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Histoire Du Concept D'ion Au Dix-Neuvième Siècle

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Histoire Du Concept D'ion Au Dix-Neuvième Siècle UNIVERSITÉ DE NANTES FACULTÉ DES SCIENCES ET DES TECHNIQUES _____ ÉCOLE DOCTORALE Sociétés, cultures, échanges (SCE) Année 2013 Histoire du concept d’ion au dix-neuvième siècle ___________ THÈSE DE DOCTORAT Discipline : Epistémologie, Histoire des sciences et des techniques Présentée et soutenue publiquement par Axel PETIT Le 11 décembre 2013, devant le jury ci-dessous Président Gérard EMPTOZ, Professeur des universités honoraire, Université de Nantes Rapporteurs Michel PATY, Directeur de recherche CNRS, Docteur d’État, Université Paris-Diderot Scott WALTER, Maître de conférences HDR, Université de Lorraine Examinateurs Danielle FAUQUE, Docteur, Université Paris-Sud Virginie FONTENEAU, Maître de conférences, Université Paris-Sud Pierre TEISSIER, Maître de conférences, Université de Nantes Stéphane TIRARD, Professeur des universités, Université de Nantes Directeur de thèse : Guy BOISTEL, Docteur HDR Remerciements Cette thèse est le résultat d’influences multiples et de réflexions apportées par plusieurs membres du Centre François Viète. Trois personnes se sont particulièrement impliquées dans mon travail. En premier lieu, Guy Boistel, qui a dirigé mes recherches, m’a permis de réaliser que l’histoire des sciences ne peut se concevoir sans érudition, et qu’il est nécessaire d’y trouver du plaisir. Ensuite, Stéphane Tirard a su m’éclairer avec patience sur la portée globale de mon travail quand je n’en cernais que des détails disparates. Enfin, Pierre Teissier, en m’orientant vers une bibliographie que je connaissais très peu, a ouvert l’horizon de l’histoire que j’expose ici. Mes positionnements épistémologiques dépendent largement de ses suggestions. Je les remercie vivement tous les trois pour le temps qu’ils ont su m’accorder, cette thèse leur est largement redevable. Je remercie chaleureusement Gérard Emptoz, Michel Paty, Scott Walter, Virginie Fonteneau et Danielle Fauque d’avoir accepté de jouer le rôle critique que nécessite tout travail universitaire. Je suis particulièrement reconnaissant envers Virginie Fonteneau qui a guidé mes premiers pas d’historien des sciences lors de mon arrivée au Centre François Viète il y a cinq ans. Qu’il me soit permis également de remercier ici Dominique Bernard pour son soutien permanent durant ma thèse. J’adresse un mot de sympathie à Karine Le Jeune qui est la personne du laboratoire avec qui j’ai le plus discuté pendant ces quatre ans. Nous étions dans la même situation et nous nous sommes aidés mutuellement. Nos thèses seront soutenues à quelques mois d’intervalle, je lui souhaite le meilleur pour la suite. Je remercie Jenny Boucard, Celine Briée et Aurélie Giacomini dont j’ai toujours ressenti le soutien. Merci également au groupe des doctorants pour ces réunions dynamiques et stimulantes qui nous ont permis d’échanger nos points de vue sur l’histoire des sciences. Parmi eux, je souhaite citer particulièrement Benoît Cayre, Anne-Élisabeth Le Boulc’h, Laurent Le Meur, Philippe Le Vigouroux, Loïc Péton et Pascal Rétif. Je tiens également à remercier Michelle Chauvin, du service du prêt entre bibliothèque de la faculté des sciences de Nantes, son aide m’a permis d’avoir accès à des articles et des ouvrages difficilement accessibles. L’appui de mes parents, de mes sœurs Cécile et Inès et de ma belle-famille fut sans faille. Je veux également dire à tous mes amis qu’une grande part de ma motivation durant cette thèse leur est due. J’adresse des remerciements particuliers à Fabien qui m’a permis de maintenir le cap et a stimulé mon imagination. Enfin, je consacre les dernières lignes de ces remerciements à Mélanie. Tu as su me soutenir et comprendre ce que représentait mon travail. Tu m’as également apaisé dans les moments de doutes. Je te suis infiniment reconnaissant pour ton aide. La route qui s’ouvre à nous désormais n’est pas facile à deviner ; nous y rencontrerons de grands bonheurs, je n’en doute pas. Sommaire Introduction générale. ........................................................................................................................... 1 Première partie : Conceptions de la décomposition électrochimique en Europe avant les ions. (1800-1824) ........................................................................................................................................... 16 Introduction. .................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapitre 1- La séparation des composés chimiques par l’action de la pile : invention d’un problème et établissement de pratiques. ....................................................................................... 19 1- Observation des effets décomposants de la pile par Nicholson et Carlisle. .......................... 