Mikhail Vasil Evich Lomonosov

Mikhail VasiTevich Lomonosov
on the Corpuscular Theory

Translated, with an Introduction,
, by Henry M. Leicester

fa* ,

M. v Tf nmonosov was an eighteenth-century
Ru? polymath who worked in chemistry,
physics, meteorology, geography, geology, and
electricity, as well as philology and history. He
was also a poet. Soviet historians of science
regard him as the founder not only of Russian
science but of much of modern science. Al-
though his works have been publis hed exten-
sively in the U.S.S.R., Lomonoso v 1 s scientific
theorbs are little known throughc * it the rest of
the world, and much of die frfornation about
him that has accumulated ia the literature is
inaccurate.

In this book Henry M, Leicester presents trans-
lations of the papers c >n chemist ' ' and physics
in which Lomonosov aevHcpeJ h i. atomic
(corpuscular) theater, IL Jaaptirgthe cor-
puscular theory of h s day, Lcmci j )sov in some
ways went beyond su n , i contempc rary scientists
as Boyle and Newton, and r : . nr ways fell
behind them. Thirteen of the ftUcn papers are
on the corpuscular theoi^ , ne is a sample
criticism of his works, and JLu h ^ is
Lomonosov's answer to sonu of his critics.
Each is published in English i. lie entirety for
the first time.

In his introduction Mr. Leiceste : iscusses
Lomonosov's life and analyzes I i 5 scientific
theories, examines the sources of his ideas, and
considers the place of his corpuscular theory in
the history of science.

Mr. Leicester is Professor of Biochemistry,
Schc ol of Dentistry, University of the Pacific.

Harvat I University Press
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Mikhail asil ! evich Lomonosov
on the Corpuscular fcheo^r

Mikhail Vasil'evich Lomonosov
on the Corpuscular Theory

M. V. Lomonosov

Mikhail Vasil'evich Lomonosov

I-"

on the Corpuscular Theory

Translated, with an Introduction, by
Henry M. Leicester

Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1970

Copyright 1970 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

All rights reserved

Distributed in Great Britain by Oxford University Press, London

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 73-95927

SEN 674-57420-6

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

The works of Lomonosov are widely known and discussed today
in the Soviet Union, but they have been much less studied out-
side the borders of that country. Fragmentary translations into
Western languages have been made of some of the papers of
this versatile scientist, but most of his writings are available
only in the original Latin or in Russian versions. Russian
historians of science have accorded him a high place in the
development of their own science and have attributed to him
the discovery of many laws which were later developed by other
men. These statements have been disputed by historians of sci-
ence outside the U.S.S.R. It therefore seems desirable to present
Lomonosov's writings to a wider audience, so that a just esti-
mate may be made of the significance of his work. Besides this,
the intellectual ability of the man himself deserves to be better
known.

The papers translated here admittedly show only one aspect
of the thought of this polymath. His works in other branches
of physics, in astronomy, geology, geography, mineralogy, me-
teorology, as well as his historical, philological, and literary
activities must be considered by specialists in those fields. How-
ever, the papers presented here reveal clearly his remarkable
originality and his ability to follow his theories to their logical
ends, even though his conclusions were sometimes erroneous.

Most of Lomonosov's scientific works were written in Latin
and have since been translated into Russian and published in
the collection of his complete works in ten large volumes. The
translations given here were first made from the Russian, and
then compared with the Latin versions for greater accuracy in
translation. I am, of course, responsible for any errors which
have occurred.

I wish to express my thanks to Professor N. A. Figurovskii
of the Institute of the History of Science and Technology in
Moscow for generously supplying me with much of the source
material which I have used. Thanks are due to Emanuel Davi-
dove for his aid in translating certain of the eighteenth-century
Russian terminology.

The frontispiece, a portrait probably painted in the 1750's, is

CITY (M0.1

o 7056308

Preface

taken from Lomonosov Polnoe Sobrannie Sochinenii (Complete
Collection of Papers of Lomonosov), 10 vols., published by the
Academy of Sciences, Moscow and Leningrad, 1951-1959.

Henry M. Leicester
San Francisco, California
August 1969

Contents

INTRODUCTION

1. The Life of Lomonosov 3

2. The Sources of Lomonosov's Ideas 11

3. The Chemistry and Corpuscular Theories of
Lomonosov 21

4. The Place of Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory in the
History of Science 40

THE PAPERS OF LOMONOSOV
ON CORPUSCULAR THEORY

Introductory Note 50

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry 51

Introduction to the True Physical Chemistry 59
An Attempt at Physical Chemistry. Part First. Empirical. 94

Meditations on the Cause of Heat and Cold 99

Dissertation on the Action of Chemical Solvents in

General 119

On the Luster of Metals 138

Dissertation on the Origin and Nature of Niter 149

Oration on the Use of Chemistry 186

An Attempt at a Theory of the Elastic Force of Air 203

Supplement to Meditations on the Elasticity of Air 217
On the Relation of the Amount of Material and Weight 224

Contents

Meditations on the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies 233

Oration on the Origin of Light. A New Theory of Color 247

Criticism of the Theories of Lomonosov 270

Dissertation on the Duties of Journalists in the Accounts
Which They Give of Works Intended to Maintain the
Liberty of the Philosopher 275

Index 287

Vlll

Introduction

1. THE LIFE OF LOMONOSOV

Mikhail VasiTevich Lomonosov 1 was born on November 8,
1711 (November 19, n.s.), in the village of Mishaninsk not far
from Kholinogory, near the White Sea. 2 This region along the
northern coast of Russia was separated from the rest of the
country by vast forests and swamps, nearly impassible in sum-
mer, but easily crossed when frozen in winter. The inhabitants
of this isolated region had never been exposed to the Tatar
conquest nor to the institution of serfdom which had affected
much of the rest of Russia. They were, however, in close con-
tact with the foreign trade and traders, for their ports of
Archangel and Kholmogory were the main gateways through
which foreign goods from western Europe reached the Russians.
As a result, most of the natives of this region, though classed as
peasants, were far more independent and progressive than their
counterparts in more southerly areas.

Lomonosov's father, Vasilii Dorofeevich Lomonosov, was the
prosperous owner of fishing and trading vessels in which he
carried on an active life at sea during the summer. In winter,
the goods accumulated during the summer were sent in large
convoys to Moscow to be traded for the materials needed by the
northerners. Vasilii Dorofeevich's son was raised like most
boys of his class to aid his father in fishing and trading, but
he was early distinguished from most of his companions by his

1. There are many Russian biographies of Lomonosov reflecting the various
phases of his career. These are in large part based on the lengthy biography by
P. P. Pekarskii in Istoriya Imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk v Peterburge (Academy
of Sciences Press, St. Petersburg, 1873), II, 259-892. The chief source in English
is the translation of the biography by B. N. Menshutkin, Zhizneopisanie
Mikhaila Vasil'evicha Lomonosova (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and
Leningrad, 1937), which was published as Russia's Lomonosov (Princeton Uni-
versity Press, Princeton, N.J., 1952). This has been the source of the biographical
details given here except as otherwise noted. Shorter accounts in English of
Lomonosov are given by H. M. Leicester in Great Chemists, ed. Eduard Farber
(Interscience Publishers, New York, 1961), pp. 201-210, and by Alexander Vuci-
nich, Science in Russian Culture (Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif.,
1963), pp. 105-116.

2. This statement is given in Letopis Zhimi i Tvorchestva M. V. Lomonosova,
ed. A. V. Topchiev, N. A. Figurovskii, and V. L. Chenakal (Academy of
Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1961), p. 17. Menshutkin, Russia's
Lomonosov, following Pekarskii, does not mention the place of Lomonosov's
birth, but states that his father lived in the village of Denisovka.

Introduction

love for reading. At first the only books available to him were
theological treatises obtained from nearby monasteries, and
from these he learned to read the Old Church Slavic in which
they were written. At the age of about fourteen, he obtained
copies of two textbooks which were standard at that time, the
Slavic Grammar of Smotritskii and the Arithmetic of Magnit-
skii. The first, in addition to grammar, contained instructions
for writing verses, and the second included a survey of many
sciences of the day. Young Lomonosov evidently absorbed from
these much of the love of learning which characterized his
later life.

Although the boy accompanied his father on the fishing and
trading expeditions, he was not happy at home. His mother had
died when he was still very young, and his father had married
twice afterward, his second wife having also died early. The
stepmother considered Lomonosov lazy because of his constant
reading, and he reported later that he "was obliged to read and
study, when possible, in lonely and desolate places and to en-
dure cold and hunger." Therefore when he was nineteen, he
resolved to go to Moscow to seek further education.

He left his home on December 7, 1730, and reached Moscow
with one of the trading convoys in mid- January of 1731. Since
he was legally classed as a peasant, he was not entitled to enter
any of the better schools of the city; but he knew that he had
to learn Latin in order to progress in any scholarly field. He
therefore applied to the Slavo-Greco-Latin Academy, a training
school for theological students. He represented himself as the
son of a priest, and since he could read Church Slavic, his claim
was accepted and he was admitted. 3 Here he progressed rapidly
through three classes in one year and quickly became fluent in
Latin.

Living conditions were difficult for the students, who were
given a very small stipend with which to feed and clothe them-
selves, and Lomonosov's father refused to help him since he had
not returned to engage in the family trade. Nevertheless, the
library of the Academy contained books on philosophy which
included much of the contemporary science, and Lomonosov
eagerly studied these. His teachers were greatly impressed by

3. N. A. Figurovskii, Lomonosov (Zjjanie Press, Moscow, 1961), p. 6.

The Life of Lomonosov

his ability, and even when they discovered his peasant origin,
they did not prevent him from continuing his studies. How-
ever, they recognized that his interests did not lie in the direc-
tion of theological studies. When, in 1735, the head of the
Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, Baron Korf,
requested the school in Moscow to send twenty of its best
students to study at the Academy, Lomonosov was the first
choice. Only twelve students could be found, but these were
duly sent, and on January 1, 1736, Lomonosov began his
studies at the St. Petersburg Academy.

This Academy had been founded by Peter the Great in im-
itation of the Academies of Science in Paris and Berlin. Owing
to the lack of Russian scientists, it had to be staffed by foreign
scholars, and these had been chosen largely by Christian Wolff
(1679-1754), the leading teacher of philosophy in Germany at
the time. He had advised Peter during the formation of the
Academy and was always interested in its activities. The
Academy was formally opened in 1725, shortly after Peter
himself had died. A number of political figures nominally
succeeded one another as the head of the institution, but
almost from the beginning the actual control was in the hands
of Johann Daniel Schumacher (1690-1761), an Alsatian who
had been Peter's librarian, and who became director of the
chancellery of the Academy.

At the time Lomonosov entered the Academy, it was chiefly
occupied in conducting great expeditions to discover and ex-
ploit the natural resources of Siberia, then newly opened to
the Russians. Almost all the academicians who took part in
this work were foreigners who received generous salaries and
were supplied with excellent living accommodations.

Soon after Lomonosov reached St. Petersburg, the authori-
ties of the Academy realized that no one trained in chemistry
was taking part in any of the expeditions. They therefore re-
quested Johann Friedrich Henkel (1679-1744), a leading Ger-
man chemist and metallurgist then teaching at Freiberg, to
recommend a suitable scientist for this duty. He reported that
he knew of no one who was available in Germany, and there-
for he advised them to send him students from Russia to
study chemistry and mineralogy and so be ready for the next
expedition. Baron Korf at once accepted the idea and ap-

Introduction

pointed three students from the Academy to study in Germany.
The three chosen were Gustav Reiser, Dmitrii Vinogradov,
and Mikhail Lomonosov. Since it was realized that they lacked
a proper background in science and philosophy, they were first
sent to Marburg to study with Christian Wolff. Then they
were to proceed to Freiberg to study with HenkeL

Accordingly, in the autumn of 1736 they reached Marburg
and at once began to study German, philosophy, and physics
under Wolff and elementary chemistry under J. G. Duising
(1705-1761), the professor of medicine. The Russian students
found much more personal liberty in Germany than they had
at home, and they took full advantage of this, leading a rather
wild life and incurring many debts. This latter fact was com-
plicated by the failure of the Academy to keep up regular pay-
ment of their stipends, and Wolff was often obliged to give
them financial aid. Nevertheless Lomonosov in particular was
zealous in carrying on his studies, and his later work shows
how greatly he was influenced by Wolff's teaching (see Chap-
ter 2). Wolff in turn recognized the ability of the student, as
is shown by the interim reports he sent to Baron Korf. Though
Wolff was compelled to report on the dissolute lives and heavy
debts of the Russian students, he and Duising still praised
Lomonosov's diligence and learning. Thus, in August 1738,
he wrote: "Lomonosov is evidently the brightest among them;
he can be taught much by his great diligence and shows a great
desire and wish to study/' 4

In 1739 the three students went to Freiberg to complete
their studies with HenkeL Lomonosov certainly learned much
of contemporary chemistry from Henkel, but found him a much
less sympathetic character than Wolff. When funds failed to
arrive from Russia, Henkel and Lomonosov quarreled con-
tinuously. In May 1740, Lomonosov left Freiberg and wandered
for some time through Germany and Holland, trying to locate
the Russian ambassador who, he hoped, could supply him with
funds to return to Russia. He was unable to find him, how-
ever, and so returned to Marburg, where he lived with friends.

4. G. E. Pavlova, M. F. Lomonosov v Vospommaniyakh i Kharakteristikakh
Sovremennikov (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1962), p. 96.

The Life of Lomonosov

There, on June 6, 1740, he married Elizabeth Zilch, the
daughter of a former city councilor of Marburg. The marriage
was kept secret for several years, perhaps because he feared that
the authorities would not approve of the foreign marriage. At
last he was able to get in touch with the Academy in St. Peters-
burg and received an official recall to the capital. He reached it
on June 8, 1741. It was not until 1744 that he felt able to send
for his wife, who rejoined him in the summer of that year.

In spite of his difficulties in Germany, he had been able to
complete several dissertations on scientific subjects, and to
begin to compose the odes which later brought him fame as a
poet. The high regard for his abilities attested by his favorable
reports from Wolff, Duising, and even Henkel, made a deep
impression at the Academy, and soon after his return he was
made adjunct in the Class of Physical Science. His salary was
360 rubles a year, an ample sum at the time, but unfortunately
the Academy had no funds to pay it, and so he was given the
privilege of buying books at the Academy bookshop for a
nominal sum and then selling them for whatever he could get.

Affairs at the Academy at this time were in a very confused
state. Schumacher had been running the Academy in a very
despotic fashion and had favored the German members at every
turn, Russia was then governed by Biron, the incompetent
favorite of the Empress Anne, but when she died the throne
was taken by Elizabeth II, daughter of Peter the Great, and
Biron fell from power. The enemies of Schumacher (and he
had made many) were then able to attack him openly and
finally bring about his arrest. Lomonosov sympathized with
Schumacher's opponents, since as a patriotic Russian he felt
that the German party had gained too much power in the
Academy, and he believed that Schumacher himself was re-
sponsible for many of the difficulties which had occurred. His
own position was not too strong, for he himself was engaged
in quarrels with various employees of the Academy, sometimes
resulting in physical violence. As a result he was placed under
house arrest and was freed only after a public apology. Schu-
macher was soon cleared of the charges against him and re-
sumed his former position of authority. After this, however,
there was constant discord between the two men, and their

Introduction

struggles for advantage greatly Interfered with Lomonosov's
later scientific activities. 5

In spite of this, the years between 1741 and 1750 were ex-
tremely productive for Lomonosov, and most of his theoretical
work in physics and chemistry and the development of his
corpuscular theories were carried out during this period. In
1745, after completion of his paper "On the Luster of Metals/'
he was appointed Academician and Professor of Chemistry in
the Academy. From this time on he was in a better position to
challenge Schumacher's authority, and he frequently did so.

