Robert Boyle 1627—1691
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History 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 1 17-1-11 22:23 2 History Robert Boyle 1627—1691 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 2 17-1-11 22:23 Robert Boyle 3 Robert Boyle 1627—1691 Robert Boyle was born on January 1st, 1627 in Waterford, Ireland. He emphasized on the importance of conducting experiments in scientific research and was a sci- entist with outstanding experimental skills. He optimized many scientific instru- ments and made contributions to many areas of research. Boyle is regarded as the founder of modern chemistry. He considered chemistry as a physical science, not just a practical art or mysterious alchemy, although he was a believer in alchemy. Through experiments, he proved that the ancient Greek theory of four elements was invalid, and proposed a concept of elements close to the one we have today. He believed that all matters were composed of minute particles and the universe worked like a sophisticated machine. His thoughts deeply influenced many scien- tists including Newton. Boyle died on December 31st, 1691 (aged 64) in London, England. The main scientific contributions of Boyle are: l Discovery of Boyle’s Law (at constant temperature, the absolute pressure and the volume of a fixed amount of gas are inversely proportional). l Design of a new vacuum pump and conducted experiments inside vacuum, and finding that in vacuum sound could not transmit and a candle could not burn. l Preliminary explanation to combustion and metal calcination. l Emphasis on the importance of chemical analysis, invention of experimental methods to identify chemicals and measure purity, the use of vegetable colors to identify acid and base. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 3 17-1-11 22:23 4 History The drawings on the left show Boyle’s vacuum pump described in New Experiments Physico-Mechanical, Touch the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects published in 1660 (a photorealistic CG reproduction can be found on page 60). Boyle’s got a lot of help from his assistant Robert Hooke for designing and con- structing the pump. The first vacuum pump was invented by Otto von Guericke in 1654. In 1657, von Guericke conducted the famous experiment with the Magdeburg hemispheres, demonstrating the power of atmosphere pressure. Boyle and Hooke made a lot of improvements upon von Guericke’s design, making the pump easy to use. Also, they could conduct experiments inside the pump. Boyle’s vacuum pump is made of a spherical glass globe with a diameter of 38 cm and a brass pumping cylinder connecting with it. The globe has an open- ing on the top. Objects used in experiments can be transferred into the globe through this opening and later sealed by a brass cap and lute. The air pump- ing process is controlled by the valve connecting the pump and globe and a small brass plug on the pump, as shown graphically in the opposite page (please pay attention to the colored component in each step). In New Experiments Physico-Mechanical, Touch the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects, Boyle described 43 experiments, covering physics, chemistry, biology and other subjects. For chemistry, he discovered that a candle and charcoal could not burn inside vacuum, which was the opposite to Boyle’s original hypothesis. Based on the four-element theory, as “gas” was pumped out, “fire” in the inflammable ob- jects should release much easier. After Boyle, many Internal structure scientists tackled the combustion problem and led of the pumping cylinder. to the famous chemical revolution. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 4 17-1-11 22:23 Robert Boyle 5 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 5 17-1-11 22:23 6 History John Mayow 1641—1679 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 6 17-1-11 22:23 John Mayow 7 John Mayow 1641—1679 John Mayow was born in about 1641 in England. Although his research on com- bustion and respiration was more advanced than his peers, few paid attention to his work during his time. There was even some controversy regarding his contribu- tion to chemistry among historians. Today, however, it is accepted that Mayow’s experiments were innovative and well-reasoned. In the October of 1679, Mayow, less than 40 years old, died in London, England. The main scientific contributions of Mayow are: l finding that combustion and respiration were similar in terms of consuming a part of the air (i.e. oxygen), which he named “nitro-aereus”. l pointing out that “nitro-aereus” entered animal lungs during respiration, and that muscle contraction and body heat were results of chemical reactions be- tween “nitro-aereus” and substances in the body. