Isabel Malaquias

An Attempt to Overcome Alternative Conceptions Related to Heat and Temperature.

A teaching model aimed at promoting conceptual change concerning the concepts of heat and temperature is described. The type of research conducted seems to have great impact on the professional development of the secondary school teachers who participate in the project.

O médico brasileiro José Pinto de Azeredo (1766?-1810) e o exame químico da atmosfera do Rio de Janeiro

Jose Pinto de Azeredo, of Rio de Janeiro, studied medicine and conducted notable experimental research in Edinburgh (1786-88), presenting his graduate thesis on gout in Leiden. Already appointed surgeon-general of Angola, he returned to Rio in 1789 and practiced medicine in Brazil. In 1790 he moved to Luanda, where he practiced at the Hospital Real and founded a medical school that did not survive his departure for Portugal in 1797. He worked at Lisbons main military hospital and as a private physician until his death. His written works (some ten manuscripts and five publications) warrant an examination from the perspective of the history of medicine. In an article published in 1790 on Rio de Janeiros air quality, he reveals the skills of an analytical chemist, his interest in the effects of different air components on organisms, and his concern with air quality in Brazil and Europe.

Aspects of the Scientific network and Communication of John Hyacinth de Magellan in Britain, Flanders and France

Abstract The subject of gases was on the agenda of many learned scientific gentlemen in the second half of the eighteenth century. This was not only because of the extraordinary account that had been given as to the physical and chemical composition of the third state of matter, but also, and perhaps mainly, because of the extraordinary properties that at least one of these gases seemed to offer for food preservation, the medicinal properties of natural waters and medical applications. These putative practical applications were highly sought after by society at the time, particularly for long-distance sea journeys. This paper focuses on the Portuguese polymath João Jacinto de Magalhães (1722–1790), also known as John Hyacinth de Magellan. It shows some specific aspects of his activities as a disseminator of Priestleys discoveries on pneumatics, mainly in Flanders, Holland and France, and through his large network of scientific correspondents.

An eighteenth century travelling theodolite

An old topographic compass displayed in a showroom of the Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (MAST), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, took our curiosity namely because of its resemblance to a theodolite, described by J.H. de Magellan. Not many things were known about its previous history. From the different documents studied, and the characteristics of this singular theodolite, it must have belonged to the collections of instruments acquired for the Brazilian border demarcations undertaken after the Santo Ildefonso Treaty, agreed to by the Portuguese and Spanish courts in 1777. Several instruments were bought in London, and supervised and chosen by Magellan, the Portuguese instruments expert. We present arguments in favour of this conclusion.

Portuguese Amateur Astronomy (1850–1910)

Although amateur astronomers have existed probably for as long as mankind has observed the sky their role has continued to adapt to different technological and social conditions. Throughout the nineteenth century two opposing trends were at play. On the one hand, the professionalisation of science and the rising cost of first class instruments led to a reduced number of research fields available to amateurs. On the other hand, an increased educated population with access to affordable small instruments led to the emergence of a growing number of middle class amateurs who founded institutions like the British Astronomical Association and the Societe Astronomique de France, both of which still exist today.