The enmity of Schumacher had one fortunate result for
Lomonosov. The former had attempted to block Lomonsov's
appointment as academician, and, failing in this, secretly sent
several of Lomonosov's dissertations to the famous mathema-
tician Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) in Berlin. He hoped that
an unfavorable report on them would injure Lomonosov's ca-
reer. Euler had been one of the first academicians in St.
Petersburg, accepting an appointment in 1727. In 1741, just
before Lomonosov returned to Russia, Euler had gone back
to Berlin since he felt that the anti-German feeling in the
Academy made his position there uncertain. 6 He remained in
Berlin until 1766, when, at the request of Catherine the Great,
he returned to Russia where he spent the rest of his life. He
was always interested in the affairs of the Academy, and his
established position lent great authority to any decision he
made. His report on Lomonosov's dissertations must have been
a great disappointment to Schumacher, for Euler wrote to
Count Razumovskii, then the president: "All the communica-
tions are not merely good, but excellent, for they explain most
needed and difficult physical and chemical matters which have
been entirely unknown and inexplicable to the most intelligent
learned men, with such soundness that I am completely con-
vinced of the accuracy of the demonstration. In this case I do
justice to Lomonosov, for he is endowed with most fortunate
ingenuity in explaining chemical and physical phenomena.

5. For a detailed account of the state of the Academy at this time and of the
quarrels between Lomonosov and Schumacher, see B. G. Kuznetsov, Lomonosov,
Lobachevskii, Mendeleev (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningard,
1945), pp. 19-40.

6. Vucinich, Russian Culture, p. 96.

The Life of Lomonosov

We must hope that all the members of the Academy can dis-
play the ingenuity that Lomonosov does." When Lomonosov
learned of this estimate, he wrote a grateful letter of thanks
to Euler, and this initiated a correspondence which lasted for
the rest of Lomonosov's life. Some of his most important re-
sults were first communicated to Euler and thus reached the
world of Western science. 7

During most of his early years in the Academy, Lomonosov
had to carry out such experiments as he could in his own home,
and thus many of his early papers lack any experimental
descriptions. He applied constantly to the authorities for funds
to build a laboratory, but it was not until 1748 that he was
able to erect a chemical laboratory to his own specifications.
Thus was built the first laboratory in Russia to be devoted to
pure and applied research in general chemistry. 8

After the construction of this laboratory, Lomonosov turned
his attention to more practical problems, especially the prepara-
tion of various pigments, and then of colored glasses. He had
always been interested in optics, and in this connection he de-
veloped his theories of color which were among his last im-
portant works in corpuscular theory. However, with the
development of various colored glasses he became interested in
their use in making mosaic pictures. He devoted much time to
testing various mixes to make all shades of mosaic glass, and
the work of the laboratory centered on this activity.

In 1753 he received permission to manufacture these colored
glasses, and accordingly he built a factory at Ust Ruditsky.
After 1755 much of his time and energy were taken up with
the operation of this factory. He was very successful from a
technical and artistic standpoint, but financially the plant was
a failure, and for the last ten years of his life it kept him con-
stantly in debt. In spite of this, he designed and built a large

7. The exchange of letters is given by V. L. Chenakal in Lomonosov Sbornik
Statei i Materialov (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1951),
III, 249-259.

8. There had been a number of specialized laboratories in industrial plants
in Russia before this time. They are descibed by P. M Luk'yanov, "The First
Chemical Laboratories in Russia," Chymia 9, 59-69 (1964). The construction and
work of Lomonosov's laboratory is treated in N. M. Raskin, Khimicheskaya
Laboratoriya M. V. Lomonosova (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and
Leningrad, 1962).

Introduction

number of mosaics, of which the most notable was his "Battle
of Poltava," showing the victory of Peter the Great over
Charles XII of Sweden. 9

After 1750 Lomonosov's activities grew more and more
varied. His work in the field of physics and metallurgy in-
creased, and he began important studies in geography, min-
eralogy, astronomy, and meteorology. He taught a course in
physical chemistry at the Academy in 1752 and was very active
in the establishment in 1756 of the University of Moscow, the
first university in Russia the university which was supposed
to have been part of the Academy of Sciences having never
operated successfully. His literary activities increased steadily.
He composed poetry all his life, but in his later years he also
occupied himself with writing books on the history of Russia
and on Russian grammar. He was influential in establishing
the literary form of modern Russian.

During all this time his quarrels with other academicians
increased. This was especially true for Schumacher, and later
for the latter's son-in-law, I. K. Taubert, who succeeded to the
directorship of the chancellery when Schumacher died in 1761.
Much of Lomonosov's time in his later years was taken up with
bitter recriminations against his scientific and literary oppo-
nents. Thus, although he was constantly planning to prepare
enormous treatises on various phases of science in which he
would explain his whole system in the various fields of knowl-
edge, he was never able to complete more than the introductory
sections of each. Many of his experimental and theoretical
studies never went beyond the walls of the Academy, and were
buried in the archives of that institution. Therefore most of
his genius remained unappreciated, though his earlier works,
which included much of his corpuscular theory, received more
general recognition in his day. The extent of his influence is
discussed in Chapter 4.

The last years of Lomonosov's life were not happy ones. He
was plagued with debts from the factory at Ust Ruditsky and
by almost constant ill health. His quarrels with his colleagues
became ever more bitter. During his final illness he gave way

9. Lomonosov's work with pigments and mosaics is described by H. M.
Leicester, Journal of Chemical Education 46, 295-298 (1969).

10

The Sources of Lomonosov's Ideas

to pessimism, saying: "I see that I must die and I look on death
peacefully and indifferently. I regret only that I was unable to
bring to completion everything I undertook for the benefit of
my country, for the increase of learning, and for the greater
glory of the Academy, and that now, at the end of my life, I
realize that all my good intentions will vanish with me." 10 He
died on April 4, 1765.

A large part of his work did remain obscure until B. N.
Menshutkin in 1903 began to unearth it. Menshutkin devoted
much of his life to the recovery of Lomonosov's writings. 11 As
a result, Lomonosov's prestige in the U.S.S.R. has risen steadily,
and there is a great volume of Soviet literature devoted to all
phases of his activities. To him the Russian historians of sci-
ence attribute the foundation of Russian science. In Leningrad
they have established the Lomonosov Museum in which are
assembled the various instruments which Lomonosov made,
and most of the other items relating to him which have been
preserved.

2. THE SOURCES OF LOMONOSOV'S IDEAS

There can be no doubt that the philosophical basis of Lomono-
sov's approach to science was strongly influenced by the teach-
ing he received from Christian Wolff at Marburg. Wolff was
generally considered in his day to be the chief expositor of the
philosophy of G. W. Leibniz (1646-1716), whose philosophical
works he systematized and published. 1 The philosophy of
Leibniz was essentially metaphysical. It underwent marked
changes as it passed through the hands of Wolff, and Lomono-
sov still further adapted it to his own ideas. Lomonosov's mind
was essentially practical, and he preferred physical models to
metaphysical speculation. Nevertheless, certain of Leibniz's
ideas can be recognized in the writings of Lomonosov.

Both Wolff and Lomonosov constantly stressed the two

10. Menshutkin, Russia's Lomonosov, p. 191.

11. See the evaluation of Menshutkin's work by Tenney L. Davis, Journal of
Chemical Education 15, 203-209 (1938).

1. H. W. Carr, Leibniz (Boston, 1929; Dover, New York, 1960), p. 186; subse-
quent page references are to the Dover edition.

11

Introduction

Leibnizian principles of contradiction and sufficient reason.
These were expressed by Wolff in his early work on logic,
Vernunfftige Gedanken von den Kraften des menschlichen
Verstandes und ihrem richtigen Gebrauche in Erkdntniss der
Wahreheit, first published in 1713, in the following way:

I. Philosophy is the science of all possible things, to-
gether with the manner and reason of their possibility.

II. By Science I understand, that habit of the under-
standing whereby, in a manner not to be refuted, we estab-
lish our assertions on irrefragable grounds or principles.
What grounds are irrefragable, and what manner is irre-
futable, will appear in the course of the following treatise.

III. I call possible, whatever thing can be, or whatever
implies no contradiction, whether actually existing or not.

IV. As of nothing we can form no conception, so neither
can we of the actual existence of any thing, without a suf-
ficient ground or Reason; which shows why it rather is than
is not; as will appear in its proper place. For the present
let it suffice that the assertion is grounded in experience.

V. A philosopher ought therefore, not only to know the
possibility of a thing, but also assign the reason of that
possibility. 2

These ideas appealed greatly to Lomonosov, and he used
them constantly throughout his works. He often sought to dis-
prove a theory by showing that its rigorous application led to
directly contrary conclusions, and he frequently referred to the
principle of sufficient reason in his arguments.

Leibniz, a mathematician of the first rank, tended toward
the abstract in his thinking. He interpreted the world in
mathematical and metaphysical terms. He thought of mathema-
tics as a science in itself, while Wolff, equally convinced of the
importance of this discipline, felt that it should be applied in
other sciences, at least as a method of treatment. 3 Lomonosov

2. The selection is taken from the English translation: Logic or Rational
Thoughts on the Powers of the Human Understanding with their use and appli-
cation in the Knowledge and Search of Truth, translated from the German of
Baron Wolfius (London, 1770), p. 1.

3. W. H. Barber, Leibniz in France; from Arnauld to Voltaire: A Study in
French Reactions to Leibnizianism, 1670*1760 (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1955)
p. 124.

12

The Sources of Lomonosov's Ideas

was also convinced that some form of mathematics should be
used in explaining the nature of the world. In many cases he
introduced algebraic or geometric proofs into his papers, and
he obviously felt that these strengthened his case. It should be
noted that his mathematics was of a rather elementary kind.
He was not a mathematically minded scientist; in place of the
abstract thinking of a Leibniz, he preferred concrete pictures
and mechanical models to aid him in his speculations, and he
was fond of reasoning by analogy from such models.

One of the chief features of the Leibnizian philosophy was
his concept of monads. Atomistic ideas were in the scientific
air at this time, as will be noted later, but most of these con-
cerned atoms as physical realities. The Leibniz monads had
little in common with these except that they were indestruc-
tible and were the units of the world. However, they had
neither shape nor extension and were in a sense force units
rather than units of matter. 4 Nevertheless, in building the uni-
verse they functioned in perfect harmony, since they had been
created originally by God and subsequently worked only in
accord with their own nature. Thus the world existed because
of the pre-existent harmony among the monads. 5

Probably the first exposure of Lomonosov to the concept of
atomism came in terms of monads as interpreted by Wolff, but
he must very soon have learned of the corpuscular philosophy
of men such as Boyle and Newton. Their ideas of physical
atoms and of the world as a "great mechanical clock'* fitted
better into the thinking of Lomonosov, but there was enough
similarity to the metaphysical ideas of Leibniz so that the tran-
sition from a purely philosophical approach to the world to a
mechanical one was not too difficult. It is perhaps significant
that in his earliest papers Lomonosov spoke of his unit par-
ticles as "physical monads," but later abandoned this term and
spoke of "elements." 6

A further characteristic of some of Lomonosov's writings
may have also stemmed indirectly from Leibniz. This was his
evident aversion to Newton. Although he spoke of the "cele-

4. Carr, Leibniz, pp. 83-96.

5. Ibid., pp. 103-108.

6. N. A. Figurovskii in M. V. Lomonosov Izbrannye Trudy po Khimii i
ike; ed. A. V. Topchiev (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow, 1961), p. 374.

13

Introduction

brated" Newton on a number of occasions, it was usually to
criticize some of his conclusions or to attempt to refute some
of his statements. One has only to read his papers to note this
apparent antipathy to Newton, which may have had its origin
in the well-known polemic on the discovery of the calculus.
It may also have had something to do with Lomonosov's an-
tipathy for Boyle. Boyle and Newton were associated in men's
minds at that time.

A direct example of the influence of Wolff on Lomonosov
may also be cited. In his Discursus praeliminaris de philosophia
in genera, published in 1728, Wolff drew up an elaborate
classification of human knowledge, dividing it into three ma-
jor classes: history, by which he meant factual information;
philosophy, one of whose branches was physics; and mathema-
tics, which dealt with the quantity of things. Physics was fur-
ther subdivided into general physics, cosmology, meterology,
oryctology (the science of minerals), phytology, physiology, and
teleology. It is noteworthy that there is no room for chemistry
as such in Wolff's classification. 7 Wolff believed that the true
scientist should possess historical, philosophical, and mathema-
tical knowledge of anything he studied.

These ideas are clearly reflected in one of the first works
Lomonosov wrote after he returned to St. Petersburg, the
"Elements of Mathematical Chemistry/' a thoroughly Wolffian
document. Since Wolff had not included chemistry in his
classification, Lomonosov apparently decided to show that it too
could be fitted into the definition of a science. He began the
work in 1741, and though he did not complete it, he finished
enough to show that chemistry could be treated in mathema-
tical format from the standpoint of mechanics. His definition,
"chemistry is the science of changes occurring in mixed bodies
insofar as they are mixed/' closely resembles Wolff's "philosr
ophy is the science of the possibles insofar as they can be." His
distinction between the historical (or factual) and philosophical
(or theoretical) knowledge of chemistry is taken directly from
the definitions of Wolff, and his introduction of the principle
of sufficient reason in developing his ideas also comes from

7. Preliminary Discourse on Philosophy in General by Christian Wolff, trans.
Richard J. Blackwall (Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis and New York, 1963), pp. 3-19,

14

The Sources of Lomonosov's Ideas

that philosopher. However, his conclusion that "a true chemist
should be theoretical and practical' ' and should be an adept in
mathematics is his own synthesis. To be such a chemist,
Lomonosov felt that the scientist must rely on mechanics. This
view forms the basis of many ideas which he later worked out
in more detail.

