Fixed air (carbon dioxide) and quantitative pneumatic chemistry
Aire fijo (dióxido de carbono) y química neumática cuantitativa
- Date
- 1756 · confidence high
- Place
- Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland
- Credited to
- Joseph Black
- People
- 👤 Joseph Black1728–1799
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Black shows with a balance that magnesia alba and limestone lose a gas ('fixed air') on heating or treatment with acids, and that this gas is distinct from air. This inaugurates the quantitative study of gases and he also discovers latent heat and specific heat.
What it led to
- Pneumatic chemistry (Cavendish, Priestley, Scheele)
- Thermochemistry
- Conservation of mass
Built on
- Concept of gas (van Helmont)c. 1640
- van Helmont's concept of gas
- precision balance
Made possible
- Hydrogen1766
- Nitrogen1772
- Photosynthesis (Priestley, Ingenhousz)1771-1779
- carbonated water
- gravimetric analysis