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'''Joseph Black''' ([[April 16]],[[1728]] – [[December 6]],[[1799]] <ref>{{DSB |first=Henry |last=Guerlac |title=Black, Joseph |
'''Joseph Black''' ([[April 16]],[[1728]] – [[December 6]],[[1799]] <ref>{{DSB |first=Henry |last=Guerlac |title=Black, Joseph |
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|volume=2 |pages=173-183}}</ref>) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[physicist]] and [[chemist]], known for his discoveries of [[latent heat]], [[specific heat]], and [[carbon dioxide]]. He was a founder of [[thermochemistry]] who developed many pre-[[thermodynamics]] concepts, such as [[heat capacity]], and was the mentor for [[James Watt]]. The [[chemistry]] buildings at both the [[University of Edinburgh]] and the [[University of Glasgow]] are named after him. |
|volume=2 |pages=173-183}}</ref>) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[physicist]] and [[chemist]], known for his discoveries of [[latent heat]], [[specific heat]], and [[carbon dioxide]]. He was a founder of [[thermochemistry]] who developed many pre-[[thermodynamics]] concepts, such as [[heat capacity]], and was the mentor for [[James Watt]]. The [[chemistry]] buildings at both the [[University of Edinburgh]] and the hey baby hmhkdlfhdt [[University of Glasgow]] are named after him. |
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==Early years== |
==Early years== |
Revision as of 16:58, 18 September 2008
Joseph Black | |
---|---|
Born | April 16,1728 |
Died | December 6,1799 |
Nationality | Scottish |
Known for | Latent heat, specific heat, and the discovery of carbon dioxide |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Medicine, physics, and chemistry |
Doctoral students | James Watt |
Joseph Black (April 16,1728 – December 6,1799 [1]) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was a founder of thermochemistry who developed many pre-thermodynamics concepts, such as heat capacity, and was the mentor for James Watt. The chemistry buildings at both the University of Edinburgh and the hey baby hmhkdlfhdt University of Glasgow are named after him.
Early years
Black was born in Bordeaux, France, where his father, who was from Belfast, Ireland, was engaged in the wine trade. His mother was from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and her family was also in the wine business. Joseph had twelve brothers and sisters.[2] He entered the University of Glasgow when he was eighteen years old, and four years later he went to Edinburgh to further his medical studies.
Professional life
While at the University of Edinburgh, Black studied properties of carbon dioxide (CO2).[3]. One of his experiments involved placing a flame and mice into the carbon dioxide. Because both entities died, Black concluded that the air was not breathable. He named it 'fixed air' in 1754. In 1756 Black described how carbonates become more alkaline when they lose carbon dioxide, whereas the taking-up of carbon dioxide reconverts them. He was the first person to isolate carbon dioxide in a perfectly pure state. This was an important step in the history of chemistry as it helped people to realize that air was not an element, but rather was composed of many different things. Black's work also aided in discrediting the belief in a fiery principle called phlogiston.
In about 1750, Joseph Black developed the analytical balance based on a light-weight beam balanced on a wedge-shaped fulcrum. Each arm carried a pan on which the sample or standard weights was placed. It far exceeded the accuracy of any other balance of the time and became an important scientific instrument in most chemistry laboratories.[4].
In 1757, he was appointed Regius Professor of the Practice of Medicine at the University of Glasgow.
In 1761, wrote Ogg, Black deduced that the application of heat to ice does not cause its immediate liquefaction, rather the ice absorbed the heat without a rise in temperature.[5] Additionally, Black observed that the application of heat to boiling water does not result in immediate evaporation. From these observations, he concluded that the heat applied must have combined with the ice particles and boiling water and become latent. In espousing his theory of latent heat, said Ogg, the new subject of thermal science commenced.[6]
Black's theory of latent heat was one of his more-important scientific contribution, and one on which his scientific fame chiefly rests. He also showed that different substances have different specific heats. This all proved important not only in the development of abstract science but in the development of the steam engine.[7]
Personal life
Black was a friend of James Watt, who first began his studies on steam power at Glasgow University in 1761. Black also was a member of the Poker Club and associated with David Hume, Adam Smith, and the literati of the Scottish Enlightenment. Black never married. He died in Edinburgh at the age of 71, and is buried there in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
See also
References
- ^ Guerlac, Henry (1970–1980). "Black, Joseph". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 173–183. ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9.
