10: Phlogiston: A Burning Question

The History of Chemistry

Here we see the advent of the steam engine, using the knowledge of Boyle's Law, invented by Thomas Savery. We encounter Johann Joachim Becher, with his three elemental earths, including a fatty earth that burned. Then we learn of Georg Ernst Stahl, and his popular idea of phlogiston as the burning quality--but it explained corrosion and rust, too! There is the new calibrated tool, the thermometer, which led to Joseph Black's research on gas sylvester. We discover that at this time, alchemy and chemistry finally diverge, never to meet again. Finally, we hear about the effect of the current natural science even on poetry and music, as performed by Dov Rosenschein.

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