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The Sceptical Chymist (Chemistry)

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The Christian Chemist, Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was truly a great scientist. He is guilty for verifying and discovering the proportional relationship of Pressure and Volume for gases by holding the Temperature constant. He verified one side of the Ideal Gas Law (PV = nRT). This work is probably his most notable work. Here he discusses a necessity for uniform language for alchemists, since at the time and before many procedures had been done, but there was much disorganization alchemical language since it was often times secret or "occult". That, however, does not mean that alchemy was disastrous or chaotic, just often times ambiguous or unclear.

Please note that The "Sceptical Chymist" (1661) is NOT the work where Gas Laws are discussed. His other work with the works of E. H. Amagat The Laws Of Gases: Memoirs By Robert Boyle And E. H. Amagat (1899) would be the book to get to see how he derived PV = k.

Boyle followed the Baconian method of induction, which was not that different than the ancient and medieval methods of natural philosophy (science), in the "Sceptical Chymist" since he constantly appeals to experimental evidence and systematic procedures to validate claims and numerical models on natural phenomenon. A big portion of this book is on the procedures and results of many chemical experiments. Here he does controlled chemical experiments with details on the apparatus used, observations made, and conclusions. Interestingly, there is also talk of the Bible and its influence on Boyle's views of nature and how it inspired his empiricism and objective search for truth in the midst of alchemy. He also asserted strongly that general experiments denied the limiting of chemical elements to only the classic four: earth, fire, air, and water. That is, there are more than four elements that make up matter. He also defines the term "element" and views substances as being made of primary particles or bodies (what the atomists more than 2000 years ago called "atoms"). Truly an awesome short historical work of the man himself and gives a glimpse of the progression of natural philosophy a few hundred years back. His legacy is still felt today in process design and chemistry of gases via "analysis". Truly he was following the nature of truth as propagated by the Christian lawyer and author of the formal "scientific method(s)", Francis Bacon. Read Francis Bacon: The New Organon and Related Writings for further reading on the scientific views near their times.

The language of this book is not that bad, and you get used to certain spelling of words since this is simply a copy of an old copy of the "Sceptical Chymist" from 1661. Over all, this is an important work for any Chemist or Chemical Engineer who is interested in alchemy and how Chemistry rose from the Father of Modern Chemistry - Robert Boyle. No one should go without reading the works of this scientific giant.

For other historical papers by notable historical chemists please read Elements of Chemistry By Lavoisier and Mendeleev on the Periodic Law: Selected Writings, 1869 - 1905 By Dmitri Mendeleev and The Modern Theory Of Solution: Memoirs By Pfeffer, Van't Hoff Arrhenius And Raoult (1899) with almost complete papers of Raoult, Arrhenius; and Foundations Of The Atomic Theory: Comprising Papers And Extracts By John Dalton, William Hyde Wollaston And Thomas Thomson, 1802-1808 (1911) and Foundations Of The Molecular Theory: Comprising Papers And Extracts.