1. Four periods can be distinguished prehistoric chemistry
What is science?
‘Science is the establishment of principles from which observable facts can be determined’ Kutlesa, 1987
‘Science is a set of observations and theories about observations’ Matsen, 1985
The goal of science is to make sense of the diversity of Nature’ Barrow, 1992
What is chemistry?
Four periods can be distinguished
prehistoric chemistry
Greek chemistry
alchemy
scientific chemistry
The first chemists
Jan Baptista Van Helmont ( )
Grew tree under controlled conditions
Gases likened to Greek chaos
Evangelista Torcelli ( )
air exerts pressure - barometer
Otto Van Guericke ( )
Pump to remove air from between 2 spheres
Robert Boyle ( ) Related p, v, T
Uneasy about old ideas of elements
Published ‘The Skeptical Chymist’
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