- ^ Lenard, Philipp (1950). Great Men of Science. London: G. Bell and Sons. p. 129. ISBN 0-8369-1614-X. (Translated from the second German edition)
- ^ "Experiments upon Magnesia Alba, Quick-Lime, and some other Alkaline Substances". Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ "Equal Arm Analytical Balances". Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ Ogg, David (1965). Europe of the Ancien Regime: 1715-1783. Harper & Row.
- ^ Ogg, David (1965). Europe of the Ancien Regime: 1715-1783. Harper & Row. pp. 117 and 283.
- ^ Ogg, David (1965). Europe of the Ancien Regime: 1715-1783. Harper & Row. p. 283.
Further reading
- "JOSEPH BLACK and the discovery of carbon dioxide.", Med. J. Aust., vol. 44, no. 23 (published 1957 Jun 8), pp. 801–2, 1957, PMID:13440275
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - "Joseph Black--rediscoverer of fixed air.", JAMA, vol. 196, no. 4 (published 1966 Apr 25), pp. 362–3, 1966, PMID:5325596
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Breathnach, C S (1999), "Irish links of the multinational chemist Joseph Black (1728-1799).", Journal of the Irish Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, vol. 28, no. 4 (published 1999 Oct), pp. 228–31, PMID:11624012
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Breathnach, C S (2000), "Joseph Black (1728-1799): an early adept in quantification and interpretation.", Journal of medical biography, vol. 8, no. 3 (published 2000 Aug), pp. 149–55, PMID:10954923
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Buchanan, W W; Brown, D H (1980), "Joseph Black (1728-1799): Scottish physician and chemist.", The Practitioner, vol. 224, no. 1344 (published 1980 Jun), pp. 663–6, PMID:6999492
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Buess, H (1956), "[Joseph Black (1728-1799) and the original chemical experimental research in biology and medicine.]", Gesnerus, vol. 13, no. 3–4 (published 1956), pp. 165–89, PMID:13397909
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Donovan, A (1978), "James Hutton, Joseph Black and the chemical theory of heat.", Ambix, vol. 25, no. 3 (published 1978 Nov), pp. 176–90, PMID:11615707
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Eklund, J B; Davis, A B (1972), "Joseph Black matriculates: medicine and magnesia alba.", Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences, vol. 27, no. 4 (published 1972 Oct), pp. 396–417, PMID:4563352
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Foregger, R (1957), "Joseph Black and the identification of carbon dioxide.", Anesthesiology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 257–64, PMID:13411612
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Frackleton, W G (1953), "Joseph Black and some aspects of medicine in the eighteenth century.", The Ulster medical journal, vol. 22, no. 2 (published 1953 Nov 1), pp. 87–99, PMID:13217111
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Guerlac, H (1957), "Joseph Black and fixed air. II.", Isis; an international review devoted to the history of science and its cultural influences, vol. 48, no. 154 (published 1957 Dec), pp. 433–56, PMID:13491209
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Lenard, Philipp (1950). Great Men of Science. London: G. Bell and Sons. p. 129. ISBN 0-8369-1614-X.
- Perrin, C E (1982), "A reluctant catalyst: Joseph Black and the Edinburgh reception of Lavoisier's chemistry.", Ambix, vol. 29, no. 3 (published 1982 Nov), pp. 141–76, PMID:11615908
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Ramsay, William (1905). The Gases of the Atmosphere. London: Macmillan.
External links
- Black's experiments on Alkaline Substances
- Joseph Black – Biographical information
- Joseph Black – Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911