It is a matter of some interest and a further indication of
the influence of Wolff that Lomonosov also drew to some ex-
tent at a later time on the final chapter of Wolff's Preliminary
Discourse. This chapter was entitled "The Freedom to Philos-
ophize/' 8 and is a defense of free speech for scientists. It was
undoubtedly inspired by the fact that Wolff had been expelled
from his teaching position at Halle in 1723 because of alleged
teaching of atheism. Although he was later recalled to Halle,
his feelings while in exile at Marburg were certainly strong,
and this chapter reflected his personal distress. When Lomono-
sov in 1754 felt strongly the criticisms of his theories which
had been published in certain German journals, he wrote a
violent rebuttal which he entitled "The Duties of Journalists
in the Accounts which They Give of Works Intended to Main-
tain the Freedom of Philosophers." Though the attack on free-
dom was not here as severe as in the case of Wolff, Lomonosov
felt that unqualified critics should not be allowed to review the
works of reputable scientists which represented their freedom
to philosophize. It is perhaps significant that his article was
published by J. H. S. Formey (1711-1797) in the journal Nou-
velle Bibliotheque Germanique which he edited, since Formey
was one of the chief disciples of Christian Wolff. 9

On the basis of the philosophical teachings of Wolff and his
own tendency to use the principles of macromechanics in form-
ing a picture of the action of minute particles of matter, it was
inevitable that Lomonosov should become an adherent of the
mechanical or corpuscular theory of matter which had been
prominent in the seventeenth century. 10

8. Ibid., pp. 88-120.

9. Barber, Leibniz in France, pp. 131-135.

10. The Democritean atomic theory had never completely died out, though
owing to the influence of Aristotle it was in eclipse through most of the pre-
Renaissance period. A useful chronology of the continued existence of atomic
ideas is given by L. L. Whyte, Essay on Atomism from Democritus to 1960

15

Introduction

In // Saggiatore, Galileo (1564-1642) expressed the idea that
ihe properties of matter could be explained in terms of size,
shape, and motion of the particles of matter. 11 All later
mechanical philosophies, no matter how varied in detail, con-
tinued to insist on the primary importance of these properties,
especially of motion. Gassendi (1592-1665) was most influential
in reviving the old Democritean-Epicurean atomic theory
which stressed the existence of individual atoms, separated by
a void, which by their size, shape, and motion gave the proper-
ties of the visible world. However, he added that chemical
properties were due to association of the atoms into molecules.
Descartes (1596-1650), while denying the existence of atoms
and the void, assumed that matter was particulate and divided
into three categories. The third form consisted of large, dif-
ferently shaped particles which as a result of friction from their
slow motion had worn away, giving rise to smaller particles of
a second matter (the ether), rapidly moving and also subject
to abrasion, which gave rise to the first matter whose very small
particles filled all the remaining space. Thus Descartes denied
the occurrence of action at a distance, since there was always
contact between the various particles. Distant action was gen-
erally denied by scientists of the time. Descartes also believed
that heat and cold were due simply to the acceleration and
deceleration of the movement of the material particles, and
he explained solidity and fluidity by similar mechanical
analogies.

Gassendi and Descartes presented their corpuscular theories
as parts of their systems of general philosophy. These ideas
were brought to the level of scientific theories chiefly by
Robert Boyle (1626-1691). His corpuscular theory formed the
basis on which Lomonosov erected his system. Boyle accepted
the fundamental idea that motion, size, and shape of corpuscles
were responsible for most of their properties. Like Gassendi,

(Harper Torchbooks, The Science Library, New York, 1963), pp. 40-84. A general
account of the revival of atomism is given by A. G. Van Melsen, From Atomos to
Atom (Harper Torchbooks, The Science Library, New York, 1960). A specific
account of the rise of the mechanical philosophy and the ideas of Boyle and
Newton is found in Marie Boas, Osirh 10, 412-541 (1952). For Boyle's debt to
Gassendi, see Robert Kargon, Isis 55, 184-192 (1964).

11. Stillman Brake, Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo (Doubleday Anchor
Books, New York, 1967), p. 274.

16

The Sources of Lomonosov's Ideas

he recognized that these alone could not account for chemical
properties, and so he believed that the simplest particles, his
elements, were combined into larger aggregates. According to
his well-known definition, the elements are the ultimate par-
ticles which are not themselves separable, but which can com-
bine to form relatively simple substances that remain un-
changed through a whole series of reactions. Gold is such a
combination of elementary particles, and it can combine with
similar simple aggregates to form mixed bodies of a higher
order of combination. The simple aggregates are the corpuscles
of which substances are composed, and their interactions and
behavior produce the physical and chemical properties of the
mixed bodies.

Isaac Newton (1642-1727), well acquainted with the corpus-
cular theory of Boyle, accepted most of its essentials, but in his
theory of gravity he adopted the idea of action at a distance,
and a number of later chemists assumed a force similar to that
of gravity to explain chemical affinity. Lomonosov, who knew
the work of Boyle and Newton well, utilized these ideas ex-
tensively, though, as stated earlier, he usually mentioned these
scientists only to criticize some of their ideas. In the definitions
given in the "Elements of Mathematical Chemistry" for ele-
ments, corpuscles, principles, and mixed bodies, we see essen-
tially the same ideas as those of Boyle. They were to some
extent superior to Boyle's, since the latter did not conceive of
the existence of aggregates of homogeneous particles 12 while
Lomonosov did. Lomonosov, like Boyle, thought of the atom
as a physical rather than a chemical particle. It was not until
the work of Dalton that the latter concept appeared. 13 Lomono-
sov's most original contributions came when he developed these
ideas into his own theories.

While Boyle was primarily a chemist, he had made studies
in his earlier work of the pressure-volume relation in gases and
had stated the law now known by his name. However, he did
not attempt to give a physical model to explain his results.
The first attempt to present such a physical model, and to
deduce from it mathematically the behavior of gases, was made

12. Boas, Osiris 10, 498 (1952).

13. A. W. Thackray, Isis 57, 36-37 (1966).

17

Introduction

by Daniel Bernoulli (17004782) in his Hydrodynamica, pub-
lished at Basel in 1738. Bernoulli, like his great friend Euler,
had been an early member of the Academy in St. Petersburg,
which he had left in 1733, and his work was well known and
appreciated in Russia. In his kinetic theory, he assumed that
the pressure of a gas was due to innumerable minute particles
in constant motion which produced the pressure by striking
the walls of the containing vessel. He showed that by this
theory a mathematical statement of Boyle's law could be ob-
tained, and he recognized that temperature increase would
increase the rate of motion of the particles and thus affect the
pressure. He also attempted to determine the effect of the size
of the particles on the pressure at very high compressions.
These ideas must have influenced Lomonosov greatly, for his
picture of the elasticity of gases was practically the same. He
cited Bernoulli directly in his paper in which he tried to find
deviations from Boyle's law at high pressures.

Lomonosov was chiefly interested in the mechanism of ma-
terial change and interpreted the behavior of matter almost
entirely by macromechanical analogies. Therefore he was in-
terested from his earliest studies in theoretical chemistry, or, in
the terminology of his teacher Wolff, philosophical chemistry.
Even when he was investigating a purely chemical reaction, he
thought of it as a mechanical process. There was a practical
chemistry (the historical part in Wolff's terms), and Lomonosov
himself actively carried on intensive laboratory studies of glass
and mosaics. However, he felt that the theoretical, or philo-
sophical, side of chemistry required a rigorous treatment if
chemistry were to become a true science. Accordingly, when
he gave his course in chemistry in 1752, he "ventured to call
this work physical chemistry ... to bring together in it only
what is contributed by a scientific explanation of mixed
bodies." He added, "no one can deny that however little we
have succeeded in explaining chemical phenomena by the
methods of physics, we should properly use these methods with
the same right as does physics itself."

In carrying out these ideas in his course, he also devoted
much attention to what we now call the physical properties of
the substances he was describing. Thus in two senses he was
using the term "physical chemistry" in a systematic and charac-

18

The Sources of Lomonosov's Ideas

terlstic way. As Figurovskii has pointed out, 14 the expression
had been used previously, at least as early 1716 by Kunckel
and probably by others. However, they did not apply it on
the logical basis which led to Lomonosov's choice of the phrase.
Therefore Soviet historians of science have called him the first
physical chemist. It would be well to recognize, however, that,
as Lomonosov himself said, the term to him meant the same
thing as "chemical philosophy/' that is, theoretical as opposed
to practical chemistry and not what the modern chemist means
by this expression.

The course entitled "Introduction to the True Physical
Chemistry" was given in the years from 1752 to 1754 and was
even more an attempt to show that chemistry is a true science
than was his earlier "Elements of Mathematical Chemistry."
The two courses are given consecutively in the translations
here to show how his ideas changed between 1741 and 1752.
Much of the later course is descriptive of the methods to be
employed in studying the physical properties of bodies, and
the short fragment quoted at the end shows how carefully
Lomonosov thought laboratory studies should be carried out.
In this course Lomonosov called his elements "principles/' and
he found in their "cohesion" an explanation of many physical
properties.

It can be seen that Lomonosov drew heavily on the physical
science of the philosophers and physicists who preceded him.
The application of their theories led him to many original
ideas. His chemical views were more conventional, but they
comprised an essential part of his thinking, He was well
acquainted with the writings of the more chemically minded
scientists of his period, and these men usually regarded the
physical world from a somewhat different viewpoint than did
the "natural philosophers." The two leading schools of chem-
ical thought in the early eighteenth century were those
stemming from the schools of Stahl (1660-1734) and Boerhaave
(16684748). 15

14. Earlier and contemporary uses of this term are discussed by Figurovskii,
Izbrannye Trudy f pp. 468-469.

15. Maurice Crosland in Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century
(Transactions of the First International Congress on the Enlightenment,
Geneva 1963), pp. 393-400.

19

Introduction

Stahl accepted some of the corpuscular ideas, speaking of
atoms which could combine to simple, stable "mixts" which in
turn could form larger complexes. 16 These ideas resembled
those of Boyle, and probably reinforced Lomonosov's confi-
dence in his own version of the corpuscular theory. However,
Stahl was interested almost entirely in chemical properties and
so did not even consider changes in weight when metals were
calcined. The chemical behavior could be explained by assum-
ing a loss of the fire principle, phlogiston, and this was all that
mattered. Since phlogiston was a principle which could not be
isolated and could be known only by its effects, Stahl confined
himself to the subject which interested him, the chemical
changes in combustion, and only incidentally considered physi-
cal properties. Boerhaave had a more theoretical approach to
chemistry, but he did not believe that air could take part in a
chemical reaction, a belief shared by Lomonosov. He believed
with Boyle that fire consisted of particles of fire material. Of
course, Boyle, as part of his mechanical philosophy, thought
that heat was due to rapid motion of the fire particles, since
they were smaller than other particles and so could move faster.

Lomonosov drew on the ideas of all these men for his chem-
ical and mechanical theories, accepting and rejecting portions
of their thought as he wished. It is sometimes possible to
judge the importance which Lomonosov attributed to the work
of various scientists by noting the number of citations of their
papers which he gives. He was not in the habit of citing the
work of others very often, and so when he did cite them, he
must have felt their work was important. He was most strongly
impressed by Stahl and Boerhaave, if we may judge by the
number of his references to them. He quoted Stahl directly
seventeen times and Boerhaave seven in the papers included
here, while no other chemist was mentioned more than three
times, and most only once.

It has been noted that Wolff did not include chemistry
among the sciences, but Lomonosov had been sent abroad es-
pecially to study this subject. Presumably he learned the basic
principles from Duising at Marburg, but it was probably at

16. H&fene Metzger, Newton, Stahl, Boerhaave et la doctrine chimique
(Mean, Paris, 1930), pp. 121-124.

20

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

Freiberg that he gained most of his chemical ideas, since
Henkel was an abler chemist than Duising, and Lomonosov
respected his knowledge even though he did not like him per-
sonally. He referred to Henkel at times in his papers, but
Duising was never mentioned.

Henkel was a firm believer in the phlogiston theory, as were
almost all chemists of his day, accepting the fact that addition
of phlogiston to base metals raised them to noble metals and
that by this process formation of ores and metals was con-
tinually occurring in the earth. These ideas were common at
the time, and Lomonosov accepted them completely. When he
was concerned with chemical changes, he showed much less
originality than he did in developing his mechanical models
and thus the concept of phlogiston which he held was clearly
derivative. It should be noted, however, that even in his use
of this concept, he tended more to stress the effect of phlogiston
on the physical properties of metals than on their chemical
behavior.

Thus, the studies of philosophy, physics, and chemistry dur-
ing his three years at Marburg and Freiberg formed the basis
on which all of Lomonosov' s later thinking rested. However,
as he continued his work at St. Petersburg, he developed his
own interpretations of these ideas. The continuous develop-
ment can be followed in his successive papers.

3. THE CHEMISTRY AND CORPUSCULAR
THEORY OF LOMONOSOV

The corpuscular or mechanical viewpoint was employed by
Lomonosov in his scientific thinking perhaps more completely
and more consistently than by any of its other adherents. He
applied it to physics, physicochemistry, and pure chemistry. He
disapproved of Boyle's idea of rapidly moving fire particles
since he considered motion alone the cause of heat. He re-
jected Newtonian gravity as an occult quality and proposed his
own theory of a corpuscular gravity material. He converted
Descartes's theory of the three matters into his own peculiar
but still corpuscular theory of light and color. Thus in follow-
ing his papers in more or less chronological order, we see how
consistently he applied the mechanical philosophy to whatever

21

Introduction

phenomenon happened to attract his attention at a given time.

One of Lomonosov's earliest scientific papers, and certainly
one of his most important, was the "Meditations on the Cause
of Heat and Cold," for in this he first introduced his concept
of the three types of motion progressive, oscillatory, and ro-
tary by which he subsequently explained all material phe-
nomena. That he himself considered it basic to his later work
is shown by the fact that he cited it more often in the papers
included in this book than he did any of his other papers. It
has also been the paper best known to Western scientists,
largely because B. N. Menshutkin in 1910 published excerpts
from it in the series of Ostwald's Klossiker*

Since Lomonosov was not concerned in this paper with chem-
ical phenomena, he mentioned phlogiston only incidentally,
and since he was developing a mechanical theory of heat, he
denied the existence of a fire material, the caloric of later
chemists. This has led to a belief among Western historians of
science that Lomonosov did not believe in phlogiston. This
idea was strengthened by the fact that even in his last biography
of Lomonosov, published in 1937 (translated into English in
1952), Menshutkin, who had spent a lifetime in the study of
Lomonosov, apparently still did not like to admit that his hero
could believe in phlogiston. He therefore said that "in ex-
plaining chemical phenomena he [Lomonosov] makes use of
the theory of phlogiston, probably in order to be more com-
prehensible to his hearers and readers who were undoubtedly
acquainted with the basic chemical hypothesis of the time/' 2

Actually, as will be seen, Lomonosov believed fully in the
reality of phlogiston and used the concept in explaining many
facts, though he did use it more in relation to physical effects
than to its action in combustion. This point has recently been
stressed by Soviet historians of science. 3

1. Wilhelm Ostwald, Klossiker der exacten Wissenschaften, no. 178 (W.
Engelman, Leipzig, 1910).

2. B. N. Menshutkin, Zhizneopisanei Mikhaila VasiVevicha Lomonosova
(Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1937), p. 187; English
translation, Russia's Lomonosov (Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.,
1952), p. 156.

3. See, for example, N. A. Figurovskii in M. V. Lomonosov Izbrannye Trudy
po Khimii i Fizike, ed. A. V. Topchiev (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow,
1961), pp. 410-420, and N. M. Raskin, Khimicheskaya Laboratoriya M. V.
Lomonosova (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow, 1962), pp. 100-101.

22

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

In his paper on the cause of heat and cold, Lomonosov
proved by logical argument that heat consists in internal mo-
tion of the corpuscles of a material and, in fact, in internal
rotary motion. It is rather characteristic that in many of
Lomonosov's scientific papers he did not appeal directly to ex-
periment, but rather to general experience and common knowl-
edge, and from these he built up a theory. The fact that he
did not obtain suitable laboratory facilities until 1748 prob-
ably accounts for this in part, but his own fondness for macro-
mechanical analogies would also seem to have been a factor.

