He was called the king of intuition. Joseph Priestley remained in history as the author of fundamental discoveries in the field of gas chemistry and in the theory of electricity. He was a theosophist and a priest who was called an "honest heretic".
Priestley is the greatest intellectual of the second half of the 18th century, who left a noticeable mark on philosophy and philology, and he is also the inventor of soda water and an eraser for erasing pencil lines from paper.
Early years
The eldest of six children of a conservative cloth-maker's family, Joseph Priestley was born in the spring of 1733 in the small village of Filshead near Leeds. The difficult circumstances of early childhood forced his parents to give Joseph to the family of his aunt, who decided to prepare his nephew for a career as an Anglican priest. A strict upbringing and a good theological and humanitarian education awaited him.
Early demonstrated ability and diligence allowed Priestley to successfully complete the Betley Gymnasium, where there is now a faculty named after him, and the theological academy in Deventry. He took a course in science and chemistry at the University of Warrington, which prompted him to set up a home laboratory andstart independent scientific experiments.
Scholar Priest
In 1755 Joseph Priestley became an associate pastor but was formally ordained in 1762. It was an unusual minister of the church. Well-educated, who knew 9 living and dead languages, in 1761 he wrote the book "Fundamentals of English Grammar". This textbook was relevant for the next half century.
Possessing a lively analytical mind, Joseph Priestley formed his religious beliefs by reading the works of leading philosophers and theologians. As a result, he departed from those dogmas that were instilled in his family at birth. He went from Calvinism to Arianism, and then to an even more rationalist trend - Unitarianism.
Despite the stuttering that he had after a childhood illness, Priestley did a lot of preaching and teaching. Acquaintance with Benjamin Franklin, an outstanding scientist of that time, activated Joseph Priestley's studies in science.
Experiments in the field of electricity
The main science for Franklin was physics. Electricity was of great interest to Priestley, and on the advice of one of the future founding fathers of the United States, in 1767 he published the work "The History and Present State of Electricity." It published several fundamental discoveries that brought the author well-deserved fame in the circles of English and European scientists.
The electrical conductivity of graphite, discovered by Priestley,subsequently acquired great practical importance. Pure carbon has become a component of many electrical devices. Priestley described an experiment in electrostatics, as a result of which he concluded that the magnitude of electrical influences and the Newtonian forces of universal gravitation are similar. His assumption about the law of "inverse squares" was later reflected in the fundamental law of the theory of electricity - Coulomb's law.
Carbon dioxide
Physics, electricity, conductivity, charge interactions are not Priestley's only area of scientific interest. He found topics for research in the most unexpected places. The work that led to the discovery of carbon dioxide was started by him while observing the brewing industry.
In 1772, Priestley drew attention to the properties of the gas that was formed during the fermentation of wort. It was carbon dioxide. Priestley developed a method for producing gas in the laboratory, discovered that it is heavier than air, makes it difficult to burn and dissolves well in water, giving it an unusual, refreshing taste.
Photosynthesis
Continuing experiments with carbon dioxide, Priestley set up an experiment that began the history of the discovery of the fundamental phenomenon for the existence of life on the planet - photosynthesis. Placing a green plant shoot under a glass container, he lit a candle and filled the container with carbon dioxide. After some time, he placed live mice there and tried to light a fire. The animals continued to live and the burning continued.
Priestley became the firstperson who observed photosynthesis. The appearance of a gas under a closed container, capable of supporting respiration and combustion, could only be explained by the ability of plants to absorb carbon dioxide and release another, life-giving substance. The results of the experiment became the basis for the birth of global physical theories in the future, including the law of conservation of energy. But the first conclusions of the scientist were in line with the then science.
Joseph Priestley explained photosynthesis in terms of phlogiston theory. Its author, Georg Ernst Stahl, assumed the presence of a special substance in combustible substances - weightless fluids - phlogistons, and the combustion process consists in the decomposition of the substance into its constituent components and the absorption of phlogistons by air. Priestley remained a supporter of this theory even after he made his most important discovery - he isolated oxygen.
Main opening
Many of Joseph Priestley's experiments led to results that were correctly explained by other scientists. He designed a device where the resulting gases were separated from the air not by water, but by another, denser liquid - mercury. As a result, he was able to isolate volatile substances that previously dissolved in water.
Priestley's first new gas was nitrous oxide. He discovered its unusual effect on people, which is why the unusual name appeared - laughing gas. Subsequently, it began to be used as a surgical anesthesia.
In 1774, from a substance later identified as mercury oxide, the scientist managed to isolate a gas in whichthe candle began to burn surprisingly brightly. He called it dephlogisticated air. Priestley remained convinced of this nature of combustion, even when Antoine Lavoisier proved that the discovery of Joseph Priestley is a substance that has the most important properties for the entire process of life. The new gas was named oxygen.
Chemistry and life
Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, oxygen - the study of these gases secured Priestley's place in the history of chemistry. Determining the composition of the gases involved in the process of photosynthesis is the scientist's contribution to biology. Experiments with electric charges, methods of decomposition of ammonia with the help of electricity, work on optics earned the scientist authority among physicists.
The discovery made by Priestley on April 15, 1770 is not so fundamental. It has made life easier for many generations of schoolchildren and office workers. The history of the discovery began with the fact that Priestley discovered how a piece of rubber from India perfectly erases pencil lines from paper. This is how rubber appeared - what we call an eraser.
Priestley's philosophical and religious beliefs were distinguished by independence, which earned him the fame of a rebellious thinker. Priestley's History of the Corruption of Christianity (1782) and his support for revolutions in France and America angered the most ardent English conservatives.
When he celebrated in 1791 with like-minded people the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, a mob fueled by preachers destroyed Priestley's home and laboratory in Birmingham. Three years later he was forced to emigrate toUSA, where his days ended in 1804.
Great amateur
Priestley's religious, social and political activities are a huge contribution to the intellectual development of Europe, America and the whole world. A materialist and staunch opponent of tyranny, he actively communicated with the most independent minds of that era.
This man was considered by many to be an amateur, he was called a scientist who did not receive a regular and complete natural science education, Priestley was blamed for not fully understanding the importance of his discoveries.
But the centuries have left another Joseph Priestley. His biography is a bright page in world history. This is the life of an outstanding erudite, a convinced preacher of the most progressive ideas, an honorary member of all the leading scientific academies in Europe and the world - a scientist who has made a significant contribution to the formation of the fundamental theories of natural science.
