The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-12-30

" 1rst mankind wa. contented 70 OBJ
serve certain phenomena, and 10
uaaizs them for Industrial purposes. IL
they we're found suitable. philosophers"
as the thinking portion OF our race love
TO call themselves. have always attempt
ed TO assign some explanation for OBJ
served facts. and to group them into SINH
lars and dfssimilars. II was for long
imagined, following the doctrines OF the
Greeks and Of their predecessors, that all
matter consisted OF four elements or prin-
c,pies names which survive to this day
In popular language These were Are"
air" water and earth" II was not
until the seventeenth century that Boyle
in his ''Sceptical Chymist'' ueslo laid the
foundations OF the modern science. by
pointing out that II was impossible 10 eS-
plain the existence OF the fairly numerous
chemical substances known in his day, or
the changes which they can be made to
undergo. by means of the ancient Greek
hypothesis regarding the constitution OF
matter. He laid down the definition of
the modern meaning OF the word ''ele-
ment:" he declined TO accept the current
view that the properties OF matter could
be modified by its assimilatlng the quail
ties OF fire. air, earth or water: and he
defined an element as the constituent Of
compound body. The first problem,
then, to be solved, was TO determine
which OF the numerous forms OF matter
were to be regarded as elementary. and
which are compound, or composed of two
or more elements in a state of combina-
ton, and TO produce such compounds by
causing the appropriate elements TO unite
with each other.
One Of the first objects 10 excite curtos-
'ty and interest was the cir which sur
rounds us, and in which we live and move
and have our being. II was. however.
endowed with semi-spiritual and scarce
ly corporal nature, in the ideas OF our
f1rf 41.~ ~,,at. Me- ~.
OF sight smell or taste and though II
can be felt. yet II eludes our grasp The
word gas" moreover. was not invented
until Van Heimont devised II to designate
various kinds of "airs" which he had OBJ
served. The important part which gases
play In the constitution of many chemi-
cal compounds was accordingly over
looked; and, indeed, IT appeared TO be al
most as striking feat of necromsncy
TO produce a quantity OF gas of great
volume from a small pinch OF solid
/ powder as for "Jinn' of enormous
stature but OF delicate texture to Issue
from brass pot. as related IN the Arab
ian Nights Entertainments. Gradually.
however, Il came TO be recognized. not
merely that gases have corporal existence,
but that they even possess weight. This,
| though foreshadowcd by Torricilli. Jean
Rey and others was first clearly proved
by Black. professor Of chemistry In Edln-
| burgh. I'm l752. through his mastery re-
searches. as carbonic acid.
The ignorance Of the material nature OF
gases and of their weight lies at tho
\ bottom OF the phlogfstic theory, theory
| devised by Stahl about the year 1920 TO
account for the phenomena OF combustion
| and respiration and the recovery or re
duction" OF metals from their "earths'
/ by heating with charcoal or their allied
bodies. According 10 this inverted theory.
substance capable Of burning was i'm
I agfnaH n contain n less pb1ogfafpf,
a principle which II parted with on burn
ing. leaving an earth deprived OF phlog-
iston or "dephlogisticated," behind In n
metal This earth when heated with sub
! stances rich in phlogiston, sech as coal.
wood. -four and similar bodies. recovered
the phlogiston. which II had lost on burn
ing, and with the added phlogiston It's
metallic character other substances, such
as phosphorus and sulphur, gave solids
or acid liquids. 20 which phlogistou was
not so easy TO add: but even they could
DO rephiogisticated on thi. hypothesis,
II was the earths. and such acid liquids
as sulphurlc or phoSphoric acids, which
were the elements: the metals and sulphur
and phosphorus were their compounds
| with phlogiston.
The discovery OF oxygen by Priestley
and by Scheele In l7T4. and the cxpiana-
ton Of ITS functions by T.avoisler during
the following ten years gave their true
( meaning TO these phenomena. II WAS then
recognized that combustion was union
I with oxygen. that an earth" or "calN'
was 20 be regarded as the compound II
a metal with oxygen that when metal
becomes furnished and converted into
such an earthly power Il n being 6xi-
dized; that this oxide, on ignition with
charcoal or csrbon, or with compounds
I such coal. -four wood Of which car
hon Is n constituent gives on ifs oxygen
TO the carbon. forming an oxide Of carbon
caFbonic oxide on the one hand. or car
bonic "acid" on tho other. while the metal
IL reproduced Ia IT'S "reRuiine" or metallic
condition ard that the true elements are
metals, carbon, sulphur phosphorus and
similar bodies. and not the products Ct
their oxidation.
THE discovery that air r. In ,he main
mixture ~ nitrogen, an inert Ras. AID
/ oxygen. an active one together with A
small proportion of rnrbonic 'arid" t8r,
as 81 Ia now termed. ahhyarlde)--a disoov-
Z cry perfected by Rutherford Black and
Z Cavoudish-ard that water q a CON-
pound with oxygen 81 hydrogen. previous
~ known AZ tnlamnlabie air. - Caven-
Z dish and by watt finally overthrow tie
theory " phloglAton, but az she begin
ming ~ thia century Is stih fingered On.
and was defended by prieztiey until Ms
death Ia 1894, Such, IN brief was tbs
4 condition o chemical thought tn the year
1904 Schecle had Sled ia l1w. 81 the early
{ AGa 81 A. A8Velsier aas one or The VIC
Z TINS % the FryncA revolution. having
been E3iilsttned ia 1875 Caveua.sh had
ceased 90 work a. chemical problems, and
was devotinS his extraof1lnary abilities
Z "a phYeicst pruhssrua of tha highest I'm.
pprance. while living fAr lie ~ an ae-
centric reciuse. ans pf3estlcg. driven ~
. rtiig gtfs persecution from Euslaad 90 the
ruare tolerant shores ~ Amsglcs. WAS
. en5aying peaceful ald age. ea5Fsned ~
I occasional iaesrsians .Hto toe region ~
Z EerfArtan controversy.
7 The arst srriaina discover ~ o,5r ran-
fury wMs tkst Nc ush campaana nasure ~
( tAe aIkailes and q ths aikallna earths
Z T0is discovery was made ~ Ffgunary
IavF. naru 81 CcTawaG be- 17lR. De- tsszan
tar sluGB 81 chemistry. EeE fnGEhf ia
7 l1@ ana ih iJsa be became director - The
7 ''EsneuulAttc lnsfitugtan. an anaerfak {nK
founded b. DR. Heaaoes az Bristol Tor ths
T purpose x experiments on fha curative
eT~cts q xAsss Ia general Here 10 AZ
Gree made his mark 30 ne discovery az
the rera&rkahie properties - laughing
gas~ o. nitrous oxide At ths sane time
tesH A fza