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 7 17-1-11 22:23 8 History Above are Mayow’s apparatuses for studying combustion described in his Tractatus Quinque Medi- co-Physici published in 1674. He discovered that inside a container sealed by water, a burning candle (left) and combustion of inflammable substance ignited by fire glass both consumed a portion of the air, leading to the increase of water level inside the containers. When this part of air was used up, combus- tion stopped. Mayow named the air that supported combustion “nitro-aereus”. His experiments were advanced in his time. For example, at the beginning of the experiment, he used a U-shaped syphon to equalize the pressure inside and outside the container. For the burning candle experiment, the syphon was quickly removed after the container was in place. This procedure made the experiment more accurate. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 8 17-1-11 22:23 John Mayow 9 Above are Mayow’s apparatuses for studying animal respiration described in his TractatusQuinque Medi- co-Physici published in 1674. He discovered that animal respiration was similar like combustion, both of which consumed a portion of the air. In the left apparatus, the respiration of a mouse caused the blad- der membrane to bulge inside. In the right apparatus, the respiration of a mouse caused the water level to increase inside the container. When the part of air that support respiration was used up, animals died. Mayow thought that respiration and combustion were similar as both processes consumed the “ni- tro-aereus” (i.e. oxygen). Mayow argued that during respiration the nitro-aereus reacted with substances inside blood, providing body heat for the animals. This was an advanced view of respiration during that time. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 9 17-1-11 22:23 10 History Stephen Hales 1677—1761 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 10 17-1-11 22:23 Stephen Hales 11 Stephen Hales 1677—1761 Stephen Hales was born on September 17th, 1667 in Kent, England. His research mainly focused on plant and animal physiology, and is regarded as the founder of plant physiology. During his research on plants, Hales noticed that the effects of gases on plants, which inspired him to conduct many research on gases and in- vented many apparatuses for preparing and collecting them. Hales believed that all gases are the same element. As a result, he only measured the volume of gases generated in his experiments, paying no attention to their chemical properties. His experiments, however, influenced many scientists, including Cavendish and Priest- ley. On January 4th, 1761, Hales died in Teddington, England (aged 83). His main scientific contributions are: l In plant physiology, discovery of liquid circulation in plants, explanation of the effects of transpiration (the loss of water from leaves of plants) through well-designed experiments. l In animal physiology, first accurately measuring of blood pressure, discovery of the difference in blood circulation among different animal species. l In pneumatic chemistry, finding that many materials releases gases during heating or fermentation, inventing instruments for generating and collecting gases. l Inventing ventilators for improving air quality in closed environments such as mines, prisons, and ship cabins. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 11 17-1-11 22:23 12 History Above is Hales’ apparatus for generating and collecting gas through heating described in his Vegetable Statick published in 1727. The container for receiving gas had an opening at the bottom. At the begin- ning of the experiment, the water level inside the receiving container was marked. During the experi- ment, generated gas pushed down the water level inside the container, and the volume of the generated gas was determined. Hales was a supporter of four-element theory. He believed that “air” existed in many substances. Through heating these substances, air could be released. He was only interesting in determining the amount of the air. As a result, he missed the opportunity to discover many new gases, possibly including oxygen. However, Hales’s experiments influenced many scientists including Priestley. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 12 17-1-11 22:23 Stephen Hales 13 The left is hales’ apparatuses for generating gases through fermentation described in his Vegetable Statick published in 1727. The apparatus on and collecting the left could determine the amount of gas released during fermentation through the change of water level inside the inversed container. The right bottle contained green beans and a small amount of mercury at the bottom. A vertical tube inserted into the mercury through the cork. During fermentation, the pressure built up inside the bottle and raised the mercury inside the tube. By reading the mercury height inside the tube, the pressure could be determined. Similar as the experiments described in the previous page, Hales only cared about the amount of “air” released and not its chemical properties. 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 13 17-1-11 22:23 14 History Henry Cavendish 1731—1810 2-p1-53-cc2015.indd 14 17-1-11 22:23 Henry Cavendish 15 Henry Cavendish 1731—1810 Henry Cavendish was born on October 10th, 1731 in Nice, Kingdom of Sardinia.