The picture which Lomonosov composed to explain his
theory of the solid state was that of a mass of solid corpuscles
cohering to one another in mutual contact. He did not believe
in action at a distance, and so always had to have some sort of
physical contact between particles. For greater ease of rotation
about one another the particles should be spherical in shape.
This became one of his most characteristic concepts. The pre-
vious mechanical theories had based the properties of matter
on motion, size, and shape of the particles. Lomonosov retained
motion and size, but reduced all shapes to spherical and ap-
plied geometric reasoning to show how physical and chemical
properties could be explained on this assumption. He later
developed the idea of spherical corpuscles in much greater de-
tail, but he suggested it in his earliest papers. Between the
corpuscles there were pores of various sizes which could be
penetrated by smaller corpuscles. This idea was also greatly
expanded in his later writings. Heat was due to rotary motion
of the corpuscles, and was greater when rotation was rapid, less
when rotation was slower.

This picture of the structure of matter made it possible to
represent the action of the invisible corpuscles in terms of
macromechanics, and Lomonosov offered a number of examples
of model mechanisms. His kinetic viewpoint permitted him to
deduce that there could be no upper limit to temperature, but
that a lower limit must exist when complete cessation of move-
ment of the corpuscles would occur. He thus foresaw the con-
cept of absolute zero. Further consideration of his theory led
him to reject completely the idea of a fire material which Boyle
and Boerhaave had incorporated into their systems. He criti-
cized Boyle's explanation of his experiments on making fire
and flame stable and ponderable, pointing out that the increase

Introduction

in weight of calcined metals might well be due to "particles
flying around in the air, which flows continually around the
calcining bodies" and that something could thus be added
which would increase the weight.

In the original form of his paper on the cause of heat and
cold which he read to the Academy of Sciences in January of
1745, he criticized Boyle's account of his experiments in very
strong terms. Thus, referring to the experiments on burning
copper plates with sulfur he said: "I am amazed that a scholar,
cautious in other cases, has not here made sufficient study and
does not remember the acid spirit which flame draws from
sulfur and which, penetrating metals, causes swelling and in-
crease weight by its combination/' 4

Such an attack on a world-famous figure by a young adjunct
of the Academy of Sciences apparently alarmed the academi-
cians, for the report of the session included the following
statement:

The purpose and industry of the Adjunct deserve com-
mendation in the search concerning a theory of heat and
cold, but it seems that he too hastily sets about a matter
which appears to be beyond his strength; especially insuf-
ficient is his argument in which he tries in part to confirm,
in part to refute the different internal motions of bodies,
and this the Adjunct himself admits when he wishes only
a demonstration of his special explanation, giving an ac-
count in the form of a syllogism. The opinion was also
expressed that the Adjunct should not try to name the
work of Boyle which is, however, treated with fame in the
learned world, for he notes in his communication only such
a place in which as it were he [Boyle] goes astray, and passes
over in silence many other points where he shows examples
of deep learning. 5

Lomonosov did modify his criticism somewhat in the final
published form of the paper, as shown in paragraph 31 of the

4. M. V. Lomonosov Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenii (Academy of Sciences Press,
Moscow and Leningrad, 1951), II, 95-97.

5. Quoted in G. E. Pavlova, M. V. Lomonosov v Vospominaniyakh i Khardk-
teristikakh Sovremennikov (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad,
1962), p. 104.

24

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

work (see p. 114), but he did not really change the sharpness
of his attack. He continued to be interested in this problem,
and in 1756 he reported to the Academy of Sciences: "In chem-
istry. 1) Among the various chemical experiments in this
journal of 13 pages we made experiments in tightly sealed glass
vessels so as to study whether the weight of the metals increased
from pure fire; by these experiments it was found that the
opinion of the famous Robert Boyle was false, for without en-
try of the external air, the weight of the burned metal re-
mained at the same measure." 6

This brief note indicates that in 1756 Lomonosov performed
the same experiment which Lavoisier later carried out. In
both cases the aim was to refute Boyle's theory of fire particles
which could penetrate glass and increase the weight of a
calcined metal. There is no doubt that this was Lomonosov's
aim, but he never published these results and so they could
not have affected Lavoisier later. He had stated in his paper
on heat and cold, published in 1750, that the increase in weight
of a calcined metal could come from * 'par tides flying around
in the air," and so his experiment of 1756 can be considered
to be an attempt to check this experimentally. It has been
so considered by Soviet historians of chemistry. However,
Pomper 7 has pointed out that this was not the only explanation
offered by Lomonosov. In a long letter to Euler in 1748,
Lomonosov suggested that during calcination the surfaces of
the metallic corpuscles might be more freely exposed to a
gravitational fluid which he assumed gave weight to substances
by striking their surfaces. In 1748 this could have been merely
one of a number of hypotheses by which the phenomenon of
change in weight was explained. However, in 1758, two years
after performing the experiment described above, Lomonosov
presented a paper on the relation of amount of material and its
weight in which he printed in practically unchanged form the
letter which he had sent to Euler ten years earlier. He included
the section on gravitational fluid and weight. As Pomper says,
the problem of Lomonosov's views on combustion must remain
open until further evidence is obtained.

6. Raskin, Khimicheskaya, p. 147.

7. Philip Pomper, Ambix 10, 119-127 (1962).

25

Introduction

At about the same time that he was writing on heat and cold,
Lomonosov also developed his ideas on solution, which he re-
garded as a chemical phenomenon. To Lomonosov chemical
usually meant what we would call physicochemical, and, in-
deed, as has been seen, he was the first to use this name in a
systematic way. Thus, although his theories of solution were
based on his mechanical viewpoint, he entitled his paper "On
the Action of Chemical Solvents in General." In this paper he
reported a number of relatively simple experiments which he
had actually performed, and he attempted to give these a quan-
titative character. Here also for the first time he considered
phlogiston seriously, ascribing the luster and ductility of metals
to its presence in them. He distinguished two types of solu-
tion, that of metals in acids, which was accompanied by evolu-
tion of heat, and that of salts in water, which often occurred
with cooling. In explaining the first, he showed the interest in
the elasticity of air which he later developed in detail. He be-
lieved that air already in the pores of the solute lacked elastic-
ity, but when the air in the pores of the solvent was added to
it, the elasticity became so great that it tore off particles of
the solute, and solution occurred. The heat came from the fric-
tion of the torn-off particles. The calculations which he used
to support his theory did not involve any complex mathema-
tical ideas, but they did show his lack of comprehension of
significant figures. It is not often, in modern scientific papers
at least, that a fraction such as 886,717,312/63,207,309,312 is
encountered.

He thought that the pores of salts were already filled with
water and so, when salts were placed in water, it was not air
but water particles themselves which excited to faster rotary
motion the salt particles, for conversion of a solid to a liquid
resulted when rotary motion was increased (as in melting).
Thus the now more rapidly rotating salt particles separated
and scattered through the water. Here Lomonosov made use
of another principle which he was later to emphasize, that if
anything is given by a body to another, so much must be taken
away from the donor. Since rotary motion of the salt particles
was increased, rotary motion of the water particles must cor-
respondingly be decreased, and so the water was cooled. Thus
the physical effects of the two types of solution were explained.

Following these papers, which belong rather to the field of

26

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

physics, Lomonosov turned to purely chemical subjects. Here
he showed himself less of an innovator, for he accepted the doc-
trine of phlogiston and quoted frequently from various chem-
ical authorities. Nevertheless, he still introduced his mechanical
theories and macromechanical models, and he showed that at
all times he was more interested in the physical than the chem-
ical properties of the substances concerning which he wrote.

In his paper entitled "The Luster of Metals/' he developed
in detail the idea which he had mentioned in his paper on
solution, that the luster and ductility of metals were due to
their phlogiston content. This was an idea which came from
Stahl himself. Stahl conceived of phlogiston not as a material
substance, but as the principle of combustibility, the "fatty
earth" of Becher, which probably did not possess weight but
could affect the properties of substances which contained it.
One such property was color. 8

This idea was expanded by Stahl's follower, J. H. Pott (1692-
1777), who wrote in 1716:

I maintain the most usual idea of the word sulfur, and
I mean by sulfur of metals that fatty and so to speak shin-
ing earth which gives to metals their color and ductility,
which is in part incombustible, and which has its place
with the other earthy principles of metals and which alone
is capable of receiving color or light. I willingly allow those
who prefer the philosophy of Descartes to believe that this
principle is composed of branching, flexible particles made
with hooks or some other shape.

The sulfur of metals, independently of all these opinions,
differs in degree of purity and fixity. For example, in ordi-
nary sulfur, because of the great quantity of undigested
bituminous substance, our volatile principle is superabun-
dant in it; it is more fixed and more digested in minerals;
this degree of fixity and maturity increases in the imperfect
metals and finally becomes as perfect as possible in gold
and silver. 9

8. J. H. White, The History of the Phlogiston Theory (Arnold, London, 1932),
pp. 54-56.

9. J. H. Pott, Dissertation on the Sulfur in Metals. The work was first
published in 1716 and was reprinted in Dissertations chymiques de M. Pott (Jean
Thomas Herrisant, Paris, 1759). The citation was taken from this edition, I, 8-9.

27

Introduction

Lomonosov was well aware of these ideas, since he quoted
this work of Pott in his paper. However, the foregoing para-
graphs form only a small and incidental part of Pott's book,
which, like most of his writings, is of a practical nature. Lo-
monosov expanded the concept in a largely theoretical manner.
Accepting the theory that when metals were converted into
calxes and glasses by combustion they lost their phlogiston, he
drew the conclusion that they would also lose their luster and
ductility. The greater the phlogiston content and the more
firmly it was held, the nobler would be the metal. Thus gold
and silver, which by analogy with the baser metals also owed
their luster and ductility to phlogiston, had to hold the latter
more firmly, since they could not easily be converted to calxes.
He was convinced that metals were continually being formed
in the earth by gain of phlogiston from sulfur or arsenic (sul-
fur was a compound of vitriolic acid with phlogiston). When
iron was treated with an acid, an inflammable vapor was given
off "which is nothing else than phlogiston" (an anticipation of
Cavendish, who also considered hydrogen to be phlogiston).
He thought it should be possible to transmute metals by addi-
tion of phlogiston to them. Thus, Lomonosov's chemical the-
ories were those common in his day which he had learned from
Henkel, but he never stressed the role of phlogiston in com-
bustion very heavily.

All the papers discussed up to this point were published in
Latin in the journals of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sci-
ences, which circulated generally among scientists of the time.
The next paper to be considered was not so well known, since
it was submitted to the Berlin Academy of Sciences in compe-
tition for a prize which Lomonosov did not win. Nevertheless
it was read and approved by Euler and must also have been
discussed when the award of the prize was being considered.
Thus it was not as unavailable in the West as were many of
Lomonosov's writings, which reached only the members of
the St. Petersburg Academy who heard them read. The paper
was "On the Origin and Nature of Niter," and it is the only
one in which Lomonosov attempted a purely chemical discus-
sion of the composition of a substance. It is well to consider
it in the light of his basic theories and those of his time.

28

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

The production of potassium nitrate, then called saltpeter
or niter, was of great importance in the eighteenth century
because of its use in gunpowder. It was usually obtained by
scraping the white efflorescence from walls of buildings located
near piles of putrefying animal or vegetable materials, and so
it was assumed that lime and "urinous salt" (ammoniacal com-
pounds) were among its constituents. The production in the
first half of the century was largely confined to Sweden and
Germany. 10

At the beginning of the century Stahl had recognized that
niter was a salt, and he considered that the acid portion was
vitriolic acid, the closest approach to the universal acid, but
modified by the addition of phlogiston which came from the
putrefying materials. This modified acid was the spirit of niter
which combined with an alkali to give niter itself. 11 This the-
ory was accepted until after the death of Lomonosov, when
Abraham Granit in 1771 denied that nitric acid was a mod-
ification of sulfuric acid and also denied that volatile alkali
(ammonia) or lime entered into the composition of niter. He
emphasized the need for a strong circulation of air in the
manufacturing process. 12 Thus the theory first proposed by
Stahl dominated in 1748.

In that year the Berlin Academy of Sciences offered a prize
for the best dissertation on the origin and nature of niter. At
the suggestion of Euler, Lomonosov submitted a long paper
on this subject, but his essay was passed over, and the prize
was given to a certain Dr. Pietsch who, as his essay showed,
was a practical chemist long associated with the manufacture
of niter. It is of interest to compare the two essays, since the
choice of the Academy well illustrates how contemporary chem-

10. By 1776 France realized how backward it was in such production, and a
commission was appointed by the Paris Academy of Sciences to rectify the matter.
The members of the commission were Macquer, d'Arcet, Lavoisier, Sage, and
Bamne". They began their work by making a historical survey of theories of the
composition of niter and practical methods of its production. This was published
as Recueil de mtmoires et d' observations sur la formation et sur la fabrication
du Salpetre (Chez Lacombe, Paris, 1776). This work contained translations of
many papers on niter.

11. Ibid., pp. 20-21.

12. Ibid., pp, 403-456.

29

Introduction

ists felt when they had to choose between a practical chemical
approach and a highly theoretical paper utilizing speculative
mechanical principles to explain chemical facts. 13

Both authors assume the Stahl theory of spirit of niter as a
modified sulfuric acid and its combination with a fixed alkali.
Both are concerned with the attempt to determine the propor-
tions of each constituent in niter, though neither is able to do
more than speculate on these proportions. Both describe the
actual methods for preparing niter. Beyond this, the two papers
differ completely in essence. Pietsch is entirely practical. He
uses experiments to verify all his statements. He assumes that
the lime which he believes is required is used to form "crude
niter'' which is first formed on nitrifying walls, and then this
crude niter reacts with fixed alkali (either spirit of tartar, po-
tassium carbonate, to give "prismatic niter/' or marine salt,
to give cubic niter). 14 He supported this view by a number
of experiments which, in view of the impurities in the mate-
rials he was using, are of high quality. Throughout his essay
he appealed always to his own experiments, and he remarks
at one point: "To wish to demonstrate in chemistry without
experiments is to wish to construct a building without a foun-
dation." 15

In contrast, Lomonosov reported hardly any experiments,
and when he did report any, they were not his own. Instead
he began his essay with a general part explaining his basic
principles of chemical combination in terms of a mechanical
model of cog wheels interacting with one another. He went on
to develop the theory of the nature of nitric acid in a way sim-
ilar to but more detailed than that used by Pietsch, but his
theory of the nature of the alkaline portion of niter was much
more complicated. He assumed that the alkaline earth, which
he also believed was an essential part of the alkali, was mod-
ified by the presence of some acid material and phlogiston. He

13. The Pietsch essay was published in Berlin in 1750 as a pamphlet in
French. The full text is given in Recueil de memoir es, pp. 163-214.

14. Potassium and sodium nitrates were distinguished by their crystal forms.
See M. P. Crosland, Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry (Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1962), p. 76.

15. Recueil de memoires, p. 182.

30

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

used his corpuscular Ideas even to explain the crystal form of
niter. His description of the actual manufacture of niter was
more detailed than that of Pietsch, and each step was explained
on theoretical grounds. It is easy to see why the Berlin Acad-
emy gave the prize to Pietsch, for his paper was very clear and
straightforward and its experimental approach must have been
appealing, while the often involved explanations of Lomonosov
and his use of mechanical analogies must have struck the mem-
bers of the award jury as being too sophisticated. Nevertheless
this essay, with its wide-ranging speculation and its often deep
logic, shows how Lomonosov could accept the phlogiston the-
ory and yet go beyond it into wholly new concepts of science.

