William H. Brock

Squared paper in the nineteenth century: Instrument of science and engineering, and symbol of reform in mathematical education

The paper traces the gradual adoption of squared paper from its exclusive use as a research tool in the early 19th century to its universal use for a variety of purposes in mathematical education by the end of the first decade of this century. Three underlying causal factors are explored—the growth of new educational philosophies; the development of science teaching and the associated need for mathematics correlation; and the growing demands of engineering and technical education. Whilst the focus on squared paper is a narrow one, it is argued that its adoption in education generally was symptomatic of a much wider transformation of mathematical curricula in response to various demands which, significantly, arose outside the academic mathematical community.

British School Chemistry Laboratories, 1830–1920

The essay examines the British secondary school as a chemical site in the nineteenth century up until the 1920s. It sketches how chemistry became part of the secondary school curriculum in the mid-nineteenth century, discusses how school laboratories were designed, and examines to what extent school laboratories provided opportunities for original research by schoolmasters.

Ligand: Origin and Dissemination

Abstract The term ligand, which occurs so frequently in the pages of this journal, was first proposed by Alfred Stock (1876–1946) in the published version of a lecture on the hydrides of silicon presented at Berlin on November 27,1916 before the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut fur Chemie.

The Chemistry Department at Imperial College London. A History, 1845–2000

the rationale of the Ortus Medicinae, edited posthumously by Van Helmont’s son Franciscus Mercurius, “who was more interested in advancing his own philosophy than spending a long time making sense of his father’s writings” (p. 47). Through Hedesan’s well-supported reconstruction of theOrtus (with a handy chart comparing chapters), she then convincingly reconstructs his Christian Philosophy in three subsequent chapters concerning “God,” “Science,” and “Man,” followed by a discussion of his applied philosophy. Van Helmont had a profoundly Christocentric view of creation that had deep roots in alchemical philosophy. As Van Helmont thought Christ instituted the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist so that human beings could be regenerated and purified, he perceived those Sacraments in uniquely organic terms, restoring the prelapsarian purity of soul and body. And he compared this purification and transformation to the transmutation of base metals into the philosopher’s stone, both “miracles effected by divine will in the sublunary world” (p. 196). The metal is turned into gold by fire, and the soul purified by heat of devotion. It is not surprising then that Van Helmont maintained while under interrogation by the Inquisition that alchemy could be used to convert pagans or heretics to Christianity. Hedesan then discusses further areas for research on Van Helmont and Van Helmontianism. One of her most striking suggestions is connected to that of Robert Boyle. Scholars have long puzzled over Boyle’s statement that he had “the Good fortune to Learn the [alchemical] Operations from illiterate Persons,” which was convincingly refuted by Newman and Principe who demonstrated Boyle learned chemistry from noted adepti such as George Starkey and Benjamin Worsley (p. 200). However, Boyle was a confirmed Van Helmontian, and Hedesan notes that Boyle’s claim was closely fashioned after Van Helmont, who “similarly argued that he had learned the art of the fire from an “idiot” (p. 200). This leads us to wonder rightly how much of Boyle’s rhetoric was borrowed from Van Helmont, and to reconsider his discourse more generally. Hedesan’s careful reconstruction of Van Helmont’s Christian philosophy is accomplished with a limpid writing style that reflects her clear thinking, her multilingualism, and her powerful intellect. For its summary of a vast amount of primary and secondary source material, its cogent grasp of recent historiography, its understanding of the late seventeenth-century intellectual milieu, and its explication of Helmontian matter theory (which I did not discuss in this review, but by which Ambix readers would profit), this book now stands as the standard source on Van Helmont. I recommend it highly to those interested in early modern intellectual history, medical alchemy, and chymistry.

Early Responses to the Periodic System

and natural history made him a lover of the Alps of Carniola (now Slovenia) and of Italy; and his last years of ill-health following a stroke were spent between them. There, like Boethius facing death, he dictated his extraordinary Consolations. Golinski is an editorial advisor for Davy’s Correspondence, to be published by Oxford University Press, and he uses new letters in his fascinating and accessible study. Unlike Sir Harold he is not concerned with experimental detail but with context, and he succeeds brilliantly in illuminating a time crucial in the development of science, especially in Britain where Davy was a transitional figure.

