Bull. t. Ch . 4 ( 8
4. The decomposition and recomposition of water. b bl r ph f r r r nd r nd d t ll h 5. The production and the decomposition of earths. h f rth r nf r t n. 6. The formation and the decomposition of alkalis. . Ib d., p. . 7. Acidification: the formation and decomposition of 4. Ib d., p. 80. acids; the nature of these salts, their differences, etc. . h t tl p f th tr n l t n r d , El nt f Ch 8. The combination of acids with earths and alkalis. tr nd t r l t r . h h r f x d, th h l ph f 9. The oxidation and reduction of metals. Ch tr , fth Ed t n, th t , b hn h n, S r n, 10. The solution of metals by acids. Ed nb r h. v l ., . h t fr l. , p. x . 11. The formation of the immediate principles of vege- 6. Ib d., p. x . tables by vegetation. . Ib d., p. x x v. 12.The several species of fermentation. 8. Ib d., l. , pp. 4 6. 13. The formation of animal matters by the life of animals. . I. . C h n, v l t n n S n , rv rd, 8 , p. 2 4. 14. The purefaction and decomposition of animal matters.
Each of these is considered briefly, and the relationship of n . Ch t n Ch r n f th Ch tr p rt nt t each to the properties of gases is shown. It is a really beautiful S f rd Un v r t n r n h , A 22 nd nt r summary of the state of chemical knowledge at the time, t d n th r t b f h tr . expressed in the new system. A fourth edition of Élé n was published in 1791, with only a few minor changes; a fifth edition in 1793 was merely BOCHARD DE SARON AND THE a reprint of the fourth. This fifth edition was reprinted in OXYHYDROGEN BLOWPIPE Switzerland in 1798. English translations of each edition had appeared within a year or two of the French publication. There El . G nz l z, h M rr hb n C nt r, were also translations into Italian, German, and Spanish. Un v r t f Ch Incidentally, the first publication in America of the new theo- ries came in Philadelphia in 1791 in a pirated edition of the It was Joseph Priestley who first noted in 1775 that a mixed En l p d r t nn , which reproduced a nomenclature flame of dephlogisticated air (oxygen) and inflammable air table from the English translation of the third edition of (hydrogen) exhibited an unusually high temperature, and who Fourcroy 's Élé n . Thus it can be argued that Fourcroy, with first suggested that one might obtain a useful high temperature his large audiences in Paris and his very popular textbook source by directing a stream of oxygen into a hydrogen flame circulated throughout Europe, did more to spread the new by means of a bellows (2, 3). However, the practical construc- nomenclature and the new chemistry than anyone else. All I tion of such a device was first accomplished by the French wish to claim is that it is this third edition, published 200 years scientist, Jean Baptiste Gaspard Bochard de Saron, who was ago last December, which was the "first textbook of the also the first to use an oxyhydrogen torch to successfully fuse revolution". platinum (1). Prior to Bochard's work, scientists wishing to One final word - in Bernard Cohen's marvelous book, work at high temperatures had to rely instead on the use of v l t n n S n , he states that although Bucquet used the burning mirrors and lenses to concentrate the heat of the sun. word "revolution" in referring to Lavoisier's work as early as Attempts at capturing the heat of the sun's rays are appar- 1777, and Lavoisier himself used it in his lab notebook as early ently quite ancient. Myth tells us that Prometheus caught the as 1773, it was Fourcroy, through his textbook and other heat of the sun to light the Vestal Fire and, when the Olympic writings who "was most effective in canonizing the expression Games started, the heat of the sun was used to light the Olympic `the revolution in chemistry'..." (9). flame, as it still is today (4). Likewise, Aristophanes refers, in The third paper in this series will look at the most famous h Cl d , to "That stone, that splendidly transparent stone, book of the chemical revolution, Lavoisier's own r té By which they kindle fire?" (5) and Plutarch claims that Élé nt r d Ch . Archimedes used burning mirrors to set fire to the fleet of Marcellus in the sea off Syracuse (6). f r n nd t Prior to the introduction of gas and Bunsen burners, only coal-burning furnaces, ventilated with bellows, were available . . Ch t n, "Méth d d n l t r Ch ", ll. to fuse such materials as metals, minerals, glasses, bones, etc. t. Ch . , 8 , , . If one wished to avoid contamination by the combustion 2. M t f th b r ph l nf r t n n th p p r fr W. products of burning coal, the only alternative was the use of A. S t n, r r , Ch t nd v l t n r , 80 , burning glasses and mirrors. ff r , C br d , 62. h x ll nt b l nt n d t l d The use of lenses and mirrors as standard laboratory heat 2 ll. t. Ch . 