The only other paper entirely on chemistry which Lomono-
sov prepared was his "Oration on the Use of Chemistry/' and
this was not a piece of original research. It was a formal ora-
tion prepared for the name day of the Empress Elizabeth,
daughter of Peter the Great, and it is full of flattering allu-
sions to her and of the poetic and rhetorical language which
was expected at that time in a formal address. It does, how-
ever, reflect in some respects the expansion of Lomonosov's
scientific interests. Thus, he now adds optics to the mechanics
and mathematics which the chemist should know, and he shows
interest in color, specifically mentioning colored glass and mo-
saics. Since at this time (1751) he was making his studies on
the preparation of colored glasses for mosaic pictures, and was
developing his own theory of color which he presented in 1754,
these references are understandable. Of course, he did not fail
to mention rotary motion as the cause of heat, for this was al-
ways on his mind. Of interest is his claim that the invention of
gunpowder had mitigated the horrors of war. This was not the
only time that the invention of a new weapon had been seen
as a deterrent to war.

Beginning in 1748, Lomonosov became more and more in-
terested in the physical consequences of his kinetic view of
the behavior of corpuscles. His earlier papers had shown that
he was interested in the elastic property of air, which, in com-
mon with his contemporaries, he regarded as a purely physical
substance unable to enter into chemical reactions. Boyle had
made some attempt to develop a kinetic theory of the elasticity

51

Introduction

of air, but had not pursued it. 16 Bernoulli had attempted a
mathematical treatment of this phenomenon. Lomonosov per-
ceived most of the implications of such a theory. Pneumatic
chemistry was beginning to develop at this time, but there is
no indication that Lomonosov was in any way involved in this.
Therefore he was justified from his point of view in assuming
that "those particles of air which produce elasticity, tending
to separate from each other, lack any complexity and organized
structure," but being unable to undergo any changes, can safely
be called "atoms" as distinct from corpuscles or mixed bodies
which, like our molecules, have structures specific to them and
can undergo changes, that is, chemical reactions. However, the
atoms do cause heat in other bodies, that is, excite them to
rotary motion, and so these atoms are probably spheres with
roughened surfaces which can excite heat by friction. Since
there is no action at a distance ("one body cannot act directly
on another without contact with it"), but air can be strongly
compressed, there must be spaces between the atoms, and these
atoms must be moving randomly in this space and striking
each other with a following rebound which drives them apart.
Once again a macromechanical model supplied Lomonosov
with an explanation for his theory. It was the rough surfaces
of the rotating atoms which caused their mutual repulsion on
contact, and the higher the temperature, that is, the faster their
rotation, the greater would be the force of their rebound and
the greater the elasticity of the air. As usual, Lomonosov then
proceeded to explain a number of other observations as a re-
sult of his kinetic theory, in general quite correctly.

When Lomonosov read this paper before the Academy of
Sciences, his colleague Richmann pointed out that this theory
did not explain the relation between the elasticity of air and
its density. Lomonosov was not sure that the relation expressed
by Boyle's law was entirely correct, and so he devoted a year
to an experimental attempt to test it. Unfortunately, he based
his experiments on the false premise that the expansion of ice
when water froze was due to liberation of air from the pores
of the water at the moment of freezing, and that this accounted
for the expansion which could break the vessel in which the

16. Marie Boas, Osiris 20, 476-477 (1952).

32

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

freezing occurred. He therefore believed that he could measure
the elasticity of air by measuring the force required to break
the vessel. Thus his experiments and the calculations which he
based on them were without significance. However, he did con-
clude from his mechanical model that when the air is greatly
compressed, its density is not proportional to its elasticity. Thus
he gave a model to show the effect of particle size on compress-
ibility, a fact which had been suggested by the mathematics
of Bernoulli. He presented this work as a supplement to his
paper on elasticity of air in 1749, and the two papers were pub-
lished in the same volume of the Novi Commentarii Academiae
scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae in 1750.

In the same period, 174748, Lomonosov considered the prob-
lems connected with density and weight of solids. He took
issue with Newton's view that the quantity of a body is pro-
portional to its density, at least in the case of heterogeneous
substances. He argued that gold and water particles must be
of the same shape and because of the incompressibility of these
substances their general structure could not be different. There-
fore he tried to explain their differences through a theory of
gravity. He denied that gravity could be explained by a pure
attractive power innate in material bodies, since in his view
this would imply an occult quality, and his mechanical bias
made him reject this and consider that Newton, or at least his
followers, had restored this occult quality to scientific respect-
ability. The cohesion of particles, then, if not due to innate
attraction, had to be due to an external blow. Here he pre-
sented his theory of the conservation of matter and motion:
as much of either of these as is added at any point must be
taken away at another. 17 His argument led him to the view
that there is a gravitational material, an extremely subtle fluid,
which acts when its particles strike the surfaces of corpuscles
where these particles cannot penetrate the pores between the
corpuscles. Corpuscles of different sizes will be affected differ-
ently; those with larger surfaces will be struck by more gravity
particles and hence will be heavier. Thus, by introducing a
mechanical theory of gravity, Lomonosov felt that he had done

17. See note 7 above. Pomper has pointed out the overemphasis by many
Soviet historians of science on this aspect of Lomonosov's thought.

Introduction

away with Newton's occult quality. In this discussion Lomon-
osov again repeated his idea that fire is not fixed in calcined
bodies, but their increase in weight is due to combination with
particles from the surrounding air or else to a change in the
amount of surface exposed to the gravitational particles.

These ideas were developed in 1747 and expressed in a long
letter which Lomonosov sent to Euler on July 5, 1748. They
were not put in the form of a scientific paper until 1758 when
he read them in essentially the same words as in his letter at
a session of the Academy of Sciences. Even so, this paper was
not published, but was deposited in the archives of the acad-
emy. Thus it could not have been generally known, except
to a small circle of friends to whom Euler might have men-
tioned it.

Lomonosov's last important paper on the corpuscular theory
was presented in August of 1760 and was inspired by the suc-
cessful freezing of mercury which Braun and Lomonosov had
carried out the previous winter. This led Lomonosov to review
his corpuscular ideas on the nature of cohesion and the struc-
ture of liquids and solids. The paper, "Meditations on the
Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies/' began by repeating the argu-
ments which had been used in the paper on density and weight
against the existence of an innate attractive force in bodies.
Since the latter paper had not been published, Lomonosov
probably welcomed the opportunity to express these ideas
again, especially since he knew that the freezing of mercury
had been widely acclaimed in western Europe, and so a paper
dealing with this subject would probably be read extensively.
He then went on to show mathematically that the spherical
form was the only one in which material particles could exist,
and in his only major attempt to account for affinity, a leading
problem for most eighteenth-century chemists, he showed by
a mechanical model how spheres, in actual contact at one point
only, could have a surface of cohesion. This was greater for
larger spheres, and thus bodies with larger corpuscles would
show greater cohesion, having higher melting points and dif-
fering in other properties that depended on cohesive forces.
He then described in some detail the actual experiments on
freezing of mercury. There had always been some question as
to the metallic nature of this substance, and so great interest

34

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

was aroused when the Russian academicians showed that in
solid form it closely resembled the other metals. This portion
of Lomonosov's paper was therefore the most widely discussed.
It received considerable attention even in the Philosophical
Transactions in England. 18

After Lomonosov occupied his new chemical laboratory in
1748, he began to devote more and more time to experiments
on the manufacture of colored glasses for his mosaics. This
work led him to speculate on the nature of light and color, and
he found that he could fit these phenomena into his corpus-
cular system. He presented his theories on this subject in a
formal oration which he presented to the Academy of Sciences
in 1756. Although once again his language was, of necessity,
rhetorical, he took the occasion to expound his new theories
in detail, and so this oration has more of the character of a
scientific paper than was the case with his oration on the use
of chemistry.

Descartes had attempted to develop a mechanical theory of
light and color, and his ideas obviously served as a basis for
those of Lomonosov, but the latter could not agree with the
direction taken by Newton. 19 In particular he objected to what
he called Newton's "streaming theory of light." He retained
the idea of corpuscles, as he had to do to keep his mechanical
philosophy, but he combined his own version with many ele-
ments of Cartesian theory to produce a very original theory of
the nature of light, and especially of color. A striking feature
of his color theory was his recognition of the three primary
colors, red, yellow, and blue. His predecessors had never been
able to agree on the number of primary colors, and here Lo-
monosov showed his originality. 20 The remainder of his theory
is more notable for the ingenuity of the manner in which he
combined the three-element theory of Paracelsus with physics
and optics than it is for its accuracy.

18. Philosophical Transactions 51, pt. 2, 670-676 (1761).

19. For the Cartesian and Newtonian systems, see R. S. Westfall, Isis 53, 339-
358 (1962).

20. Mariotte had earlier proposed these three colors as primary, but he had
added black and white to them. The relation of the theories of Mariotte and
Lomonosov is discussed by K. S. Lyalikov in Lomonosov Sbornik Statei i
Materialov (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1951), III, 17-32.

35

Introduction

He began the paper with a severe criticism of Newton's
corpuscular theory, the theory of a flowing motion of light as
he called it. He accepted the fact that light is due to the mo-
tion of the ether, a very subtle and elastic fluid "which no one
now doubts/' This was his first extensive use of the concept
of the ether. The idea of imponderable fluids, which stemmed
from the second matter of Descartes, was gaining ground at
this time and by the end of the century was being used by
most scientists to explain the nature of such phenomena as
heat and electricity. These were not generally conceived as
being particulate. Lomonosov also used the concept of very
subtle fluids, as in his theory of gravitational matter, or of
ether in his optical theories, but to him these fluids were
strictly corpuscular, and their properties could always be ex-
plained by mechanical analogies.

The types of motion available to the ether particles would
be the same as those available to the corpuscles of matter.
Therefore Lomonosov considered the motions of light in some
detail. He devoted much attention to a disproof on mechanical
grounds of the flowing theory of light. If such motion was im-
possible, light could not have a progressive motion. Light and
heat exist separately, for there can be light without heat, as
in the rays from the moon. Heat, as he constantly stressed, is
due to rotational motion of material corpuscles. The ether
particles coming from the sun can also have rotational motion.
Such rotational motion of the ether particles can excite rota-
tional motion in material bodies, heating them. Thus light
cannot be due to rotational motion of the ether particles.
Therefore only the third type of motion remains for it. "Since
the ether cannot have a flowing motion, and the rotary motion
is the cause of heat without light, there remains only the third,
an oscillatory motion of the ether which should be the cause
of light." Having thus shown on theoretical grounds that light
is due to an oscillatory motion, Lomonosov went on to prove
this by comparison with sound waves in air. When the rotary
motion of the ether produced heat in material bodies, its own
rotary motion was blunted and only oscillatory motion was
left. Hence there could be light without heat.

Lomonosov then turned to his rather complicated theory
of the nature of color. For this he presented a theory of the

36

LomonosoVs Corpuscular Theory

structure o ether which was essentially identical with Des-
carte's theory concerning the three forms of. matter, though
he did not mention Descartes in this connection. He assumed
ether particles of three sizes, one type relatively large, the sec-
ond smaller, the third very small. He compared them to can-
non balls, bullets, and small shot, and pointed out that a
mixture of these would leave no free space and would every-
where have the same composition, properties characteristic of
the ether. He then extended the idea he had previously pre-
sented several times, that interaction between spherical par-
ticles could occur only if the roughness of their surfaces could
intermesh, as in cog wheels. If such intermeshing could occur,
he called the particles compatible; if it could not, they were
incompatible. He now had three types of ether particles and
three primary colors. He needed three material bodies to be
acted upon. He turned to chemical theory and stated that most
chemists accepted chief and subsidiary materials in bodies.
The chief materials were the three elements of Paracelsus, salt
(or acid), mercury, and sulfur. The subsidiary ones were watery
and earthy particles. He was now ready to combine all these
theories. For each type of ether corpuscle there was a com-
patible type of primary material, and for the excitation of
rotary motion in each type of primary material there was a
corresponding color produced when that type of material was
stimulated in the eye. The optic nerve then carried the sen-
sation to the brain by successive stimulation of the compatible
particles along the nerve much as a series of intermeshing cog
wheels will turn when the end wheel is turned. The largest
type of ether particles was compatible with acid corpuscles in
the material body and when these turned, the sensation of red
was produced. The second type interacted with mercury and
produced yellow. The third type reacted with sulfur, the in-
flammable principle, and produced blue. Other colors resulted
from mixture of the primary colors.

On this theoretical basis the colors of material substances
could be explained. If the surface of a substance were covered
by all three types of particles, the rotary motion of all three
types of ether particles would be blunted, none could reach
the optic nerve, and no sense of color resulted. Hence the ob-
ject was black. If the surface were covered by the secondary

37

Introduction

types of matter, watery or earthy, there was no blunting of
the ether particles, all colors were reflected and reached the
eye, and the object appeared white (this much of Newton's
demonstration Lomonosov accepted). If the surface were cov-
ered mostly with acid material, the rotary motion of the large
ether particles was blunted, the other two types (producing
blue and yellow sensations) reached the eye, and green re-
sulted. If two types of material were on the surface, only the
primary color corresponding to the third would be observed.
Lomonosov was careful to point out that while rotary motion
was responsible for both heat and color, it was rotary motion
of material particles which was responsible for heat, while it
was rotary motion of the ether particles which produced color.
He illustrated the consequences of this theory by numerous
examples.

To be completely consistent in his corpuscular theory, Lo-
monosov felt that he should be able to explain electricity also
in corpuscular terms. He developed a theory of the origin of
atmospheric electricity and lightning in terms of the upward
and downward motion of columns of warm or cold air, rec-
ognizing the importance of friction in producing electrical
phenomena. This was obvious, for the static machine was used
to demonstrate electrical effects in his day. Since electricity,
like light and heat, could cross an airless space, he felt it should
be explained like light and heat as a form of motion of the
ether. In 1756 he began to prepare a paper on "Theoria elec-
tricitatis methodo mathematica concinnata," reverting to the
mathematical format he had used in the "Elements of Mathe-
matical Chemistry/' 21 His proposed table of contents was very
comprehensive. He began with a discussion of the properties
of insulators and conductors. He then showed logically that
electricity was due to the motion of the ether. He proceeded
to a discussion of motions of the ether particles which pro-
duced heat and light (rotary and oscillatory), repeating most
of the arguments he had used in his oration on light and color.
At this point he broke off and so came to no theory of the

21. The paper is given in M. F. Lomonosov Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenii
(Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1952), III, 265-313, and in
Izbrannye Trudy, pp. 273-293.

38

Lomonosov's Corpuscular Theory

nature of electricity. The editor of the Izbrannye Trudy 22 sug-
gests that he may have found it too difficult to incorporate
electricity into his theory, and this seems likely, since he had
already used up all forms of motion of the particles which his
theory allowed, leaving none for electricity. At any rate, he
was never able to extend his corpuscular theory any further
than he had carried it in his oration on light and color.

Although Lonionosov was the professor of chemistry in the
Academy of Sciences, and considered "chemistry my chief pro-
fession/' 23 his theoretical ideas were essentially those of a phys-
icist. Marie Boas has pointed out the readier clear-cut distinc-
tion between the believers in chemical and physical atomism
in the eighteenth century. 24 Lomonosov certainly belonged to
the latter group. However, since he had said that the true
chemist must be both theoretical and practical, it should not
be forgotten that he had a great interest in the practical ap-
plications of chemistry. He was well acquainted with the tech-
nology of niter production, as his paper on the composition
of niter shows, and in his oration on the uses of chemistry he
pointed out the many applications of this science for the ben-
efit of mankind. He contributed greatly to the mineralogy of
Russia, and his work on glass manufacture for use in mosaics
was of significant value.

