistant Orville Steingraber designed and built the system as described in our article.[2]

When Prof. Förster visited my laboratory at the Argonne National Lab and saw the equipment in operation he said something like, “that’s the way how to measure fluorescence decay times”. As far as I remember everyone else was working in the microsec range. At that time, the digital technique began to be used in other fields such as photography, etc. My second comment concerns my collaboration with a chemistry grad-uate student, S. Gershuni, and two members of the Chemistry Depart-ment, Professor I. Agranat and Professor M. Rubinovitz. Our study was to investigate the effects of adding substituents to known fast scintilla-tors to lower their melting point to below room temperature, i.e. to the state of an oil. These substituents were not to interfere with favorable fluorescence characteristics. The results of this paper are given in the following article. [3]

Several fluorescent oils were reported in this paper, mainly substituted P-terphenyls. Their fluorescence characteristics were measured by ex-citing them with pulsed UV radiation. Their quantum yield was between 90-100% and their fluorescence decay time was about 1 nsec. As an aside, it would have been interesting to excite one of these oils with io-nizing radiation such as gamma rays. I have not kept up with the litera-ture concerning these compounds to learn if any further progress has been achieved. My third comment, concerns my working as a consultant at EG&G in Goleta CA. My contact there was Dr. John Flournoy. Occasionally the two us would cooperate with Prof. B. Rickborn and one of his students in the Chemistry Department at the University of California in Santa Barbara. The chemicals involved were fluorescent. An example of such a collaboration is [4].

My final comment is the most difficult, it concerns my second book, “Energy Transfer Parameters of Aromatic Compounds” Academic Press 1973. There is a high probability that the data is faulty. My problem now arises from the fact that as I am 95 years old and my memory is failing. Examples of memory loss have been as follows: recently some-one sent me the following reprint [5]. Not only did I not remember being involved with” fulvenes”, I also for-got that Richter was a graduate student of mine. Regarding the book, I believe that results there may be wrong. My memory tells me that around 1970-73 I was interested in finding a for-mula that gives a value for the transfer distance between 2 molecules where the absorption spectrum of one of them overlaps the emission spectrum of the second one. I seem to remember such a formula ap-peared in an article written by J Birks and someone else. To my chagrin when I examined the formula more closely, I concluded that it was faul-ty. Therefore, I decided to wait until they published a correction but I have not seen such a correction. Forgetting this I went ahead and used this formula. Years later I realized my mistake but did not know how to correct this. Moreover, I was surprised to learn that I had not refe-renced this article. I tried to find the original article on the internet but to no avail. So much for my memory …

There is a formula in the Introduction (page 68 of Energy Transfer Pa-rameters of Aromatic Compounds I.B. Berlman) which I apparently used, it looks like a standard formula found in many articles on energy transfer. If there is nothing wrong with this formula, the data in the book should be correct. At my age, I am not in the position to verify this. Finally, if the data is incorrect and has caused any harm, I apologize.

References

[1] Berlman, Isadore. Handbook of florescence spectra of aromatic molecules. Elsevier, 2012.

[2] O.J. Steingraber and I.B Berlman Rev. Sci. Instr. 34, 524 (1963). http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0029554X73903522

[3] The Effect of Substituents on the Melting Point and Spectroscopic Characteristics of Some Popular Scintillators”. (S. Gershuni, I. Agranat, M. Rubinovitz and I. B. Berlman) J. Phys. Chem. 84, 517 (1980).http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/j100442a013

[4] Tetraphenylbutadienes Via (1, 1 Diphenylallyl) lithium. Barbara M. Simes, Bruce Rickborn, John M. Flournoy and Isadore B. Berlman. J. Org. Chem. 53, 4613.

[5] Solvent effects on the absorption of fluorescence spectra of Diphe-nyltriafulvenes. “3 Modes of Dipole Moment Variation upon Excitation”. Y Richter, I B Berlman and I Agranat. Chem. Phys. Letters 49 238 1977. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0009261477805770