4 ( 8 sources was already well established by the 17th century (7) discovery of oxygen (or vital air) and its ability to support and descriptions of their use can be found in the writings of combustion resulted in a nurnber of attempts in the 1780's to such scientists as Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke and John employ it to enhance the heating efficiency of conventional Mayow. Even Galileo mentioned them, noting, in passing, that laboratory heat sources. The most common approach was to lead could be "melted instantly by means of a concave mirror direct a stream of oxygen, rather than common air, through a only three hands in diameter" (8). conventional laboratory blowpipe onto a candle or oil flame 17th century burning lenses and mirrors came in all sizes, and, in turn, to direct the resulting oxygen-enhanced flame onto ranging from the hand-held magnifying glass used by Mayow the object to be fused (12). Experiments with devices of this to ignite antimony and sulfur in sealed vessels (9), to the large type, which were in essence a kind of "oxygen blowpipe", were burning mirrors made by Francois De La Villette (1621-1698) made by, among others, the German chemists, Friedrich of Lyon for the use of the Hessen family of Kassel (10). An Ehrmann (1741-1800) (13-14) and Franz Achard (1753-1821) example of a Villette mirror, built around 1670, is still (15), the Swedish chemist, B. R. Geijer (16), and by Lavoisier preserved in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Kassel, himself (17). Lavoisier's interest in high temperature fusion Germany. It has a was, in part, related diameter of 1.5 to his growing real- meters and a focal ization that solids, depth of 3.45 meters liquids and gases and was bought by were actually three Landgraf Wilhelm interconvertable VIII about 1713 in states of matter. Brabant as a gift for Materials were not his father, Landgraf inherently solid, Carl, for use in his liquid or gaseous but, alchemical and met- depending on their allurgical experi- temperatures, only ments. The same relatively so. To museum also houses thoroughly test this two Tschirnhausen assumption required burning mirrors. a high temperature The efficiency of source which could a typical Villette potentially melt even instrument was the most recalcitrant described by Henri An x pl f l r 8th nt r b rn n l d r b d b v r. counter examples. In Justel in a letter sent his 1782 memoir on to Henry Oldenburg, the Corresponding Secretary of the Royal the subject, entitled "A Method of Greatly Augmenting the Society, on 18 July 1665 (11): Action of Fire and Heat in Chemical Operations", he first summarized the results that had been obtained to date by the W x n d t ff t v r l t , n th rn n , t n n, nd n use of burning mirrors and lenses (17): th ft rn n. It l b rn d th n t ff t v l , lt n nd l f n n bj t th v r f x pt n . In r pr n t h r t b rn n l n f h rnh n h v pr v d d h t lt d lv r ( n , pp r ( h rd , br , b t f t r n th n nt h tr n r th n th f r f th f rn , b h h th ttl , ll b t f t l, h d f ll r n n l ... t l n l h v d v r d th t l r n b r f b d , r rd d nf bl nd b ld n t n ( h h t t rn nt l b lt n , nd t d r f x d, ll ld t th t n f v r tr n h t. h tr l d n th b n f n l nd t lt d l p l h d n b th d ... It b M. d C nt r nd M. Ar t th p r l n f rn l ht d ndl v r l , nd th t f d h h t t h v nf r d th tr th nd th r t l n f M. r d n , b lt f r n nt d pr tt ht. h r d f th rr r f r b M. d rn ér , nd r th n p t n f th C r d f t ht n h , nd th f t t f t f r n h . h d t r l A d l d S n , h pl t d th pr f th t th t f t x n h nd b t t l n th rr r l f nd l t f b n f x d r r fr t r , ttr b t d t rt n b d , t b p l h d n th nv x d ... h rr r t lf n f n h d r l t v t th d r f f r d. n t t nd t v l d t 0 d r. However, despite these successes, Lavoisier was quick to Though burning mirrors and lenses continued to be used as point out that the use of lenses and mirrors was apparently high temperature heat sources throughout the 18th century, the limited, since attempts at increasing their size did not produce ll. t. Ch . 4 ( 8
... n n pp r t n h h v t l r ld b d t rr nd th nfl bl r n ll d , th t th l tt r n b rn n n t ph r f v t l r. rh p r n d r bl ff t ll bt n d. W th th h lp f M l r d nt d S r n n p r t n, I h p t f rth r p r th b n f t f th n th d.
