Linus Pauling

[[File:Pauling.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Linus Pauling in 1954.]]
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'''Linus Pauling''' {{lived|1901|1994}} was an [[American]] [[chemist]] famous for his work on quantum [[chemistry]] and the structures of [[biological]] [[molecule]]s, before his unfortunate late turn to the [[pseudoscience]] of [[megavitamin therapy]].

==Scientific work==
===The good===
Pauling brought home with him the first-hand insights into the new [[quantum theory]] and X-ray crystallography from [[Europe]], and produced first-rate and seminal work on the quantum mechanics of chemical bonds, which is summarized in his book ''The Nature of the Chemical Bond''.<ref>''The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals. An Introduction to Modern Structural Chemistry'' by Linus Pauling (1939) Cornell University Press.</ref> This is considered the founding treatise of quantum chemistry. He also co-wrote an influential text titled ''Introduction to Quantum Mechanics''.<ref>''An Introduction to Quantum Mechanics with Applications to Chemistry'' by Linus Pauling (1935) MacGraw-Hill.</ref> These texts remain valuable today.<ref name="Gribbin">Gribbin, John, et al. “A-Z Dictionary.” ''Q Is for Quantum: an Encyclopedia of Particle Physics'', The Free Press, 1998, pp. 275–276.</ref>

From the mid-1930s, Pauling shifted his attention to the study of [[biochemistry]]. He identified the difference between hemoglobin in normal individuals and in those suffering from sickle-cell anemia using X-ray crystallography. In the 1950s, he argued that [[DNA]] had a triple helix structure as opposed to Watson and [[Francis Crick|Crick]]'s double-helix model, but then revised his position after he got access to Watson and Crick's higher quality X-ray diffraction photographs. Pauling came close to beating the duo in making the discovery.<ref name="Gribbin"/>

===The bizarre===
In a rather strange turn of events, Pauling in his later days became convinced that [[Vitamin and mineral supplements#Megavitamin therapy|massive doses]] of [[vitamin C]] could protect against not only the common cold but also various other illnesses. He was sufficiently convinced to even set up a research institute, the {{wpl|Linus Pauling Institute||,}} promoting his non-mainstream line of research. Pauling had not conducted any of his own original research, and instead reviewed the scientific literature.<ref name=apple>''Vitamania: Vitamins in American Culture'' by Rima D. Apple (1996) Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813522781.</ref>{{rp|80}} This is not a bad thing in and of itself, but shortly after Pauling started promoting these ideas, he was censured by the very scientists that he was citing, who claimed that he misrepresented their work.<ref name=apple/>{{rp|80}} This remains one of the most spectacular examples of [[Dunning-Kruger effect]]/[[Nobel disease]]. Pauling's unconventional medical views have never been accepted by mainstream scientists.<ref name="Gribbin"/>

As the 1950s developed, Pauling dedicated more and more of his time on this [[crankery]] and political activism, and did little further scientific research.<ref name="Gribbin"/>

==Political activities==
In the aftermath of [[World War Two]], Pauling and his wife became [[pacifist]]s, joining the {{wpl|Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists||.}} His political activism resulted in the State Department denying him a passport until Senator Wayne Morse denounced the action publicly. 

As part of his anti-atomic activism Pauling signed the {{wpl|Russell–Einstein Manifesto|Russell–Einstein Manifesto}} and the {{wpl|Mainau Declaration||.}} 

He was one of the leading advocates for a nuclear test ban treaty among the nuclear powers, the USA, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain. Such a treaty was entered into force on October 10, 1963. On the same day, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Linus Pauling had won the Peace Prize that had been held over from 1962.<ref>[https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/Prize-winners/Prizewinner-documentation/Linus-Carl-Pauling Linus Carl Pauling, Nobel Peace Prize 1962 (accessed June 12, 2021).</ref>

All this meant that he was a perfect target for [[red baiting]]. He was ordered to appear before the [[Mccarthyism|Senate Internal Security Subcommittee]] where he was accused of being "the number one scientific name in virtually every major activity of the [[Communist]] peace offensive in this country"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090515124732/http://oregonstate.edu/dept/spc/subpages/ahp/overview/entirearticle.htm The Science and Humanism of Linus Pauling (1901-1994)] by Stephen F. Mason. Oregon State University (archived from May 15, 2009). Originally appearing in ''Chemical Society Reviews'' (1997) 26:29-39.</ref>

The ''[[National Review]]'' accused Pauling of being a [[entryism|fellow traveller]] of proponents of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-style communism. Pauling sued the magazine for $1 million but lost the case in court.<ref>[https://paulingblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/the-national-review-lawsuit/ The National Review Lawsuit] by scarc (January 30, 2013) ''The Pauling Blog''.</ref><ref>[https://paulingblog.wordpress.com/tag/william-f-buckley/ A Tough Conclusion to the National Review Suit] by scarc (February 7, 2013) ''The Pauling Blog''.</ref>

His [[Left wing|left-wing]] sympathies and his [[Anti-nuclear movement|anti-nuclear activism]] did little to endear him with his colleagues. He was practically ostracized by the Chemistry Division of Caltech until 1991, when they threw him a party for his ninetieth birthday.<ref name="Gribbin"/>

==See Also==
*[[Nobel disease]]
*[[Orthomolecular medicine]]

==External links==
*[http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/lpbio/lpbio2.html Bio at the Pauling Institute]
*[http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/lpauling.html Bio at the National Academies]
*[http://pauling.library.oregonstate.edu/ Oregon State University's archive of Pauling material]
*[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/pauling.html The Dark Side of the Pauling Legacy], [[Quackwatch]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pauling, Linus}}
[[Category:Alternative medicine]]
[[Category:Alternative medicine promoters]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Biologists]]
[[Category:Chemists]]
[[Category:Left-wing activists]]
[[Category:Megavitamin therapy promoters]]
[[Category:Physicists]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Radiophobia]]

Categories: Alternative medicine, Alternative medicine promoters, Atheists, Biologists, Chemists, Left-wing activists, Megavitamin therapy promoters, Physicists, Pseudoscience promoters, Radiophobia