19 2- Centralisation d’abondants faits expérimentaux au Nicholson’s Journal. ............................ 23 Chapitre 2- Circulation du problème au sein d’une pluralité savante. ...................................... 33 1- Humphry Davy : expérimentation et affinité. ........................................................................ 34 2- Berzelius : les corps électropositifs et électronégatifs et la théorie dualiste. ......................... 46 3- Spéculations romantiques germaniques face à l’électrostatique française. ........................... 56 Chapitre 3- Redéfinition de la propagation de l’électricité. ........................................................ 68 1- Le « conflit électrique » d’Oersted. ....................................................................................... 68 2- L’électrochimie d’Ampère et sa redéfinition du courant. ...................................................... 70 Conclusion de la première partie. .................................................................................................. 76 Deuxième partie : Le concept d’ion de Faraday : formulation et appropriations. (1832-1881) ... 79 Introduction. .................................................................................................................................... 80 Chapitre 4- Michael Faraday : de l’identité des électricités au concept d’ion. .......................... 82 1- Formation de Faraday auprès de Davy. ................................................................................. 82 2- Une démonstration de l’identité des électricités : l’emploi de la machine électrique pour effectuer la décomposition. ........................................................................................................... 86 3- La propagation du courant de proche en proche.................................................................... 90 4- Proposition d’une nouvelle terminologie : l’invention du concept d’ion. ............................. 92 5- Établissement d’une loi de l’action électrochimique. ............................................................ 96 Chapitre 5- Accueil britannique de l’électrochimie de Faraday. .............................................. 102 1- Premier accueil des ions à Londres. .................................................................................... 102 2- John-Frederic Daniell et William Robert Grove : soutiens et approfondissements. ........... 104 Chapitre 6- Accueil des ions dans la littérature savante francophone. .................................... 116 1- Intérêt d’Antoine César Becquerel pour les recherches électrochimiques de Faraday. ....... 116 2- Particules électronégatives et électropositives ou anions et cations ? ................................. 124 Chapitre 7- Premier accueil des ions par la science germanique. ............................................. 129 1- 1800-1830 : Un contexte défavorable. ................................................................................ 129 2- 1830-1850 : publicités du concept d’ion de Faraday. .......................................................... 133 Chapitre 8- Implantation des ions dans les Annalen der Physik : nouveaux problèmes et nouvelles méthodes. ....................................................................................................................... 148 1- Hittorf, les mathématiques pour résoudre le problème de la migration des ions. ............... 148 2- Clausius, la théorie cinétique des gaz pour résoudre le problème de la loi d’Ohm. ............ 154 3- Kohlrausch, l’instrumentation pour améliorer la conductivité électrolytique. .................... 160 4- Helmholtz et la polarisation : vers les ions chargés. ............................................................ 168 Conclusion de la deuxième partie. ............................................................................................... 172 Troisième partie : Les « ions libres », émancipation de l’électrolyse, fédérations savantes et nouveaux champs d’investigation. (1881-1914) .............................................................................. 176 Introduction. .................................................................................................................................. 177 Chapitre 9- Renouveau d’intérêt pour l’électrolyse en Grande-Bretagne : un champ d’étude défini comme une frontière entre physique et chimie. ............................................................... 180 1- État des recherches électrolytiques en Grande-Bretagne. ................................................... 180 2- Helmholtz à Londres. La promotion d’un rapprochement entre électrochimie et chimie organique. ...................................................................................................................................
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