Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Education and Mental Culture. Introd. by P. E. Lindström - 11. Science - Physics. By P. G. D. Granqvist - Chemistry. By H. G. Söderbaum
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
chemistry.
605
1841; formerly professor at Uppsala; heat and light), J. ff. Rydberg (b. 1854;
professor at Lund; spectrum analysis), C. Mebius (b. 1854; electricity), T".
Carlheim-Gyllensköld (b. 1859; terrestrial magnetism), E. Solander (b. 1858;
terrestrial magnetism), P. G. D. Granqvist (b. I860; professor at Uppsala;
electricity), C. Benedicts (b. 1875; professor at Stockholm University; siderology),
and A. J. H. Koch (b. 1878; optics). Finally we must mention G. Balen (b.
1869), Superintendent Engineer, who obtained in 1912 the Nobel Prize in
Physics for the invention of self-acting governors for use in combination with gas
accumulators for the lighting of lighthouses and light buoys. (See the section:
Gas and Acetylene.)
Chemistry.
As long as no facilities were available for obtaining systematic instruction in
chemistry, Chemistry in Sweden had only few and random votaries. But as
Sweden grew to be a great power and was brought into closer contact with
other nations, the zest for chemical research was stimulated, and the value of
chemistry better realized. The so-called Era of liberty gave a great impetus to
industry, and then the most eager students of chemistry were the owners of
mines and iron works and persons otherwise interested in mining. The first
name that falls to be mentioned from among the earlier chemists is that of
J. Kunckel (1630—1703), a German scientist who had been called to Sweden
from Rendsburg (in Sleswick-Holstein). Ivunkel’s chief claim to distinction is
that he discovered and made public the method for the preparation of
phosphorus, which had hitherto been jealously guarded as a secret of the crafe.
Furthermore, he achieved several other important discoveries in the technique
of chemistry; he was a glass-maker, and discovered the process for bone-glass
and for ruby glass. — U. Hjärne (1641—1724) gave the first impetus to the
investigation and profitable use of Swedish mineral waters, described formic
acid, and formulated a theory to explain how it comes that metals increase in
weight when calcined in air. It was at his’ suggestion that Charles XI, in
1685, opened an experimental laboratory at Stockholm where experiments,
chiefly in the interest of Mining, were conducted at State expense. Hjärne
himself was nominated superintendent of this institution, which was one of the
first State-aided laboratories on record. — G. Brandt (1694—1768) distinguished
himself by discovering cobalt, and Ii. T. Scheffer (1710—59) was famous for
his studies of platinum.
The establishment of the first Swedish Chair of Chemistry, at Uppsala, in
1750, ushered in a new period, which was marked by a more methodical and
more rigorously scientific study of chemistry. The decidedly practical tenour
of the preceding epoch was at first discernible even in the new era; but as
that era approached its meridian, pure chemistry found her votaries, and found
them among scientists of high standing. In theoretical chemistry the doctrine
of phlogiston still held undivided sway. A characteristic note of the period is
the assiduous attention paid to blowpipe analysis.
Even in this brief review one must not pass over J. G. Wallerius (1709—
85), the founder of agricultural chemistry, and A. F. Cronstedt (1722—65),
the discoverer of nickel. But the first names of lustre are those of Bergman
and Scheele. — T. O. Bergman (1735—84) laid the foundations of the modern
theory of chemical reaction and of qualitative analysis by means of aqueous
solutions, and also paved the way for the study of quantitative analysis; discovered the
method of analysing insoluble substances by fusion with alkali carbonates;
■converted blow-pipe chemistry to new uses; and endeavoured to express the
degree of chemical affinity in bodies by drawing up a large number of "Affinity
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
