Berthollet, Claude Louis, Comte (1749-1822), French chemist, who made contributions to several fields of chemistry. Berthollet was born in Talloires, and educated at the University of Turin. In 1785 Berthollet proposed the use of chlorine as a bleaching agent. After years of skepticism, Berthollet was one of the first to support the correct antiphlogistic combustion theories of the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, although he opposed Lavoisier's erroneous theory that oxygen is the fundamental acidifying principle. With Lavoisier and others, Berthollet helped devise a new system of chemical nomenclature in 1787 that is the basis of the system currently used. He made important contributions to the knowledge of the chemistry of explosives and the metallurgy of iron. Berthollet's significant work, Essai de statique chimique (Essay on the State of Chemistry, 2 volumes, 1803), presented his theories on chemical affinity and the reversibility of reactions.
-
A stamp depicting the image of Hanaoka Seishu. Hanaoka Seishu (1760-1835), Japanese physician and pioneer of anesthetic surgery. Hanaok... -
In the N and W United States the era of mechanized agriculture began with the invention of such farm machines as the reaper, the cultivator,...
-
Fluid Mechanics, physical science dealing with the action of fluids at rest or in motion, and with applications and devices in engineering u...