It can be seen from this summary of the theoretical papers
on corpuscular theory that Lomonosov held consistently to his
mechanical philosophy over his entire active scientific career
from about 1741 to 1760. Many of the ideas which were sug-
gested in his earlier papers were later developed in full detail,
and many profound insights, well ahead of those of his con-
temporaries, were evolved by the Russian polymath. At the
same time, the relatively small number of experiments which
he performed and the reliance which he showed upon reason-
ing by analogy often led him into too facile flights of theoriz-
ing. Although he could suggest crucial experiments, he seldom
had time to carry them out, or when he did, the results were

22. P. 535.

23. Lyalikov, Sbornik Statei, p. 17.

24. "Structure of Matter and Chemical Theory in the Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Centuries" in Critical Problems in the History of Science, ed. Mar-
shall Clagett (University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wis., 1951), pp. 499-514.

39

Introduction

not published. His extremely varied activities, his constant
quarrels with his opponents in and out of the Academy, and
his time-consuming activities in developing his mosaic indus-
try when he did enter the laboratory all prevented that close
contact with "historical" chemistry which he had declared in
his "Elements of Mathematical Chemistry" to be essential for
a true chemist. While we must applaud his remarkable abil-
ities as a scientist, we must regret that he did not devote more
time to his scientific work.

4. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOMONOSOV'S
CORPUSCULAR THEORY IN THE

HISTORY OF SCIENCE

It is a well-known fact that much of Lomonosov's scientific
work was never published and was only discovered after Men-
shutkin in 1903 began his investigations of the papers depos-
ited in the archives of the Academy of Sciences. In fact, so
little was Lomonosov's scientific work recognized outside of
Russia in the century following his death that when Ferdinand
Hoefer wrote his history of chemistry in 1869, he could men-
tion "Lomonosov the chemist, who is not to be confused with
the poet of the same name." 1

In the years following his death, Lomonosov was known
even in Russia chiefly for his poetry and his historical and
philological works. This may well have been because of his ac-
tivity in founding the University of Moscow in 1756 which
made him well known to the faculty of that university, but
they were well acquainted only with his nonscientific works.
Hence, after his death, these men enthusiastically praised only
his literary writings, ignoring Lomonosov the scientist. 2

His scientific theories were not completely forgotten by
Russian scientists, but their failure to fit into the framework
of nineteenth-century concepts did nothing to increase his
reputation in the scientific circles of his homeland. When
Pekarskii wrote his lengthy biography of Lomonosov in 1873,

1. Histoire de la Chimie (Paris, 1869), VIII, 367.

2. Alexander Vucinich, Science in Russian Culture (Stanford University Press,
Stanford, Calif., 1963), p. 114.

40

Significance of Lomonosov's Theory

he sought to evaluate the latter's contributions through the
comments of later specialists. He was able to find only two
physicists who had attempted a review of Lomonosov's work.
One of these, D. M. Perevoshchikov, had said in 1833: "We
may accept or not accept the ideas of Lomonosov, but we
cannot fail to see in his explanations a strong and ingenious
logic." 3 In 1855 the physicist Lyubimov emphasized that Lo-
monosov was not a mathematician and said: "No particularly
notable discovery is associated with the name of Lomonosov;
we do not even encounter his name in the history of science.
The variety of his examples which he discussed with bound-
less acuteness led his attention from one point to another and
did not allow him to remain on a particular investigation of
any separate phenomenon; he was always carried away into
the field of theory." 4 With regard to Lomonosov's chemical
work, Pekarskii had to admit that "until now none of our
specialists has taken the trouble to consider and evaluate the
nature of Lomonosov's work as a chemist from the historical
point of view, and so in the present case I have had to use a
rather superficial sketch/' 5

It is not surprising under these circumstances that the name
of Lomonosov was not associated with corpuscular and kinetic
theories after his death, and that he could be hailed as a major
scientist only after the rediscovery of most of his scientific
writings. If we are to look for an influence which he may have
exerted on the development of science, we must determine
how much his work was known to his contemporaries, and
how their reactions to it may have influenced their own work.

It is also important to note his continually growing reputa-
tion among Soviet historians of science. They have claimed
for Lomonosov priority in the statement of a number of major
scientific laws and have tried to trace his influence in the
thinking of later scientific innovators. These claims have been
criticized by other writers. It is therefore desirable to review
this literature in an attempt to assess the significance of Lo-
monosov's work.

3. P. P. Pekarskii, Istoriya Imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk v Peterburge (St.
Petersburg, 1873), II, 447.

4. Ibid., pp. 447-448.

5. Ibid., pp. 451-452.

41

Introduction

The Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg was recognized
by all European scientists as a major scientific institution. The
fact that many of the academicians already had established
reputations in the West before they went to Russia and cor-
responded regularly with their Western colleagues helped to
spread knowledge of the work of the Academy throughout the
scholarly world. The use of Latin as a universal language per-
mitted ready understanding of their papers. Thus it is not
surprising that the publications of the Academy were noted,
abstracted, and commented upon by most of the learned jour-
nals of Europe. These included such major publications as the
Journal des sgavans, the Journal encyclopedique, the Nova
A eta Eruditorum, and a considerable number of other schol-
arly journals, especially in Germany. The discussions of Lomo-
nosov's theories in some of these journals were quite lengthy. 6
This is why Lomonosov could indignantly say of one of his
critics: "He appears to have designed to impose formally on
the learned world the thought that the Memoirs of the Im-
perial Academy at St. Petersburg is a rare work which no one
is able to consult" (see p. 283).

It is true that some of the comments on his theories were
extremely critical. These theories were too novel to be ac-
cepted by the more conventionally minded reviewers in some
of the journals in Germany. 7 In particular, the anonymous
reviewer in the Leipzig journal Commentarii de rebus in sci-
entia naturali et medicina gestis for 1752 attacked all of the
Lomonosov papers published in 1750 in the first volume of
the Novi Commentarii Academiae scientiarum imperialis Petro-
politanae. He was particularly violent in his criticism of the
theory of the cause of heat and cold. Lomonosov obviously
considered this important enough to answer in angry words.
In 1754 a certain Arnold defended a thesis at the University
of Erlangen, "On the Impossibility of Explaining Heat by
Rotary Motion of Particles of a Body around Their Axes/' in

6. References to Lomonosov in the various journals have been collected and
translated into Russian in G. E. Pavlova, M. V. Lomonosov v Vospominaniyakh i
Kharakteristikakh Sovremennikov (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and
Leningrad, 1962), pp. 151-222.

7. Pekarskii, Istoriya, pp. 446-447, suggests that this criticism may have been
partly instigated by some of Lomonosov's enemies in St. Petersburg.

42

Significance of Lomonosov's Theory

which he specifically attacked the Lomonosov theory. 8 These
criticisms indicate that Lomonosov's views were considered
sufficiently important to refute, and the resulting polemics
must have called further attention to the work of the Russian
scholar.

Besides this, Lomonosov was in constant correspondence
with Euler in Berlin, and Euler was favorably impressed with
the work of his friend. In addition to inducing him to take
part in the competition for papers on the origin of niter, he
frequently wrote encouraging letters both to Lomonosov and
to officials of the Russian government, and Lomonosov him-
self sent lengthy reports of his scientific work to Euler. Euler's
circle of friends must therefore have been informed as to
Lomonosov's work.

Popular attention was attracted to the Russian Academy and
to Lomonosov himself when some spectacular event occurred.
The two incidents most commented upon were the death of
Lomonosov's colleague Richmann, who was killed by lightning
while attempting to perform a variation of Franklin's experi-
mental demonstration of the electrical nature of this phe-
nomenon, and the freezing of mercury by Braun in 1759.
Lomonosov took part in both these experiments. They were
widely discussed in the general press and in scientific journals.

Evidence that by the time of his death in 1765 Lomonosov's
fame had reached even as far as North America is given by
a letter to him written in 1765 by Ezra Stiles, later president
of Yale, but then a minister in Newport, Rhode Island. He
described weather conditions in America and asked Lomono-
sov to furnish comparable data for Russia. 9 The letter was to
have been forwarded by Benjamin Franklin, but Lomonosov
died before it reached him, and it remained among Franklin's
papers in Philadelphia.

It can be seen that Lomonosov's name was not unknown
to scientists in his own day, though they certainly did not
appreciate the range and originality of his speculations. Since,
however, his scientific reputation did not long survive him, it

8. Pavlova, Lomonosov, p. 129.

9. H. M. Leicester, Voprosy Istorii Estestvoznaniya i Tekhniki (1962), pp.
142-147.

Introduction

is necessary to trace his influence on later developments in
science mostly by inference. It is this which the Soviet his-
torians of science have done, and it is necessary to review
their reasoning in order to evaluate it.

Perhaps the most speculative argument was that presented
by Dorfman in 195 1. 10 He noted that Kirwan, in his intro-
duction to the English translation of Scheele's Air and Fire,
observed that Macquer had adopted a kinetic theory of heat.
Dorfman pointed out that in his Elements de Chymie of 1749
Macquer explained heat as due to the presence of a fire mate-
rial, but in his Dictionnaire de Chymie of 1766 he adopted
the kinetic theory mentioned by Kirwan. Dorfman believed
that Macquer took this theory from the Lomonosov paper of
1750. There is actually no evidence either for or against this
speculation.

A more important suggestion was then offered by Dorfman, 11
when he observed that Lavoisier might have been influenced
by Lomonosov's theories. The basis for this argument lies in
the fact that Lavoisier in his paper "On Combination of Fire
Material with Evaporating Liquids" of 1777 12 refers to a num-
ber of related papers, including one by Richmann on the
cooling of liquids by evaporation which appeared in the Novi
Commentarii for 1750, and he advises his readers to consult
these papers. The same volume of the Novi Commentarii
contains Lomonosov's "Meditations on the Cause of Heat and
Cold." According to Dorfman, "It seems impossible that La-
voisier could have had in his hands the volume of the Novi
Commentarii and read the paper by Richmann which he men-
tioned without noting the work of Lomonosov." Dorfman also
pointed out that in reviewing the work of those active in de-
veloping the corpuscular theory, Lavoisier and Laplace referred
to physicists who maintain that heat comes from a heat fluid

10. Ya. G. Dorfman, "The Role of Lomonosov in Development of the
Kinetic Theory of Heat/' in Lomonosov Sbornik Statei i Materialov (Academy
of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1951), III, 45-47.

11. Ibid., pp. 44-45; and also in Dorfman's Lavuaz'e, 2nd ed. (Academy of
Sciences Press, Moscow, 1962), pp. 136-140, 190-191. For a criticism of this view,
see P. Pomper, Ambix 10, 119-127 (1962). It is further discussed by H. M
Leicester, Isis 58, 240-244 (1967).

12. Memoires de I'Acadtmie des Sciences (Paris, 1777), p. 424.

44

Significance o Lomonosov's Theory

and others who say it is only the result of insensible move-
ments in the molecules of materials. Though the French writers
mention no names, Dorfman is probably correct in suggesting
that the last statement refers to Boyle, Bernoulli, and Lomo-
nosov. It would certainly refer to Boyle and Bernoulli, and if
the argument Dorfman is presenting is correct, also to Lomo-
nosov. Dorfman further points out that in discussing his cor-
puscles, Boyle used a number of synonyms for them, referring
to them as "insensible," "invisible," "minute," or "small."
Lomonosov, whose view of his corpuscles was very similar to
Boyle's, used the phrase "insensible particles" only, and La-
voisier and Laplace also used this term exclusively. He there-
fore suggested that they took the term from Lomonosov. Much
of this evidence is speculative, but the fact that Lavoisier read
Richmann's paper a paper very similar to one of Lomonosov's
dealing with a subject close to Lavoisier's own work certainly
is the strongest indication that he had seen the Lomonosov
paper. Dorfman believes the reason Lavoisier did not mention
Lomonosov was that the latter approached the problem from
a physical point of view, while Lavoisier was thinking chem-
ically. That this is probably the correct answer is shown by
a closer examination of some of Lomonosov's papers.

There can be little doubt that Lavoisier would have been
attracted by the title "Meditations on the Cause of Heat and
Cold" for this was obviously related to his own work. How-
ever, if he began to read it, he would soon find that it seemed
to be concerned only with physical theory. There are thirty-
five numbered paragraphs in the paper, but it is not until
paragraph thirty-one that Lomonosov begins to consider a spe-
cific chemical problem, the question of the existence of ele-
mentary fire particles. Here he discusses the gain in weight of
metals in combustion and argues against Boyle's view, but at
this point his only positive suggestion is that the gain in weight
is due to "particles flying around in the air which continuously
flows around the calcining body." This picture does not differ
essentially from those given by Mayow in 1674 and by Hooke
in the Micrographia of 1665, and so Lavoisier would probably
not have considered this a novel argument. He was, of course,
unaware of Lomonosov's experimental disproof in 1756 of
Boyle's evidence for the addition of fire particles to metals,

45

Introduction

since this was not published. If he read Lomonosov's only
published purely chemical paper, "On the Luster of Metals/'
he would simply have been further convinced that Lomonosov
was merely another believer in phlogiston. Therefore, in de-
veloping his own system, in which he gave an important place
to caloric, another name for the matter of heat, he could not
have been expected to acknowledge a debt to Lomonosov,
since he did not owe one. This is a further example of the
difference in thinking of a chemist and a physicist.

How then should we assess the significance of Lomonosov
in science? There is almost no evidence of a direct connection
of his work with that of any of his successors. He was in a
sense unfortunate in that he was among the last of the great
group of natural philosophers who saw the world in terms
of atoms and their kinetic movements. In his day the concept
of the ether, stemming from Descartes's second matter, was
being transformed from that of a particulate substance into
an "imponderable fluid." By the end of the eighteenth cen-
tury, most scientists pictured incomprehensible phenomena
such as light, heat, and electricity as fluids whose properties
were explained by their flowing motion. Their particulate
structure, if they had one, was of no more importance to these
scientists than is the molecular structure of water flowing
through a pipe to the hydraulic engineer. The suggestions of
even such great figures as Boyle and Bernoulli that air was a
mass of corpuscles were disregarded. It is no wonder that
Lomonosov's relatively few published expositions of his theory
were also disregarded. Yet the corpuscular viewpoint did not
die. In a sense it went underground, but it did not completely
disappear. Instead it divided into two branches.

On the one hand, a few thinkers from time to time revived
the kinetic theory of gases, and the names of Le Sage and
Herapath come to mind as isolated figures who maintained
this idea. 13 On the other hand, there were always a few who
maintained a kinetic concept of heat, and even those who be-
lieved strongly in the caloric theory were forced to note that
some philosophers still adhered to an explanation of heat as

13. G. R. Talbot and A. J. Pacey, British Journal of the History of Science
5, 133-149 (1966).

46

Significance of Lomonosov's Theory

the result of some sort of vibration of particles. Typical of
these was Seguin, who in his long memoir on caloric 14 noted
that Lavoisier and Laplace had declined to take a position
as between the two theories, and remarked that "other phys-
icists, though in small number, think there is no substance
at all to which we can give the name caloric, and that heat
is the result of insensible movements of the molecules of mat-
ter/' Caloric was never universally adopted. 15

It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that these two
branches were reunited in the modern kinetic theory. Lomo-
nosov was almost the last of the early scientists who recog-
nized the essential unity of the two branches, and for this he
deserves credit.

