Paul U. Unschuld
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520257658
- eISBN:
- 9780520944701
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520257658.003.0064
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter focuses on the thesis of Paracelsus in the new era. Paracelsus wrote that there is nothing inside the body that is not observable from the outside, and that is the antithesis of ...
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This chapter focuses on the thesis of Paracelsus in the new era. Paracelsus wrote that there is nothing inside the body that is not observable from the outside, and that is the antithesis of Vesalius's position. Most of Paracelsus's biographical details are uncertain. Paracelsus, in contrast to Vesalius, did not look into the body and he even did not find the words used convincing. The important thing is that he compared the processes in the body with the processes he had seen at the metal foundry in Carinthia, or somewhere else. He had observed that in nature, external to humans, there are flammable substances. There is an underlying principle to these substances. This he called sulfur, the principle of the sulfuric, that which is oily and flammable. Paracelsus knew no chemical elements but he recognized principles of effect. Fire possessed the greatest meaning for him. It was the most important power that Paracelsus recognized to dissociate, to separate.Less
This chapter focuses on the thesis of Paracelsus in the new era. Paracelsus wrote that there is nothing inside the body that is not observable from the outside, and that is the antithesis of Vesalius's position. Most of Paracelsus's biographical details are uncertain. Paracelsus, in contrast to Vesalius, did not look into the body and he even did not find the words used convincing. The important thing is that he compared the processes in the body with the processes he had seen at the metal foundry in Carinthia, or somewhere else. He had observed that in nature, external to humans, there are flammable substances. There is an underlying principle to these substances. This he called sulfur, the principle of the sulfuric, that which is oily and flammable. Paracelsus knew no chemical elements but he recognized principles of effect. Fire possessed the greatest meaning for him. It was the most important power that Paracelsus recognized to dissociate, to separate.
Hjalmar Fors
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226194998
- eISBN:
- 9780226195049
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226195049.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter investigates the interconnectedness of mining knowledge in a wider German and Swedish cultural sphere, and how the Officials of the Bureau began to distinguish themselves from their ...
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This chapter investigates the interconnectedness of mining knowledge in a wider German and Swedish cultural sphere, and how the Officials of the Bureau began to distinguish themselves from their counterparts in the mining regions of the Holy Roman Empire. It outlines how officials of the Bureau such as Georg Brandt and Axel Fredrik Cronstedt created a new type of mechanical, mineralogical chemistry by integrating chymistry with assaying practices, and with the natural history of e. g., Carl Linnaeus. This thoroughly transformed the production of knowledge at the Bureau, and established the foundations of a new cameralist science of mining, devoid of what now had come to be regarded as superfluous speculation, and with a new theoretical and methodological foundation in chemistry and physics/mechanics.Less
This chapter investigates the interconnectedness of mining knowledge in a wider German and Swedish cultural sphere, and how the Officials of the Bureau began to distinguish themselves from their counterparts in the mining regions of the Holy Roman Empire. It outlines how officials of the Bureau such as Georg Brandt and Axel Fredrik Cronstedt created a new type of mechanical, mineralogical chemistry by integrating chymistry with assaying practices, and with the natural history of e. g., Carl Linnaeus. This thoroughly transformed the production of knowledge at the Bureau, and established the foundations of a new cameralist science of mining, devoid of what now had come to be regarded as superfluous speculation, and with a new theoretical and methodological foundation in chemistry and physics/mechanics.
John Chambers and Jacqueline Mitton
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691175706
- eISBN:
- 9781400885565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691175706.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter analyzes how humans owe their existence to the rich variety of chemical elements that exist in the universe. The solar system contains hydrogen to power the Sun; iron and silicon to ...
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This chapter analyzes how humans owe their existence to the rich variety of chemical elements that exist in the universe. The solar system contains hydrogen to power the Sun; iron and silicon to build rocky planets; and carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen to form the building blocks of life. Almost 100 elements occur naturally in the solar system in varying amounts. Some, like hydrogen, oxygen, and iron, are abundant everywhere. Others, like gold, silver, and uranium, are much less common. The mixture of elements has remained almost constant since the solar system formed, apart from changes deep in the Sun's interior. The chapter shows how the composition of the solar system was shaped by events elsewhere in the universe dating back to the Big Bang itself.Less
This chapter analyzes how humans owe their existence to the rich variety of chemical elements that exist in the universe. The solar system contains hydrogen to power the Sun; iron and silicon to build rocky planets; and carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen to form the building blocks of life. Almost 100 elements occur naturally in the solar system in varying amounts. Some, like hydrogen, oxygen, and iron, are abundant everywhere. Others, like gold, silver, and uranium, are much less common. The mixture of elements has remained almost constant since the solar system formed, apart from changes deep in the Sun's interior. The chapter shows how the composition of the solar system was shaped by events elsewhere in the universe dating back to the Big Bang itself.
