Sample of Haber's Synthetic Ammonia, 2 July 1909.

Second of two sealed glass tubes containing the first specimens of liquified ammonia synthesised by the Haber process on 2nd July, 1909.

Fritz Haber's process for synthesizing ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen was turned into a viable commercial process by the German chemical company BASF. The crucial moment in their relationship was the demonstration by Haber to the company on 2 July 1909. Haber's British-born assistant Robert le Rossignol was present at the time and acquired a sample of the ammonia made on that historic occasion. More than 40 years later he gave the sealed tube to the Science Museum which has displayed it in a pressure-tested chamber since 1986.