Finally, then, the significance of Lomonosov's work can be
appraised from two aspects. In his own country he exerted a
considerable contemporary influence, as has been pointed out
by Vucinich. 16 At a time when there was almost no native
science in Russia, Lomonosov fought vigorously to establish
one. By his one work and example, as well as by his struggles
to defend native Russian scientists against the entrenched Ger-
man party in the Academy, he strengthened and encouraged
the intellectual and scientific life of his nation. His work
opened to his contemporaries the importance of science in the
culture and progress of a modern state and brought them closer
to Western European ideas. The example of his activity has
increasingly been held up to later generations by Russian his-
torians as a guide to be emulated. Intensely patriotic as he
was, he would be pleased to know of his present recognition
in the Soviet Union.

Besides this, his work is of considerable interest for its own
sake. It reveals a keen and logical mind, well acquainted with
the principles of the science of the day, but working in relative
isolation and thus not bound by conventional scientific Ideas.
The general theories of the kinetic motion of corpuscles held
by Lomonosov were not original with him, but his strict de-
ductions from these were his own. Sometimes his deductions

14. A. Seguin, Annales de chimie 3, 182 (1789).

15. For later ideas on this subject, see F. Cajori, his 4> 483-492 (1922).

16. Russian Culture, pp. 110-112.

47

Introduction

led him to surprisingly modern concepts, and sometimes they
led him to seriously erroneous conclusions, but always they
showed the originality o his thought. Only the study of his
papers can reveal the full stature of the man.

48

The Papers of Lomonosov
on Corpuscular Theory

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The papers translated in the following pages have been re-
printed from the originals several times in the U.S.S.R. In
preparing this translation, use has been made of Lomonosov
Polnoe Sobrannie Sochinenii (Complete Collection of Papers
of Lomonosov), published by the Academy of Sciences, Mos-
cow and Leningrad, in ten volumes between 1951 and 1959,
and hereafter referred to as the Collected Works, and M. V.
Lomonosov Izbrannye Trudy po Khimii i Fizike (M. V. Lo-
monosov: Selected Works on Chemistry and Physics), edited
by A. V. Topchiev, published by the Academy of Sciences,
Moscow, 1961, hereafter referred to as the Selected Works.
In the Collected Works both the Latin versions and Russian
translations are given for all papers originally written or pub-
lished in Latin. The Selected Works contains only the Russian
texts. In preparing these translations, the Latin and Russian
texts were compared.

The first two of the following papers were not published
by Lomonosov, but represent Lomonosov's corpuscular con-
cept of chemistry and are therefore given as a background for
his later writings. The remaining papers are presented in essen-
tially chronological order to indicate the development of his
thought. The places and conditions of first publication or com-
position are given in the introduction to each paper.

50

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry

This incomplete work is one of the earliest examples o the am-
bitious tasks which Lomonosov set for himself, and which he was
unable to finish. Nevertheless, he revealed here his concept of
chemistry which he modified, but never basically changed, in his
later works.

The work was written shortly after Lomonosov returned from
his Western European travels. It was composed in Latin between
September and December 1741, with the title Elementa chimiae
mathematicae, and was never published. The manuscript remained
in the archives of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg until
it was discovered and published in Russian translation by B, N.
Menshutkin in 1904. Although it obviously could not have influ-
enced scientific thinking in its day, it is basic to an understanding
of Lomonosov's thought as revealed in his later published writings
since it defines the terms he used. The stress on the importance of
mechanics in chemistry, the corpuscular definitions, and the mathe-
matical format of the work are significant indications of his ap-
proach to chemistry.

The Latin text and its Russian translation are given in Collected
Works, I (1950), pp. 65-83. The Russian translation is also given
in Selected Works, pp. 7-18.

INTRODUCTION

Definition I

1) Chemistry is the science of changes occurring in mixed
bodies since they are mixed.

Scholium

2) I do not doubt that there are many to whom this defini-
tion will seem incomplete and who will complain at the ab-
sence of principles of separation, combination, purification, and
other expressions which fill almost all chemical books; but
those who are shrewder will see that these expressions which
a great many chemical authors use to excess without necessity
for their studies can be included in one phrase, mixed bodies.

51

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry

In fact, with an understanding of mixed bodies we can explain
all their possible changes, including separations, combinations,
etc.; we can exclude crude and organic substances and how
cereals are broken up and ground, the growth of plants, cir-
culation of blood in animals.

Corollary

3) Since in science it is accepted that we demonstrate truth,
then in chemistry every statement should be demonstrated.

Definition II

4) The practical part of chemistry consists in historical
knowledge of the changes of mixed bodies.

Scholium

6) 1 The practical part of chemistry, as in the other sciences,
is a particular method of knowing; as from some of the data
of numbers arithmetic finds others (2, Elements of Arithmetic
[of Wolff]) so also through the practice of chemistry new bodies
are produced from several starting substances. In this way al-
most all the truths known up to now in chemistry have been
discovered.

Definition III

7) The theoretical part of chemistry consists in a philosoph-
ical knowledge of the changes of mixed bodies.

Definition IV

8) Chemistry is that which has knowledge of the changes
of mixed bodies since they are mixed.

Corollary

9) This means that whoever speaks of chemistry should
demonstrate it.

Definition V

10) A practical chemist is one who has knowledge of the
historical changes which occur in mixed bodies.

1. [Point 5 is omitted in the numbering of the manuscript.]

52

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry
Definition VI

11) A theoretical chemist is one who has a philosophical
knowledge of the changes which occur in mixed bodies.

Scholium

12) If, for example, someone knows that in a vessel filled
with water or some other liquid and placed on the fire, boil-
ing can occur, and in fact carries out this operation, he will
be called practical; but if he knows that water is brought to
boiling by air expanding in it from the fire and escaping from
it, he will be called theoretical.

Theorem I

13) A true chemist should be theoretical and practical.

Demonstration

A chemist should demonstrate everything that is spoken of
in chemistry (8). Yet what he demonstrates must first be rec-
ognized by him, that is, he must acquire historical knowledge
of the changes of mixed bodies, and hence be practical (10).
This comes first. Further, he should be able to demonstrate
his knowledge (9), that is, to give an explanation, which as-
sumes philosophical knowledge ( ). 2 Hence it follows that a
true chemist should also be theoretical (11). This comes sec-
ond.

Corollary I

14) Hence the true chemist should also be a philosopher.

Corollary II

15) One who engages in practice alone is not a true chemist.

Corollary III

16) But one who delights only in speculation also cannot be
considered a true chemist.

Lemma I

17) All changes of bodies occur by motion.

2. [The number is omitted in the original.]

53

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry

Scholium

18) This was shown by the illustrious W[olff].

Corollary I

19) Hence changes of mixed bodies also occur by motion.

Scholium

20) This motion is in great part insensible and the reason
for it cannot be perceived by the senses; therefore it is neces-
sary to study it by reasoning.

Corollary II

21) The science of motion is mechanics; therefore the
change of mixed bodies occurs mechanically.

Corollary III

22) And therefore these changes can be explained by the
laws of mechanics.

Corollary IV

23) Actually, the quantity of motion can be determined by
the aid of mechanics, and determination of the quantity is
more truly recognized. Therefore changes in mixed bodies can
be more truly recognized by the aid of mechanics.

Corollary V

24) Therefore, if anyone wishes the deepest understanding
of chemical truth, he must study mechanics.

Corollary VI

25) And since a knowledge of mechanics assumes a knowl-
edge of pure mathematics, then striving for a doser study of
chemistry requires an adept in mathematics also.

Scholium

26) The light which mathematics can cast on the spagyric
science can be foreseen by anyone who is devoted to its mys-
teries and also knows the chief natural sciences that are suc-
cessfully treated by mathematics, such as hydraulics, aerometry,

54

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry

optics, etc. Everything that up to then in these sciences was
dark, doubtful, and uncertain has been made clear, valid, and
evident by mathematics. It is true that many deny the pos-
sibility of establishing mechanical principles as the basis of
chemistry, and deny it a place in the number of sciences, but
they are led astray by dark occult properties and do not know
that in the changes of mixed bodies the laws of mechanics are
always found; they are also dissatisfied by vain and false spec-
ulations which are imposed on the learned world without any
preliminary experiments by other theoreticians who misuse
their time. If those who for all their days had been darkened
with smoke and soot and whose brains had been dominated
by chaos from masses of undigested experiments had not re-
fused to accept the most noble laws of geometry, which were
once based strictly on Euclid and at the present time have been
perfected by the illustrious Wolff, they certainly would have
penetrated more deeply into the secrets of nature which they
themselves had announced. In fact, if mathematics has led to
truth by the comparison of several different paths, then I do
not see any reason why for chemistry also it could not lead to
greater generalizations from such huge existing masses of ex-
periments.

Scholium II

27) Since I have had to speak of this, I intend to state the
principles of mathematics and philosophy that I consider ap-
propriate to establish several philosophical and mathematical
axioms which I will often quote in the corresponding places
where they must be introduced at one or another point.

Axiom I

28) The same thing cannot simultaneously be and not be.

Axiom II

29) Nothing can occur without sufficient reason.

Axiom III

30) The same things equal each other*

Lemma II

31) The whole equals all of its parts taken together.

55

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry

Lemma III

32) Common attributes of singularity depend on the same
cause.

Demonstration

Attributes depend on substance (Wolff, Philosophia prima
sive ontologia methodo scientifica pertractate qua omnis cog-
nitionis humanae principia contineatur, 157); the same sub-
stance has singularity since it belongs to one type (Ontologia,
254), hence common attributes depend on the same substance.
Thus there is sufficient basis for substances in common (On-
tologia, 851), that is, there is one cause.

Definition

33) Change of mixed bodies, since they are mixed, is a
change in their internal qualities.

Scholium

34) By internal qualities I understand everything which
can be perceived in the body by the senses except form, mo-
tion, and the position of the whole body.

Corollary I

35) In chemistry, therefore, we must show change of inner
qualities (1, 3).

Corollary II

36) Since demonstration of the assertions should be drawn
from a clear idea of the thing itself, we must have a clear idea
of the inner qualities of the body for a discussion of that which
is considered in chemistry.

Corollary III

37) Therefore part of the work should be an explanation
of the inner qualities of bodies.

Definition

38) An element is part of a body which is not composed
of any other smaller body which differs from it.

56

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry
Definition

39) A corpuscle is a collection of elements which constitute
one small mass.

Definition

40) Corpuscles are homogeneous if they consist of the same
number of the same elements combined in the same way.

That such sorts of corpuscles exist is indicated by the
homogeneity of mass of a body in which each part is like the
whole. In fact, if they did not exist, such masses would not
exist since the corpuscles would be different at any given place
and would thus act differently on our senses and hence any
corpuscle would be unlike any other, that is, homogeneous
masses would not exist, which contradicts experience.

Corpuscles are heterogeneous when their elements are dif-
ferent and are differently combined or are in different num-
bers. On this depends the infinite variety of bodies.

A principle is a body composed of homogeneous corpuscles.

A mixed body is one which consists of two or more different
principles combined with each other so that each of the
separate corpuscles has the same relation to the parts of the
principle of which it is composed as the whole mixed body to
the whole separate principles.

Corpuscles composed directly from the elements are called
primary.

Corpuscles composed of several primary ones and also differ-
ent ones are called derived.

Thus, mixed bodies consist of derived corpuscles.

Compound bodies are those which consist of mixed bodies
mingled with each other.

In discussing chemistry we must present demonstrations, and
they should be drawn from clear presentations of the subject
itself. A clear presentation should be obtained by an enumera-
tion of the attributes, that is, by recognizing the parts of the
whole; therefore it is necessary to recognize the parts of the
mixed body, which are best of all recognized by considering
them separately; but since they are especially small, they cannot
be separated in mixtures, and they must be separated for recog-
nizing mixed bodies. However, separation assumes a shift in

57

Elements of Mathematical Chemistry

place of the parts, that Is, they are moved. Hence for recogniz-
ing and demonstrating true chemistry it is necessary to know
mechanics.

GENERAL PART: WHAT EXISTS AND IS PERFORMED
IN MIXED BODIES 3

Book 1. That which exists.

1. General positions. 2. On the nature of the constituent
parts of mixed bodies. 3. On weight. 4. On cohesion. 5. On
color. 6. On heat and fire. 7. On elasticity. 8. On sound. 9. On
taste and smell.
Book 2. On that which is performed.

SPECIAL PART: ON MIXED BODIES IN PARTICULAR

Book 1. Basic propositions.

Book 2. On water.

Book 3. On earth.

Book 4. On the universal acid.

Book 5. On phlogiston, on poisons.

Separately in the second part: weight of bodies, their mass,
cohesion.

3. [This table of contents indicates what Lomonosov hoped to present in his
completed work.]

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Introduction to the True Physical Chemistry

Between 1742 and 1750 Lomonosov developed and expanded his
idea o chemistry in terms o the corpuscular theory to which he
was devoted. His preoccupation with the physical properties o
"mixed bodies" naturally led him to stress these properties when
he developed a course in chemistry to be given to students at the
university associated with the Academy of Sciences. Therefore it is
not surprising that he should refer to his course as one in "physical
chemistry/' a term which he was the first to use. As was often the
case, Lomonosov did not complete his work, and, in fact, the manu-
script that has been preserved breaks off in the middle of a sen-
tence. Nevertheless, it is one of the longest works of its type which
he wrote and it shows how much his ideas had grown since the
writing of "Elements of Mathematical Chemistry."

This Prodomus ad verum chymiam physiciam was presumably
prepared for the course which Lomonosov actually gave at the uni-
versity from 1752 to 1754, but it remained unpublished until 1934.
While no longer written in the form of a mathematical treatise, it
is still based on mechanics, and the thinking shown here is that
which formed the background for the purely scientific papers which
were written somewhat earlier. The Latin text and Russian trans-
lation are given in Collected Works, II (1951), pp. 481-577. The
Russian translation is also given in Selected Works, pp. 176-219.

CHAPTER 1. PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY AND ITS
PURPOSE

1

Physical chemistry is the science which explains whatever oc-
curs in mixed bodies through chemical operations on the basis
of the principles and experiments of physics. It can also be
called chemical philosophy, but in an entirely different sense
than the mystical philosophy in which explanations not only
are hidden, but even the operations themselves are carried out
secretly.

2
We have ventured to call this work physical chemistry be-

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The True Physical Chemistry

cause we have decided, by devoting all our efforts to it, to
bring together in it only what is contributed by a scientific ex-
planation of mixed bodies. Therefore we consider it necessary
that everything relating to the sciences of economics, pharmacy,
metallurgy, glassmaking, etc. should be excluded from it and
assigned to the course in technical chemistry so that 1) every-
one will easily find the information which he needs and will
read it without boredom; 2) the memory will not be overbur-
dened by studying so many different cases; 3) philosophical
contemplation of the beauty of nature will not be corrupted
by a rash desire for gain; 4) the studious cultivator of chemis-
try will approach it with a clear understanding of mixed bodies
in order to increase the conveniences of life by its aid.

We call chemistry a science in imitation of the writers on
natural philosophy who, though they explain only the most
important phenomena of nature, so that very much remains
doubtful and still more remains unknown, nevertheless cor-
rectly embellish physics with the name of a science on the basis
not of knowledge, but of the final ends of physics. For no one
can deny that however little we have succeeded in explaining
chemical phenomena by the methods of physics, we should
properly use these methods with the same right as does physics
itself.

