Chemistry and Cannon: J.-L. Proust and Gunpowder Analysis
1990; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 31; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/3106053
ISSN1097-3729
Autores Tópico(s)History and advancements in chemistry
ResumoThis is the story of an attempt by a major chemist of the late 18th century to develop useful knowledge for industry under government patronage. The chemist was Joseph-Louis Proust (1754-1826; known as Luis Jose Proust in Spain); the industry was munitions; the government was Spanish. It is not a success story in any simple sense; Proust's research did not bring about any change in the manufacture of gunpowder (although Proust rather passionately argued for some reforms based on his experiments) and his work on gunpowder has been all but forgotten. Yet, on closer scrutiny of Proust's career, I came to realize the significance of the gunpowder research for it. Although Proust is best known for his work in analytical chemistry (the enunciation of the law of definite proportions, a basic principle of chemical stoichiometry), he carried out research and taught on a wide range of chemical topics, many of them practical. Indeed, it was primarily through his practical chemistry that Proust was enabled to spend his mature and most creative years in Spain in the employ of the Spanish government. Of central importance were his activities as researcher, consultant, and teacher concerning munitions, carried on when he was professor of chemistry at the Royal Artillery School in Segovia (1785-98). Proust
Referência(s)