Hjalmar Fors
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226194998
- eISBN:
- 9780226195049
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226195049.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This is a book about how the modern notion of materiality was established during the period c. 1680-1760. It studies what natural philosophers engaged in chemistry and mineralogy said about phenomena ...
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This is a book about how the modern notion of materiality was established during the period c. 1680-1760. It studies what natural philosophers engaged in chemistry and mineralogy said about phenomena such as witchcraft, trolls and subtle matters, and relates this discourse to their innovations in matter theory. In this way it takes the debate about Enlightenment, which has mostly been confined to fields such as the history of philosophy, theology and physics, into a new arena. It shows how alchemists, chemists, mineralogists, assayers and mining officials contributed to enlightenment discourse about matter by defining some objects as natural and others as out of the ordinary and probably non-existant. It pins an important epistemological change in European culture to the emerging notion that metals should be considered elemental substances, or basic building blocks of matter. It also shows the importance of circulation between different regions and social groups for the production of knowledge about nature. Finally, it introduces one of the most productive contact zones with regards to chymistry, mineralogy and mining knowledge in late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe: the Bureau of Mines (Bergskollegium) of the Swedish state. Its focus on the Bureau’s role in transnational knowledge exchanges opens up new perspectives on the relationship between science and the central philosophical debates of the late seventeenth- and eighteenth century.Less
This is a book about how the modern notion of materiality was established during the period c. 1680-1760. It studies what natural philosophers engaged in chemistry and mineralogy said about phenomena such as witchcraft, trolls and subtle matters, and relates this discourse to their innovations in matter theory. In this way it takes the debate about Enlightenment, which has mostly been confined to fields such as the history of philosophy, theology and physics, into a new arena. It shows how alchemists, chemists, mineralogists, assayers and mining officials contributed to enlightenment discourse about matter by defining some objects as natural and others as out of the ordinary and probably non-existant. It pins an important epistemological change in European culture to the emerging notion that metals should be considered elemental substances, or basic building blocks of matter. It also shows the importance of circulation between different regions and social groups for the production of knowledge about nature. Finally, it introduces one of the most productive contact zones with regards to chymistry, mineralogy and mining knowledge in late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe: the Bureau of Mines (Bergskollegium) of the Swedish state. Its focus on the Bureau’s role in transnational knowledge exchanges opens up new perspectives on the relationship between science and the central philosophical debates of the late seventeenth- and eighteenth century.
Matthieu Roy-Barman and Catherine Jeandel
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198787495
- eISBN:
- 9780191829604
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198787495.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics
Marine geochemistry uses chemical elements and their isotopes to study how the ocean works. It brings quantitative answers to questions such as: What is the deep ocean mixing rate? How much ...
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Marine geochemistry uses chemical elements and their isotopes to study how the ocean works. It brings quantitative answers to questions such as: What is the deep ocean mixing rate? How much atmospheric CO2 is pumped by the ocean? How fast are pollutants removed from the ocean? How do ecosystems react to the anthropogenic pressure? The book provides a simple introduction to the concepts (environmental chemistry, isotopes), the methods (field approach, remote sensing, modeling) and the applications (ocean circulation, carbon cycle, climate change) of marine geochemistry with a particular emphasis on isotopic tracers. Marine geochemistry is not an isolated discipline: numerous openings on physical oceanography, marine biology, climatology, geology, pollutions and ecology are proposed and provide a global vision of the ocean. It includes new topics based on ongoing research programs such as GEOTRACES, Global Carbon Project, Tara Ocean. It provides a complete outline for a course in marine geochemistry. To favor a hands-on approach, application exercises are worked out throughout the book and each chapter concludes with a set of problems based on the recent scientific literature (with solutions given at the end of the book).Less
Marine geochemistry uses chemical elements and their isotopes to study how the ocean works. It brings quantitative answers to questions such as: What is the deep ocean mixing rate? How much atmospheric CO2 is pumped by the ocean? How fast are pollutants removed from the ocean? How do ecosystems react to the anthropogenic pressure? The book provides a simple introduction to the concepts (environmental chemistry, isotopes), the methods (field approach, remote sensing, modeling) and the applications (ocean circulation, carbon cycle, climate change) of marine geochemistry with a particular emphasis on isotopic tracers. Marine geochemistry is not an isolated discipline: numerous openings on physical oceanography, marine biology, climatology, geology, pollutions and ecology are proposed and provide a global vision of the ocean. It includes new topics based on ongoing research programs such as GEOTRACES, Global Carbon Project, Tara Ocean. It provides a complete outline for a course in marine geochemistry. To favor a hands-on approach, application exercises are worked out throughout the book and each chapter concludes with a set of problems based on the recent scientific literature (with solutions given at the end of the book).
