Robert Boyle
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| Robert Boyle |
Robert Boyle was a known natural philosopher during the 1600s. He was born in 1627 and died in 1691. He is recognized for his involvement with chemistry and is considered a “father of chemistry.” Boyle was responsible for his contribution to both the formation of the Experimental Philosophy Club and the Royal Society of London. Boyle worked alongside Robert Hooke to create the air pump to study pneumatics; leading to the discovery of air pressure and the vacuum.
In 1662, Boyle discovered a relationship between the pressure of a gas and its volume at a given temperature. It was also discovered by Edme Mariotte, a french physicist, and is known as Boyle’s law, the Boyle-Mariotte law, and the Mariotte law. Boyle’s law was given the formula PV = k, where P is the pressure of a gas, V is the volume of its container, and k is a constant, such as the temperature. The law describes how the pressure of a gas at a constant temperature increases when the volume of its container is decreased.
Boyle's discoveries were focused around the field of chemistry, yet his work focused on experimentation rather than theory. He criticized the prevailing notions of the composition of matter which was the Aristotelian view of matter made up of four cardinal elements (earth, fire, air, and water) in favor of the perspective that matter was made up of "minute particles" that varied in their shape and motion. This was known as the "corpusclarian hypothesis", which was the basis for the modern understanding of atomic molecules and particles. Boyle's attack on the older theories and his advocacy for corpusclarian theory helped push it into the mainstream scientific conscious, and allowed other scientists to pick up where Boyle left his work, leading to further scientific advancement throughout the 1700s.
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| Boyle's Law |
Robert Boyle’s Published Work
New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of Air and Its Effects (1660)
Love the inclusion of the animated graphic! The primary source links are a brilliant addition: thank goodness for digitization of such historic manuscripts and publications. Very clear posting language.
ReplyDeleteFascinating post. I really like the inclusion of the graphic. It certainly helps laypeople like me understand the concept. You mention that Boyle criticized the Aristotelian view of matter. Did Boyle face significant opposition in this, or had the English academy been mostly purged of Aristotelian conceptions of science by the mid-17th century?
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ReplyDeleteIntriguing post! I'm surprised to find out how (relatively) new the field of chemistry is. In another ones of Annie's class I took last semester we discussed how science as we know it stems from philosophy (or natural philosophy), which I found quite interesting. As you've mentioned in your post, Boyle's work was very influential in the shift from natural philosophy to modern science. I find it very fascinating how recent this shift in science has been made. It makes me wonder how science will evolve and shift in the years to come...
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post! I don't have much experience within the field of chemistry, but your post wasn't difficult to understand. Your explanation of his discovery and formula was easy to grasp, and as well, the graphic certainly helped with understanding Boyle's Law.
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