Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air
The Second Edition, Corrected
Published on 5. September 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
358 pages
978-1-108-06395-1 (ISBN)
Description
By the late eighteenth century, scientists had discovered certain types of gas, such as 'fixed air' (carbon dioxide), but their composition was little understood. Relatively few investigations into gases had taken place, and so the polymath Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was able to make major breakthroughs in the field using a range of experimental techniques. While living near a brewery, he found that it was possible to outline the shape of the gas above fermenting beer with smoke, and that fire would burn with varying strength depending on the composition of the air. This three-volume collection first appeared between 1774 and 1777. Primarily an account of Priestley's early experiments, with details of apparatus including candles and live mice, Volume 1 is reissued here in its corrected 1775 second edition and also incorporates a brief history of the field of inquiry.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
2 Plates, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
505 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-06395-1 (9781108063951)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
English scientist, theologian, and political theorist Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) made numerous contributions to chemistry, physics, and philosophy. Priestley, who was raised in Birstall, West Yorkshire, attended local schools before going to Daventry Academy, where he became very interested in natural philosophy. Priestley made significant scientific advances. His greatest-known distxtery, made in 1774, was oxygen, which he dubbed "dephlogisticated air." His investigations into gases and their characteristics, which are detailed in "Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air," greatly enhanced our knowledge of chemistry. Priestley also studied nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, among other gases. In addition to his scientific interests, Priestley was a prolific writer on theological and political topics as well as a dissident clergyman. He received criticism for his Unitarian beliefs and his perceived radical religious ideas. Priestley was a liberal and democratic idealist whose political writings shaped the early American history.
Content
Preface; Advertisement; Introduction; Part I. Experiments and Observations Made in, and before the Year 1772: 1. Of fixed air; 2. Of air in which a candle, or brimstone, has burned out; 3. Of inflammable air; 4. Of air infected with animal respiration, on putrefaction; 5. Of air in which a mixture of brimstone and filings of iron has stood; 6. Of nitrous air; 7. Of air infected with the fumes of burning charcoal; 8. Of the effect of the calcination of metals; 9. Of marine acid air; 10. Miscellaneous observations; Part II. Experiments and Observations Made in the Year 1773, and the Beginning of 1774: 1. Observations on alkaline air; 2. Of common air diminished and made noxious by various processes; 3. Of nitrous air; 4. Of marine acid air; 5. Of inflammable air; 6. Of fixed air; 7. Miscellaneous experiments; 8. Queries, speculations, and hints; Appendix.