Goldschmidt, Hans

Hans Goldschmidt, byname of Johann Wilhelm Goldschmidt, (born January 18, 1861, Berlin, Prussia [now in Germany]—died May 21, 1923, Baden-Baden, Germany), German chemist who invented the alumino-thermic process (1905). Sometimes called the Goldschmidt reduction process, this operation involves reactions of oxides of certain metals with aluminum to yield aluminum oxide and the free metal. The process has been employed to produce such metals as chromium, manganese, and cobalt from oxide ores. It is also used for welding; in this case, iron oxides react with aluminum to produce intense heat and molten iron. Besides this invention, Goldschmidt developed, in collaboration with Alfred Stock, a commercial process for beryllium production about 1918.