Ammonia is easy to liquefy, making it an excellent coolant and solvent.
As a gas it is soluble in water, and in this form is a commonly used chemical reagent. This was without a doubt one of the most controversial Nobel prize awards ever. So soon after the First World War many scientists had difficulty in understanding why the prize should go to the researcher responsible for producing poison gas for the German army. He studied in Berlin and Heidelberg and was awarded a doctorate in organic chemistry by the Technical University in Berlin Charlottenburg in 1891. He then went to the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich to complete his study of chemistry.