Joseph+Priestley

[|Audacity project.mp3] media type="file" key="Audacity project.mp3" Joseph Priestly – ·  Most noted for finding oxygen ·  Famous Chemist ·  -Priestley was born near Leeds in England on March 13, 1733 ·  Priestley was born in 1733 and raised as a Protestant, outside the Church of England, in rural England ·  His mother died when he was six ·  two years later his father remarried, and the young Priestley was placed in the care of his father's childless older sister Sarah Keighley and her husband John ·  Ill health prevented him from going to school so he was home schooled ·  Like different languages so he learned 10 languages ·  raised as a Protestant ·  Became a minister at age 22 ·  Traveled a lot preaching and teaching ·  During his travels he met Ben Franklin in England, and Franklin encouraged him to study electricity ·  Franklin also encouraged him to finish a book on electricity. By the time he was 33, that book had led to membership in the Royal Society ·  Discovered the conductivity of carbon, electric charge stays on the surface of the conductor, and studied the conductivity of flames ·   Priestley interpreted them in terms of phlogiston—the hypothetical principle of flammability that was thought to give metals their luster and ductility and was widely used in the early eighteenth century to explain combustion, calcination, smelting, respiration, and other chemical processes ·  Lived next to a brewery that sparked his interests in the gasses used in fermentation ·  Discovered that carbon dioxide was being formed ·  Began making carbon dioxide in his lab at his house ·  Found it could be absorbed in water ·  He devised a method to produce the gas back in his home laboratory. When the heavy gas, as he called it, was dissolved in water, he found that it had a very pleasant and tangy taste ·   In 1767, the first drinkable manmade glass of carbonated water (soda water) was created by an English clergyman and chemist, Dr. Joseph Priestley ·  With his successes with the soda water he turned all his attention to gasses ·   Priestley isolated and characterized eight gases, including oxygen—a record not equaled before or since. In addition, he contributed to the understanding of photosynthesis and respiration ·  Proved that air is not a signal substance ·  Found that the new gas he found “oxygen” was involved with combustion and fire burring. ·  He also found that oxygen is the air we breath in   ·   He found that heating it released the gas that would later be called oxygen. He thought it was exceptionally pure and breathable air -- the Aristotelian principle of air ·  For Priestley, science and religion were completely compatible ·  Priestley argued that writing a history of science was important since it could show how human intelligence discovers and directs the forces of nature. The history of science also illustrated the general progress of mankind. //The History and Present State of Electricity, with original Experiments// (1767) described a variety of electrical phenomena and introduced a number of his own conclusions on the nature of the scientific method. ·   On April 15, 1770, Joseph Priestley recorded his discovery of Indian gum's ability to rub out or erase lead pencil marks. He wrote, "I have seen a substance excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping from paper the mark of black lead pencil." These were the first [|erasers]  which Priestley called a "rubber". ·  He also isolated and described the properties of ammonia, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, and carbon monoxide for the first time ·  Due to his open support of both the American and French Revolutions, his Burmingham home and church were burned to the ground by an angry mob in 1791. He moved to London, but the persecution continued. ·  The mob wanted to lynch him and his family, too, but they slipped away with minutes to spare. He lay low for a while and then moved to Lancashire, Pennsylvania ·  He died there in 1804 ·  He published four volumes of Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air, and gathered material for a fifth ·  Many scientists feel that Priestley was not a real scientist - he was more of a dabbler in science. He frequently did not see the importance of his discoveries ·  Sites --- ·   Barr, Scott (1973). //Encyclopedia of **World** Biography//. New York : McGraw-Hill. ·   (1997). Joseph Priestley. Retrieved September, 27 2008, from inventors.about.com Web site: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blJosephPriestley.htm ·   Silverman, S (1997). Joseph Priestley. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from www.phmc.state.pa.us Web site: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/priestley/page6.asp?secid=31 ·   Lienhard, J (1997 ). JOSEPH PRIESTLEY. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from www.uh.edu Web site: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi209.htm

__SCRIPT__ Joseph Priestly was born in rural England on March 13, 1733. His father died when he was just 6 years old. His father remarried when he was eight years old and the young Priestley was sent to live with his childless aunt, Sarah Keighley, and her husband. Joseph Priestly was in his ill health as a child and because of this he was not allowed to go to school. Instead, he was homeschooled by his aunt. Priestly took a liking to languages as he grew up and learned ten of them. Joseph Priestly was raised a Protestant and took such a liking to the faith that he became a minister at age 22. Being a minister allowed him to travel a lot. Through his travels he met Benjamin Franklin, who became a big influence in his life. Franklin persuaded Priestly to study electricity and finish a book on electricity. When he was 33 years old, Priestly’s book was so well thought of in scientific circles that he became a member of the Royal Society, which is the national academy of science in England. During his life, Priestly discovered the conductivity of carbon, how electric charge stays on the surface of the conductor, and studied the conductivity of flames. The location of Joseph Priestly’s home may be responsible for much of his success in life. He lived next to a brewery. This brewery sparked his interests in the gasses which are used in fermentation. He discovered that carbon dioxide was being formed during fermentation and he started making carbon dioxide in his lab. Priestly observed that the gas could be absorbed by water. He drank water with carbon dioxide in it and found that it had a very tangy taste. With this discovery soda was discovered.  Because of his successes with the soda water Priestly turned all his attention to gasses. He isolated and characterized eight gases, the most important one being oxygen. His work also added to the understanding of respiration and photosynthesis. Priestly proved that air is not a single substance. He also found that oxygen is involved with fire burning and combustion, and that oxygen is the part of the air that we breathe. Priestley wrote a book called //__The History and Present State of Electricity, with original Experiments__//. He wrote this book because he believed that writing a history of science was important since it could show how human intelligence discovers and directs the forces of nature. Priestley also made the discovery of the ability of Indian Gum to erase pencil marks, “ I have seen a substance excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping from paper the mark of black lead pencil.” Priestley had found the first erasers. Priestly had a very interesting life. In addition to his religious and scientific interests he was an open supporter of both the American and French Revolutions. This support caused him to be unpopular in England, and his house, lab, and church were burned to the ground by an angry mob in 1791. The mob wanted to kill him and his family by hanging them. Because of this he moved from his hometown to London. He laid low there for awhile but the mob followed him and he had to flee again. This time he fled to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. He died there in 1804.