While Wilkins took over form B, which appeared to be helical, Franklin focussed on the more problematic A variety under her direction Gosling took the crucial X-ray photograph 51, which looks like a simple cross but was technically extremely hard to obtain. This work was both practically and theoretically difficult, and her original scholarly papers remain significant in this field.įranklin discovered that in dry conditions, the DNA molecule is short and fat she called it the A form, to distinguish it from the long thin B form present during humidity. Rather than analysing regular crystals, he specialised in amorphous substances such as nylon, and she applied his methods to examine the structure of coals and their transformation into graphite. Already a fluent French speaker, she experienced what was perhaps the happiest period of her life, working from 1947 to 1950 with Jacques Mering, who taught her the techniques of X-ray crystallography. Her findings were valuable for predicting fuel performance and for manufacturing gas masks, and in 1945 Cambridge University awarded her a PhD.Īfter the War ended, Franklin gained a postdoctoral research position in a Parisian public chemistry laboratory through her close Cambridge friend, Adrienne Weill. Using helium, she studied the porosity of coal, concluding that as the temperature increases, substances are expelled in order of molecular size. Determined to pursue an intellectual career from a young age, Franklin excelled at most subjects (except music), and was an exceptionally high-performing student who won numerous prizes, yet – like many young women – often privately lacked confidence in her own abilities, and was particularly apprehensive about examinations.įranklin studied chemistry at Cambridge – although as a woman, she was not allowed to graduate – and subsequently engaged in national war work by joining the British Coal Utilisation Research Association in 1942. Throughout her life, her membership of a distinguished and extended close-knit Anglo-Jewish network based in West London remained of great importance to her: even though she was agnostic by inclination, she was proud of her Jewish identity. Expecting the high standards from others that she constantly demanded of herself, she prompted dislike as well as deep loyalty from colleagues. Franklin’s surviving letters confirm the testimony of friends and family that she was a person of intense feelings and intelligence who was committed to scientific research but also fully enjoyed leisure activities – sports, sewing, travelling, entertaining.

Science by Patricia Fara