Here Lavoisier is, in effect, suggesting a premixing of the oxygen and hydrogen prior to combustion, a suggestion which he apparently did not develop, though 20 years later an inverted form of his proposal, with oxygen on the inside and hydrogen on the outside, was perfected by the American chemist, Robert Hare (20). Jean Baptiste Gaspard Boc hard de Saron was born in Paris in 1730 (21). The son of a wealthy family, he was best known for his work in astronomy, but he also dabbled in mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, art, music and book publishing. He served as President of the Parliament of Paris (hence hn M f ll n f n l t Lavoisier's reference to his title), and as both Vice-President h t t r l nf n d v r t r, r 6 4 ( . and President of the Academie Royal de Sciences. His devel- opment of the oxyhydrogen blowpipe stemmed from his inter- a proportionate increase in temperature, but did make them est in making corrosion resistant metal telescope mirrors from correspondingly more expensive and difficult to work with. platinum and the consequent necessity of finding some means Consequently it was necessary to find some alternative based of melting the metal. on the ability of the recently discovered gas, oxygen or vital air, Both of Bochard's biographers (18-19) state that the first to enhance combustion. The rest of the memoir is largely taken fusion of platinum took place in Bochard's secret laboratory, up in describing an elaborate system, developed by Lavoisier which he had installed in his home in the Rue de 1 'Université and J. Meusnier, for directing a stream of oxygen through a (22). He had inherited the house from his uncle, Canon Elie de blowpipe and their unsuccessful attempts to use it to fuse Bochard, and had remodeled it in order to accommodate his platinum metal. large family, his observatory and astronomical instruments, Only near the end of the memoir does Lavoisier mention his printing press and, of course, his metallurgical laboratory. yet another suggestion, based on the work of Bochard de Saron The laboratory is referred to as "secret" because its entrance (17): was disguised in the woodwork of Bochard's library. Interest-
r d nt d S r n h t ld f n th r v r n n d , t ppl n b d th t nn t b pl d n nt t th h r l. It n t f n nv r n bl f t bl p p , n ppl d th v t l r nd th th r th nfl bl r. On bt n p nt d fl , v r h t , v r l n , nd v r h t th h h n n l f r n b t th h h, n v rth l , t n t p bl t f pl t n . h nn r f p r t n nv n nt nd r p d t r v ll bj t n nd I pr f r t t ll th r ...
In short, like Priestley before him, Bochard had suggested an oxyhydrogen blowpipe but, unlike Priestley, had apparently actually built one. Regrettably, we have only second hand descriptions of Bochard's apparatus and procedure (17, 18- 19). We do know that he and his laboratory assistant, M. Tillet, used leather bags to store each gas separately, and that, in contrast to Lavoisier's negative result, Bochard claimed to have successfully fused platinum. Nevertheless, Lavoisier was enthusiastic about Bochard's device, and in closing, outlined both a way of improving it and his intention to pursue the matter further (17): Ehr nn x n bl p p f 8 ( .
