Background
Von Welsbach was born in Vienna on September 1, 1858.
Von Welsbach was born in Vienna on September 1, 1858.
He studied chemistry under Robert W. Bunsen at the University of Heidelberg, where he made investigations in the chemistry of rare minerals.
Later he attended the University of Vienna.
Welsbach was the first to isolate the elements neodymium and praseodymium, both of the rare-earth group.
He is best known for his invention in 1885 of the Welsbach mantle, a means for increasing the illumination given off by a gas jet, which found worldwide use.
The Welsbach mantle consisted of a wad of cotton which had been dipped in a salt solution of zirconium or some other suitable element.
The mantle was supported over a gas jet, which would burn away the cotton the first time it was lit, leaving a brittle network or filament which became incandescent at a low temperature.
Later Welsbach also invented the osmium filament for electric lights.
Technical societies in Vienna, Stockholm, and Berlin