Friedrich August Genth aus Wächersbach und die Entdeckung der ersten NiO-Kristalle am Marburger chemischen Institut unter Robert Wilhelm Bunsen

The author, a Prague-born German inorganic chemist at the University of Marburg, provides a model of how a research chemist can contribute to the history of chemistry. The study reports on Petrik’s work on the preparation of nano-crystals of Ni(II)O and his explanation of their super-paramagnetism. A literature research revealed that Bunsen’s assistant, the Heidelbergand Giessen-trained Friedrich Genth (1820–93), had first prepared nickel oxide crystals in Marburg in 1845. Ironically, in 1868 (twenty years after Genth emigrated to Philadelphia) James Dwight Dana inappropriately named the mineral containing NiO “bunsenite” and the very different mineral nickel magnesium silicate, “genthite.” Examination of the well-known Trautschold engraving of Liebig’s new laboratory at Giessen (where Genth worked between 1841 and 1843) leads the author to the conclusion that Genth was one of the two hitherto unidentified students on the left of the picture, the other being the American John Lawrence Smith. (The third student was the previously identified Mexican Vincente Ortigosa.) For good measure Petrik also outlines the careers of several other Hessian chemists (including Liebig, Kekulé, and Grieß) and boldly claims Hesse as an important “cradle of modern chemistry.”

Otto Linné Erdmann an Justus von Liebig – kommentierte Briefe von 1853 bis 1867

1819, with a last chapter on his legacy. The early chapters recount Watt’s youth in Scotland and his apprenticeship in London before his return to his native land where he sold a variety of instruments. Russell includes many interesting details about the sorts of objects Watt and his employees made in his workshop, including screws, a machine for adding perspective to traced drawings, and musical instruments. One of the intriguing items from Watt’s workshop is a stamp for the mark “T Lot,” who was a famous musical instrument maker in Paris. Watt, it appears, may have engaged in forgery. The third chapter in particular dealswithWatt’s chemistry.Watt became interested inmaking pottery as a new line of products to supplement his instruments. Hewas not, however, a potter, and in hiswords, his “insulatedmanufactory hasmuch to strugglewith” (p. 94). By 1769,Watt reported that the pottery was going well and was able to make some income. He experimented with different sorts of clays and firing techniques,with a drawer in theworkshop containing the pieces frommany small tests.He also collectedmineral samples, as a box containing a collection attests, as well as glazes. Finally Watt experimented with the shape and sizes of his firing kilns. Relying on David Miller’s argument that Watt conceived of the steam engine as a chemical machine, Russell links Watt’s work on ceramic with the steam engine, because in both cases he saw heat a component of the subject materials. It was the measurement and manipulation of heat that formed the connection. The next two chapters detail Watt’s partnership with Matthew Boulton. As with other parts of the book, the most interesting elements are Russell’s attention to details of the making of steam engines. For example, he explains how iron was forged with a twisting action to avoid streaking or “spills” along the outer edge. The largest machine in the Engine Manufactory was a great lathe used to turn piston rods by combining a number of smaller ones, heated and welded by sledgehammer blows choreographed by a foreman indicating to labourers where to strike with a wooden rod. Drilling was also a laborious and time-consuming process using weights and a flat drill. The work was not only of the heavy sort. Boulton and Watt also developed new precision instruments to aid with building engines, such as an improved micrometer accurate to within 1/1,900th of an inch. Russell also explains the people and skills needed to construct a mill using these engines. Millwrights were experts in erecting engines (water powered or otherwise), as well as the making components to drive the machines. Russell also describes the skills, tools, and techniques of clockmakers, connecting them to large-scale engineering through the mediation of Watt and others. The final chapters deal with thememory of Boulton andWatt after the partners’ deaths, including the final acquisition of the workshop by the Science Museum. Although the main lines of the story told here will not be new to historians familiar with Boulton and Watt and the industrial change in late eighteenth-century Britain, the book contains effective summaries of this material. Moreover, it provides valuable details that flesh out the main lines of the story, all ably supported by Russell’s knowledge of mechanical engineering inWatt’s laboratory. The book is a good introduction toWatt, but can also serve as a reference for people looking for technical details on Watt’s work.

Frederick W. Westaway and Science Education: An Endless Quest

This chapter discusses and appraises the contributions to science education practice and theory made by the Englishman Frederick William Westaway (1864–1946). After several teaching appointments as a science teacher and headmaster, Westaway was one of His Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools (Science) from 1895 until his retirement in 1929. An influential science educator, Westaway wrote several books on the history and philosophy of science teaching. His prolific writings raised questions about the techniques and functions of science education that still challenge us today.

Bunsen's British Students

Abstract Just five British students of chemistry studied with Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–1899) at Marburg in the 1840s, and over a hundred with him at Heidelberg between 1852 and 1888. These pupils were largely responsible for transmitting knowledge of Bunsens instrumental innovations such as gasometry and spectroscopy to Britain. They also voiced Bunsens merits as an outstanding teacher. The paper traces (where possible) their careers as researchers, teachers, and industrialists. A list of Bunsens students is included in the form of a Biographical Register.