Category Great Scientific Discoveries

          Methanol also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, or wood spirit was formerly produced by the destructive distillation of wood, that is, the decomposition of wood by heating it in the absence of air.

          It has been in use since ancient times. For instance, methanol obtained from wood was one of the different substances used by ancient Egyptians for embalming. This clear, flammable, and toxic liquid can cause blindness, if repeatedly inhaled or ingested.

          The older names for methanol such as spirit of wood and wood alcohol came into use because it is a by-product of distillation of wood, a process discovered by an Irish chemist named Robert Boyle. He synthesised pure methanol in 1661.

          Nowadays, carbon monoxide gas is combined directly with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst for methanol preparation. However, syngas, which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide derived from biomass, is more commonly used for methanol production.

          Pure methanol is an important material in chemical synthesis. It is used in rocket fuel and added to fuel mixtures to stretch the life of gasoline.

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          In 1669, a chemist named Hennig Brand in Germany prepared a luminous substance from urine. He called it ‘cold fire’ as it glowed in the dark. This substance was phosphorus.

          The name phosphorus is derived from the Greek word ‘phosphoros’, which means “bringer of light.”

          Like other non-metals, pure phosphorus can assume different forms. There are several phosphorus allotropes. Four common forms are white, red, violet, and black phosphorus. Brand had discovered white phosphorus. He was extremely secretive about the method he used to produce phosphorus from urine. Ultimately, he sold the recipe to D. Krafft, a commercial agent from Dresden, Germany. A few years later, Johann Kunckel in Sweden managed to make phosphorus. Robert Boyle in London followed suit.

          The forerunner of modern matches was first introduced by Robert Boyle who used phosphorus to ignite sulphur-tipped wooden splints in 1680.

          Phosphorus is essential for life. It is a component of DNA, RNA, ATP, and phospholipids. Phosphate also serves as a great fertilizer.

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          Carbon dioxide was the first gas to be identified as a component of the air around us. Its effects were observed long before scientists understood the function of carbon dioxide.

          Around 1640, the Flemish scientist Jan Baptist van Helmont discovered that air was not composed of a single substance as previously understood and there were vapours different from air. He coined the term ‘gas’ to describe these vapours.

          The gas given off by burning wood was collected, and Helmont called it ‘gas sylvestre’. It was later understood that this gas was carbon dioxide.

          A more substantial study of carbon dioxide was done by the British chemist Joseph Black through systematic investigation. In 1756, Black discovered that heating carbonates resulted in the release of carbon dioxide. In 1783, French physicist Pierre Laplace demonstrated that oxygen from the air is used to burn carbon stored in the body and produce the carbon dioxide in exhaled breath.

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          Robert Boyle had synthesized hydrogen gas while experimenting with iron and acids in 1671.

          However, it was recognized as a distinct element only in 1766 by Henry Cavendish. Hydrogen gas was produced when Cavendish dissolved metal in sulphuric acid. He first found that hydrogen is lighter than any other gas. Later, he confirmed that hydrogen forms water when it burns. This property inspired the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier to use the Greek term ‘hydrogen’ which means ‘water maker’ to describe it.

          Found abundantly in living matter, plants and animals, hydrogen is one of the most important elements. Hydrogen is found almost everywhere.

          We have it all around us in the form of water, fats and proteins. But it is also found in stars and giant planets. Even the sun is mostly made up of hydrogen. Inside the sun and other stars, hydrogen atoms are converted to helium atoms due to intense pressure. This process is called fusion.

          Hydrogen is used to make ammonia for fertilizers. In rocket fuel, liquid hydrogen is combined with liquid oxygen to produce a powerful explosion.

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          Joseph Priestley discovered a gas in the late 1770s. Sir Humphrey Davy became the first human to inhale it and described it “very pleasurable” and called it ‘laughing gas.’ This gas was nitrous oxide. Priestley’s discoveries were published in 1772 in the book Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air.

          Though Davy discovered that inhaling nitrous oxide could relieve a conscious person from pain, its primary use still remained recreational. These nitrous oxide capers occurred in travelling medicine shows and carnivals where the public paid a small price to inhale a minute’s worth of gas. People would laugh and act silly until the effect of the drug ended abruptly, leaving them confused.

          It wasn’t until another 44 years had gone by, that doctors began to use it for anaesthesia. In the early 1840s, nitrous oxide was used as an anaesthetic in clinical dentistry and medicine.

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          Oxygen is crucial for the survival of humans, animals and plants alike. The complex history of the discovery of oxygen began with it first being discovered by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1772. He had produced oxygen gas by heating mercuric oxide and various nitrates. As it was the only known agent to support combustion at that time, Scheele called it ‘fire air.’ His manuscript titled Treatise on Air and Fire which he sent to the publisher in 1775 contained an account of his discovery. It was published in 1777.

          Meanwhile, Joseph Priestley had independently discovered oxygen as well as published his findings in 1775. As this paper, titled An Account of Further Discoveries in Air preceded Scheele’s publication by two years; Priestley is given priority in the discovery.

          Another person who also discovered oxygen around this time was Antoine Lavoisier. He was the French chemist who recognized it as an element and even coined the name ‘oxygen.’ The name is derived from the Greek word that means ‘acid former’, a property that oxygen does not really possess.

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