Sam Ruben

Sam Ruben (born 5 November 1913 in San Francisco as Charles Rubenstein, † September 28, 1943 ) was an American chemist. He is known for the discovery of long-lived carbon isotope C14 with Martin Kamen ( 1940).

The family changed the name Rubenstein 1930 in Ruben. Ruben boxed in his youth ( Jack Dempsey was a neighbor ) and played basketball. He studied chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his doctorate in 1938 in Physical Chemistry. He subsequently Instructor and Assistant Professor from 1941. Together with Martin Kamen at the cyclotron of the Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, he succeeded in 1940, the production of the C14 isotope, with whom she wanted to investigate the photosynthetic metabolism of plants. While they were less successful in the elucidation of carbon metabolism in photosynthesis, he succeeded in experiments with heavy water to show that the oxygen, which is produced by plants during photosynthesis came from the water. In 1943 he was involved in the war effort of the United States to investigate the toxic gas phosgene and died after a fatal laboratory accident with phosgene. He inhaled the gas that leaked from a defective cartridge, and died the next day.

1949 C14 was used by Willard Frank Libby for radiocarbon dating.

He was married in 1935 and had three children. His son George was a professor at Dartmouth College.

He was not with the U.S. inventor Samuel Ruben (1900-1988), founder of Duracell be confused.