4 ll. t. Ch . 4 ( 8
Sainte-Claire Devine and Henri Debray, were able, with their improved instrument, to reach ternperatures of over 2000°C, or nearly 300°C above the melting point of platinum, (26).
f r n nd t
. d n p p r v n t th th t n l M t n f th A r n Ch l S t n ll , , 4 Apr l 8 . h th r h t xpr h r th n t r. W ll . n n f r h h lp n xt n v l r v n nd xp nd n th r n l n r pt. 2. . r t dt r nd . b nd, 4000 hr n r Arb t n d n Ex t n W n h ft n, Spr n r, rl n, 04. S l . W. M ll r, A C pr h n v r t n In r n nd h r t l Ch tr , l. , n n , Gr n, nd n, 22, p. 26. . . r t dt r, ndb h z r G h ht d r t r n h ft n nd d r hn , Spr n r, rl n, 08. 4. . S nn nf ld, hl p l, rl n, . Al "Ol p l " n h W rld Al n f t , bl d , 6, p. 8 . h Ol p fl b l z nt n t b t n th n nt nd th d rn . h d rn v r n f th fl d pt d n 6. h t r h d t ndl th f r f r t l t b th n rt f b rt r r n l x h dr n bl p p ( 802 . h r t Ol p , Gr , nd th n rr d t th t f th b d bl p rt nt b rr l t r th t nd th bl p p r l f r nn r . Sh p nd pl n r d h n n r . t lf tt h d t th d t th pp r l ft (24 . . Ar t ph n , h Cl d , b Cl , rv rd, 6 , p. , l n 6 6 . ingly, this house is still standing and is presently occupied by 6. E. G bb n, l n nd ll f th n E p r , M th n, offices of Editorial Gallimard. The present occupants have nd n, 8 8. indicated that the leather bags used by Bochard to collect . M. , S nt f In tr nt f th th nd 8th oxygen and hydrogen r still hanging behind the woodwork C nt r , r r, Y r , 2. of the library, which is now used by the firm's President as an 8. G. G l l , l C n rn n th S n , office (23). M ll n, Y r , 4, p. 4 . Like Lavoisier, Bochard came to grief at the hands of the . . M , M d h l r t , h Al b Cl b, French revolution. Accused of being a counterrevolutionary, pr nt b r , Oxf rd, 06. he was arrested on 18 December 1793 and guillotined on 20 0. . ll tt , r pt n d Gr nd M r r Ard nt f t April 1794, the same year as Lavoisier, after first being allowed p r l S r ll tt , r t t , t f d n, , . to make an inventory of his laboratory apparatus and astro- . A. p rt ll nd M. ll , Ed ., h C rr p nd n nomical instruments. f nr Old nb r , l. 2, Un v r t f W n n r , M d n, Most likely, because of his failure to write a memoir on the 66, tt r 0 . subject, posterity lost track of Bochard's contribution and 2. r b r nd n th d v l p nt f th nv nt n l several 19th century investigators, apparently unaware of his l b r t r bl p p , W. . n n, " h v l p nt f l work, laid claim to having invented the first workable oxy- hydrogen torch. The most notable of these was the American chemist, Robert Hare, mentioned earlier, who published an account of his oxyhydrogen blowpipe in 1802 (24) and whose claims to priority were vigorously defended in American textbooks against European claims for more than half a century (25). The blowpipe was gradually improved throughout the 19th century, largely by refining the premixing of the gases. By 1852 the Johnson-Matthey Company of London was able to S f th t p d b r n h p nd bl p p . Of display a large nugget of fused platinum at the Great Exhibition p rt l r nt r t th nd fr th t p n h h th x n at the Crystal Palace, and by 1859, the French chemists, Henri d l v r t b nt n d th n th h dr n d l v r t b (24 . ll. t. Ch . 4 ( 8 p p An l ", n . . St nd M. . Orn , Ed ., h t r nd KASIMIR FAJANS (1887-1975): r rv t n fCh l In tr nt t n, d l, t n, 86, pp. THE MAN AND HIS WORK 2 4 . . . . Ehr nn, r h n r S h lz n t t hülf d r rt I: E r p rl ft, Str b r , 8 . 