~~Analytical Chemistry — the Oldest Field of Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry — the Oldest Field of Chemistry - раздел Образование, Part One THE PREDICATE Analytical Chcmistiy Is Probably The Oldest Field In The Broad Spectrum Of Th...
Analytical chcmistiy is probably the oldest field in the broad spectrum of the scicncc of chcmistry. Many years were required to dispel the lure of alchcmy; more were needed to demonstrate the fallacy of the phlogiston theory. However, it was not until the brilliant Frcnch chcmist Lavoisier (1743-1794) demonstrated, about 1785, by actual experimental methods that combustion was a combination of a substancc with oxygen, diat he laid the basic groundwork of modern chcmistiy, and, in a very particular sense, analytical chemistry. Indeed, he can with considerable justification be called the "father" of analytical chemistry because of the great emphasis he placcd in all experimental wrork on quantitative measurement. It is in this very ncccssary characteristic of the true analytical chcmist that he differed from Priestley (1733-1804), a discovcrer of oxygen. Priestley, a clergyman forced to flee from Birmingham, England, to America bccausc of his unorthodox political and religious views, was more of a philosopher than a scientist.
The first problem to engage the interest of most chcmists was to determine as exactly as possible the composition of the earth. Greater emphasis wras perhaps placcd on chcmistry than physics at this stage in the evolution of the natural scienccs — yet, the contributions of such scientists as Avogadro, Boyle, and Charles all had a direct bearing and, therefore, great usefulness in analysis. Avogadro's law, for example, is extremely important in the chcmistry of gases, because it does serve as a basis for relating weight to volume. Indeed, it is not an overstatement to say that during the 18th and most of the 19th century the chcmistry that did exist was largely analytical chcmistry. The pinnacle of ambition of most chemists at that time was to be a highly succcssful analyst. Any study of chemical literature of this period shows a preponderance of titles related to analytical chemistry.
It was in the latter half of the 19th ccntury that the so-called "industrial revolution" took placc. Many beginnings (modest at first) were made in the industrial manufacture of numerous items consumed in the household which were traditionally produced in the home or not at all. The raw materials in such manufacturing operations consisted chicfly of chcmicals.
The pressing and dyeing of textiles, the production of glass, leather, soap — these arc merely four examples (many others could be quoted) of operations that moved slowly out of the home and into the factory. Slowly, but surely, this trend built up a demand for modest changcs for a limited number of chcmicals. Except for the natural dyes and tanning extracts, most of the industrial chcmicals produced in this area were inorganic in nature, principally alkalies, mineral acids, ctc.
