It’s quite an achievement when you can make an audiobook about chemistry that is understandable for someone like me. Chemistry was literally my weakest subject in school. I particularly struggled with the lab elements of chemistry, although I also struggled with the math side of the subject. Regardless, I understood what they were talking about in this audiobook, because they kept their presentation from getting too technical.
They talk about a number of studies that preceded the new chemistry. One was metallurgy, which was among the more scientific studies of that time. Another was medicine, which has long had a strong connection with chemistry. Medicine was starting to become more scientific at that time. Many early studies in chemistry were done with medical applications in mind. But the biggest predecessor was alchemy, which was not so scientific. Alchemy is today associated with a certain amount of mysticism, and it deserves this reputation. By modern standards, it was not scientific at all, and wasted much time in trying to turn base metals into gold, and trying to find the “elixir of life” from the philosopher’s stone.
Robert Boyle
In particular, alchemy was associated with what is now called the “phlogiston theory.” This theory postulated that there was a fire-like element called “phlogiston.” The theory said that this element was lost during combustion – that is, when objects are burned. But contrary to this theory, some objects actually became heavier when burned, which showed that this theory was incorrect – although this was not acknowledged until later. They spend some time developing the “phlogiston theory” in detail, because its eventual overthrow was one of the major developments of this period. It was eventually replaced by a more scientific understanding of elements in general – and eventually, by the periodic table of the elements.
Joseph Priestley
One of the major developments of this time was the discovery of oxygen. It was discovered independently by two people, but the most influential of these two discoveries was the later one by Joseph Priestley. Priestley influenced the work of his cross-Channel contemporary Antoine Lavoisier, who understood the true significance of the results. Discovering a new element is a major breakthrough in its own right. But it also helped to overthrow the problematic “phlogiston theory.” I should acknowledge that the phlogiston theory was still an improvement over prior alchemical theories, because it came up with some testable hypotheses. But when these hypotheses were tested by experiments, they were shown to be wrong. They were inconsistent with the results of the experiments on common air, which produced the discovery of oxygen.
Antoine Lavoisier
Priestley clung to the “phlogiston theory” until his death, even when it began to be contradicted by his own evidence. But he still deserves credit for coming up with the groundbreaking evidence that produced this breakthrough. Not many others would have thought to test it in the first place. Nonetheless, it was Antoine Lavoisier who first realized the true significance of the Priestley evidence, and challenged the problematic “phlogiston theory.” This is one of the major developments that they talk about in this audiobook. They also talk briefly about the creation of the periodic table of the elements, even though it was technically after the Enlightenment period.
Antoine Lavoisier
I could go on about this audiobook. But suffice it to say here that it is a great introduction to the subject. This audiobook is part of a larger series about “Science & Discovery.” Thus, I presume that they will cover later developments in chemistry in a later installment. I am told that their audiobook “A New Understanding of the Atom” covers physics discoveries by people like Niels Bohr. Thus, I am looking forward to their account of these later breakthroughs, which had a major influence on the subject of chemistry. The understanding of the atom had an influence upon both physics and chemistry, and will likely be a fitting follow-through to the coverage of this audiobook.
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Part of an audiobook series
Science & Discovery
Chemistry and the Enlightenment
Others to be covered later
See also the audiobook series
The Giants of Philosophy
Others to be covered later
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