4. . . Ehr nn, E d nArt d n l A d d l A r d Reynold E. Holmen, White Bear Lake, MN A r t l, r t l, Str b r , 8 . h r n h tr n l t n f r f r n , t h h t r b v r r dd d. To some, the name of Kasimir Fajans calls to mind a man . S Cr ll t Entd n n, 8 , 8, nd r f r n whose early achievements in radiochemistry secured for him 6, pp. 2 4. a place in the history of chemistry. A very few may recall one 6. S . . rt n t n, A t r f Ch tr , l. , M l of those blue volumes published under the aegis of the Baker l n, nd n, 62, p. 4 8. Lectures at Cornell University and which evolved from lec- . A. . v r, "S r n n d nt r n d r bl tures given by Fajans during his visit to the United States in nt l t n d f t d l h l r, d n l p r t n h ", 1930. Some may even have been contemporaneous with his M . A d. S ., 82, 4 , p bl h d 8 . Al r pr nt d n teaching years at the University of Michigan, beginning in O vr d v r, l. 2, I pr r I p r l , r , 86 , pp. 1936. If so, his name may conjure up recollections of an 42 4 2. r n En l h r , r f r n 6, p. 4 8. outspoken critic of instruction in chemistry, particularly of the 8. . . C. M ntj , El t r d n pt t G dominant qualitative approach to chemical bonding. To yet p rd h rd d S r n, r r r d nt d rl nt d r , another group, those who were fortunate to have heard one or r nt br r , r , 800. more lectures by him, the name recalls a person who left an . . . C n , "El d M. r d nt d S r n", M r indelible mark on his listeners. r S rv r A t r S n , C l , r , 8 0. None of these recollections, however, really gives much 20. . . W tbr , " b rt r , r. A r n El tr h insight into what made this man "tick" or into the genesis of his l n r", n G. bp rn ll nd . . W tbr , Ed ., S l t d major contributions to the progress of chemistry in our century. p n th t r f El tr h tr , El tr h l S t , In this account I will try, among other things, to reduce this void r n t n, , 8, pp. 00 4 . by recounting some of the events said by him to have had a 2 . r f rth r d t l f th l f f h rd, E. . G nz l z, profound influence on the development and direction of his " n pt t G p rd h rd d S r n: bl n, M th t career (1). n, A tr n r, h t, Ch t, r nt r, bl h r, Art t nd Kasimir Fajans, the centennial of whose birth was cele- M n", pr nt d t th M d t nt n th t r f S n , brated in 1987 (2), was born in Warsaw, Poland, on 27 May I St t Un v r t , A , I , 28 Apr l 8 . 1887. He was the second child and the elder son of five 22. h b ld n l t d t d l Un v r té, r , children born to Herman and Wanda (Wolberg) Fajans. Both r n , 00 . parents' families had members who had distinguished them- 2 . r n l n t n fr M. n r, Ed t r l selves at some period during the 18th, 19th, or 20th centuries: G ll rd, r . whether in science, medicine, music, photography, govern- 24. . r , M r f th S ppl nd Appl t n f th l ment, or in Polish patriotic movements. The Fajans family was p p , Ch l S t f h l d lph , h l d lph , 802. part of the highly emancipated and "polonized" Jewish popu- pr nt d n h l. M ., 802, 4, 2 8, 288 nd Ann. Ch ., 802, lation. Polish, not Yiddish, was the daily language. Not surpris- 4 , . ingly, as the elder son, Kasimir served as a role model for his 2 . S , f r x pl , . . M t h ll, El nt f Ch l younger siblings in what was reported to have been a loving h l ph , C rr nd rb n , C n nn t , O , 8 2, f tn t n and respectful family environment. p. 6 . For the first years, private teachers taught Fajans at home. 26. r br f r f th rl h t r f th x h dr n He later moved on to the Real-Gymnasium, a school where bl p p , . . rt n t n, A t r f Ch tr , l. , natural sciences, rather than Latin and Greek, were stressed. M ll n, nd n, 62, pp. 24 2 . Nevertheless, the Russian dominance throughout the schools mandated that Russian be the official language. Polish was not allowed in the school building. The clash between Fajans' interests and that of the teacher's showed up in another way. In Dr. Elsa L. Gonzalez, 1414 E. 59th Street, Apt. 517, Chicago, a Russian language class, Fajans was once given a poor grade IL, 60637, is associated with the Morris Fishbein Center of the for writing on "Climate" as an essay subject. Fortunately the University of Chicago, and has made a detailed study of the life director of the school was a scientist and responded favorably of Bochard de Saron. to Fajans' complaint about the grade. Beyond his early interest in science, Fajans was also a sports lover. He played tennis