4

We have said that chemical science considers the qualities
and changes of bodies. Quality has a double nature, namely,
one which produces visible ideas in us, the other only sensible
ones. The first type of quality includes mass, shape, motion or
rest, and place position of each perceptible body; the second
type includes color, taste, healing power, cohesion of particles,
etc. The first are perceptible to the eye and are determined by
geometrical and mechanical laws, examples of which they
demonstrate; the causes for the second type lie in the particles
which do not reach the sharp vision and therefore these quali-
ties cannot be determined by geometry and mechanics without
the help of physical chemistry. The first by necessity are present
in all bodies, the second only in some. Therefore we consider

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it desirable, according to the style of Boyle, to call the first
qualities universal, the second, particular.

5

A mixed body is one which consists of two or several
heterogeneous bodies joined to each other in such a way that
any sensible part of this body is exactly like any other of its
parts with respect to particular qualities. Thus, gunpowder
consists of niter, sulfur, and charcoal, heterogeneous types of
bodies, and any part of it, evident to the senses, is exactly like
any other part in color, cohesion of the parts, explosive power,
etc. Bodies which make up mixed bodies, here niter, sulfur,
and charcoal, are called constituent bodies.

Constituent bodies are often themselves mixed bodies con-
sisting of other heterogeneous bodies; thus in this case sulfur
consists of an acid material and another, the combustible one;
niter consists of a particular acid and an alkali salt; charcoal of
an oil, a bitter acid spirit, and an ash. Constituent bodies of
such a nature we call constituents of the second order, and if
they in their turn are mixed bodies, then we call their con-
stituents constitutents of the third order. We cannot, however,
proceed thus to infinity, but there must finally exist constit-
uents which it is impossible to separate from each other by any
chemical operation or to distinguish by reason; therefore such
constituent bodies are designated as the final ones, or, in the
language of the chemist, principles.

Since mixed bodies are like each other in all sensible parts
(5) then it follows that any sensible particle of them is com-
posed of the same constituents; therefore in mixed bodies there
should be particles which, if submitted to further separation
would split into different particles of the heterogeneous bodies
of which the mixed body consists. The first particles we call
particles of the mixed body, the second, particles of the con-
stituents. The first type is represented by particles of gun-
powder which can be split only into sulfur, niter, and charcoal;
the second type is represented by the particles of niter, sulfur,

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and charcoal themselves which in the gunpowder form the
particles of the mixed body. It Is appropriate to call the par-
ticles of the ultimate constituents the particles of principles.

o
O

From the definition of a mixed body and the examples, it
follows that different qualities and phenomena arise from
heterogeneous mixed bodies and therefore to explain the
particular qualities of bodies and their changes we must have
knowledge of their composition. Hence the duty of chemistry
Is to study both the composition of bodies available to the senses
and the composition of those from which the mixed bodies
were first formed, namely, the principles. The following chap-
ters will show by what path, by what chemical means and
physical help this can be done.

CHAPTER 2. THE PARTICULAR QUALITIES OF
MIXED BODIES

9

In the first place we must establish those qualities of the
mixed bodies which depend on different cohesion of the par-
ticles, for no changes of mixed bodies in chemistry can occur
without change in the cohesion of the particles.

10

From different cohesion of the particles first of all arise solid
and liquid bodies. Solid bodies are those whose shape cannot
be changed without external force, and liquids are those whose
particles slip around each other by their own weight and which
form an upper surface parallel to the horizon, and the rest of
their particles acquire the shape of the hollow which contains
this body.

11

Solid bodies are hard or ductile. Hard bodies under the force
of a blow are split into pieces; ductile ones yield to a blow not
by breaking, but by being drawn out into a sheet or wire. In
both cases the quality of the resistance differs according to the

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The True Physical Chemistry

cohesion between the particles, and it cannot in any way be
definitely set, since it can be infinitely varied.

12

A hard body is rigid or brittle. A rigid body requires great
force and tools for breaking up the cohesion of the particles;
a brittle one is broken by pressure or by squeezing it with the
fingers. Finally, a brittle body can crumble or be cracked.
When the body is crumbled, it is split by the application of
force into grains or into a powder, as we see in the case of
marble and dry clay. When a body is cracked, it breaks up into
platelets of very fine fibers, as we see in the case of selenite
and asbestos.

13

A liquid body is either viscous or thin. A thin one quickly
follows the surface of the cavity containing it when this is
changed; a viscous one does so slowly. Water belongs to the
first type, tar, honey, etc. to the second.

14

Physicists also distinguish liquid from fluid bodies. They call
liquid those bodies whose cohering particles flow and form
drops, like water. Fluid bodies are those which change in a
special way, whose particles slide without cohesion. Such a body
is alabaster which changes into a powder when it is calcined.

15

It seems likely, if it is not always so, that in solid bodies the
flexibility depends chiefly on the cohesion of the particles.
Flexibility is the quality of bodies by virtue of which their
shape, changed by external pressure, is restored to the original:
such as fibers of iron, glass, etc.

16

As the flexibility of solid bodies comes chiefly from the co-
hesion of the particles, so on the property of the flexibility of
solid bodies itself depends their sonorousness, which is defined
as the sensible continuation of sound after imposing a blow on
the body. Bodies with this property are called sonorous, such

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as bronze, iron, etc. It is shown by everyday experience that
the sonorousness in bodies of different sorts is different and
the mass and shape have a very great effect on strengthening or
weakening it.

17

After discussing the qualities which depend on difference in
cohesion of the particles, we must next establish those which
act on the sense of vision. This is necessary because of the
nobility of the corresponding sense organ and the almost end-
less variety of these qualities. There is not one mixed body,
whether extracted by the tireless work of mortals from the sub-
terranean kingdom of nature, or obtained from the brilliant
treasury of the flowers, or, finally, prepared from the parts of
animals, whose color, glittering lively luster or rough, pleasant
appearance or wonderful variety cannot be imitated by the
work of the chemist.

18

The eye distinguishes most clearly of all an opaque body
from a transparent one. An opaque body is one which, when
placed between the eye and an object, does not permit the
image of the latter to be reproduced in the eye. A body is
called transparent if, when placed between the eye and an ob-
ject it passes the image clearly and distinctly to the eye. The
first type of body includes marble, metals, etc., the second,
water, quartz, and things similar to them. This definition is
not altered by different shapes into which the transparent body
is changed or multiplied by refraction of light: in chemistry
we consider the mixed body to be transparent and not its super-
ficial differences.

19

Transparent bodies do not always transmit to the eye with
equal clarity the image of an object placed beyond them, but
it is often seen, as it were, wrapped in a cloud. Such clouding
or darkening occurs differently and differs in degree for dif-
ferent bodies, so that one is less clear than another, and finally
they gradually approach an opaque body. Those which occupy
a middle position between transparent and opaque and pass

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such jumbled light that the form of the object which is trans-
mitted is run together are called semitransparent, like the min-
eral chalcedony, fish glue, and similar bodies.

20

Transparent and opaque bodies are smooth or rough. A
smooth body gives on itself an image of an object presented
to it; a rough body does not give this. Smooth bodies here are
those bodies which assume a smooth surface without the in-
tervention of human work, such as water, ice, mercury, opaque
and transparent glass; rough bodies are like marble at the
point of fracture, dry clay, and similar substances. From mirror
smoothness to roughness which entirely prevents an object
from giving an image on the surface of the body there are
evidently almost infinite degrees of smoothness; the images of
the objects are reflected with differing clarities, just as there are
differing transmissions through semitransparent bodies.

21

We have noted that smooth bodies may be shining or lus-
trous, and we make a distinction, defining shining bodies as
those which, being exposed to daylight, reflect parallel white
light, whatever their own color, and we call those bodies lus-
trous which on exposure to daylight, reflect parallel light of
the same color as themselves. We find the first in glass, the
second chiefly in metals. Placed opposite a window the smooth
surface of glass, even if very black, gives a white image of the
window, but gold a yellow one, copper a reddish one.

22

It is impossible to give a definition of the colors by which
bodies act on our eyes, or to enumerate their variety. But it is
quite certain that there exist some colors which originate from
others, mixed with each other, and some which cannot be ob-
tained by this method. Thus we can make up an orange color
from red and yellow, green from yellow and blue, violet from
blue and red, but red, yellow, and blue can be created from
no others, as is clearly shown by mixing colored powders or by
blending the sun's rays, about which we will speak in more de-
tail in the theoretical part ( . . .) Therefore red, yellow, and

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The True Physical Chemistry

blue colors are called simple and all other colors except black

(which is not a color) are called mixed.

23

Since mixtures of simple colors can be varied almost end-
lessly, we can obtain an almost endless number of mixed colors,
for the designation and clear distinguishing of which we evi-
dently lack names, number, or measure. Therefore for de-
scribing the colors of chemical bodies so that the reader can
understand correctly and clearly, we will define the different
changes in the quality of colors by comparison with substances
of constant color.

24

Thus, in order to distinguish most clearly the simple and
pure colors from the others, we will call red that color which
we see in blood, in hydrangea petals, in wool colored with
carmine, and in minium; yellow is the color found in an in-
fusion of saffron, in camomile, and in the best ocher; finally,
blue, present in the clear sky, is in cornflowers and blue ultra-
marine powder. Thus we will call the first color red, bloody,
or carmine, the second yellow and saffron, and, finally, the third
blue, cornflower, or ultramarine.

25

Between these colors there are also three: the first consists
of bloody and saffron, the second of saffron and blue, the third
of blue and bloody, mixed in equal parts. There is a sufficient
similarity to the first color in orange peel, and in the petals
of a large African flower; the second in green meadows; the
third in turquoise; therefore we call the first orange, the second
green or herbaceous, the third turquoise. From the three sim-
ple colors combined in proper proportions we obtain white;
the absence of all color is the cause of blackness. This is all
clearly discussed in optics, and we intend to discuss this in
more detail in the theoretical part.

25*
As we have established the differences between the chief

I. [In the manuscript there are two 25 's and no 29.]

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The True Physical Chemistry-
varieties of color by comparing them with substances, we con-
sider it expedient to describe all the other colors originating
from different and unequal mixtures of the simple colors and
from different brightnesses of color by comparing them with
generally known substances and denoting the intensity of the
predominant color.

26

After we have described the sense of the eye, we proceed to
differences in the sense of the tongue which we call different
tastes. A substance is said to have taste when it causes a pleasant
or unpleasant sensation on the tongue, and to be tasteless when
it does not do this. The chief and very distinctive tastes are:
1) acid, as in vinegar; 2) burning, as with spirit of wine; 3)
sweet, as with honey; 4) bitter, as with pitch; 5) salty, as with
salt; 6) sharp, as with a radish; 7) sour, as with unripe fruit.
Which of these is simple and which complex cannot be ex-
plained until we learn the nature of the principles.

27

As for colors, so for taste we know an almost infinite variety
originating from different mixtures of the tastes named above
and their differing sharpnesses depending on the admixture of
tasteless substances. Therefore in chemical practice we can
designate bodies differing in taste just as in the case of colors,
by known comparisons and by designating the tastes belonging
to them.

28

Odors, acting on the sense of smell, in great part correspond
to tastes, so that, for example, that which has an acid taste
also acts on us as an acid odor. For designating and characteriz-
ing odors, almost infinite in variety, we cannot do otherwise
than was done for tastes.

30

It remains to say something about the inner properties of
mixed bodies which can be produced naturally or artificially
what is their ability to attract, repel, create an ignis fatuus,
burn spontaneously, etc. and also their medicinal or poisonous

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powers. Here it is enough to mention that everything is de-
scribed in its place; when we try to study the properties of the
first type in considering mixed bodies, there are suitable meth-
ods described below ( ). For the second type where necessary
we borrow from famous physicians because experiments for
revealing them have not been instituted by chemists.

CHAPTER 3. ON THE MEDIA BY WHICH BODIES ARE

CHANGED

31

Mixed bodies are changed by addition or loss of one or sev-
eral constituents ( ). Here it is necessary that each corpuscle
of the mixed body take up or lose one or several corpuscles
of the constituents. But this cannot occur without change of
the bonds of the particles. Therefore forces are required which
could nullify the cohesion between the particles. Fire produces
such action most easily of all: there is not one body in nature
whose inner parts would be insensitive to it, and there are no
mutual bonds of the particles which it could not rupture.

32

There are five conditions which chemists should usually ob-
serve concerning fire: 1) degree of intensity; 2) its relation to
the body undergoing its action; 3) length of time; 4) rate of
progressive motion; 5) its form.

33

The intensity of the fire cannot be judged by sense of touch
nor by variation of the light given off by the burning body, nor
by the boiling of liquids, nor by melting or solidifying of
bodies. Touch is not always useful for this and is very often
deceiving; a luminous body is often less hot than a dark one;
thus the flame of burning oakum is less hot than iron close to
glowing; mixed liquids boil when they are much cooler than
some others which have not yet boiled; finally, the same fire
which melts one body converts another from the liquified state
into a solid. The single most certain measure of fire is found
in the rarefaction of bodies, on which the thermometer and

The True Physical Chemistry

pyrometer are based. These instruments are especially useful
to the chemist for finding the intensity of the fire; but we will
speak of them in detail in their own place.

34

However, in nature there are some changes of bodies which
embody as some limit a definite number of degrees of the
thermometer or pyrometer and constantly correspond to the
same point; it is not superfluous here to indicate them briefly,
because we use these limits to establish more clearly our ideas
about the intensity of the fire. It is also suitable to introduce
the name of the temperature region for a known number of
degrees on the thermometer or pyrometer between constant
limits, so that by words used directly there is no complication
and no difficulty for the reader. Therefore, first of all, heat or
fire from the least to the greatest as met in nature is divided
into temperature regions and these into degrees.

35

The first and lowest temperature region begins from the
lowest degree of heat, or, which is the same thing, from the
greatest degree of cold, which as yet no one has observed or
demonstrated. It ends at the temperature where water begins
to freeze; this limit is always constant and unchanged and is
based on an effect which is very important and has the greatest
significance in natural affairs. Fire of this temperature region
can be used scarcely or not at all by any chemist. However, we
intend here to pursue some perhaps rather important chemical
experiments. Below the freezing point of water many substances
still remain liquid and hence have not fully lost the force
needed for chemical action. The second temperature region
begins where the first ends. We take as its higher limit that
point which is reached by the greatest observed summer heat
and about that which is found for the heat of a healthy human
being. The third temperature region extends from here to the
boiling point of water; the fourth is established between boil-
ing water and boiling mercury. The fifth extends from there
to the heat at which copper melts. Finally, the sixth tempera-
ture region, beginning at the melting of copper, reaches the
highest degree o fire, if such exists. All the limits of tempera-

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The True Physical Chemistry

ture noted here produce important effects which have enor-
mous significance both in nature and in chemistry itself.

36

Similarly with respect to the properties of each body and
for each chemical work the chemist should use a definite de-
gree of fire, so that it is necessary to regulate its quantity very
carefully in order not to use too little or too great an amount
of fire with respect to the volume of the body used for chemical
investigation. Actually, in the first case we do not attain the
desired results and in the second we expend toil and labor in
vain.

37

It is also necessary to note still a third circumstance, that a
weaker fire often is much more effective than a strong one for
subduing a stubborn body. In some cases definite bodies are
more easily broken down by time than by force. Therefore the
chemist, carrying out an experiment, should consider carefully
where a slow fire is needed and where a strong one.

38

Different rates of motion found in an expanding flame help
much the effect of the force of the fire. Thus we see that among
goldsmiths iron wire of about the thickness of one line can-
not be heated in the flame of a burner to the temperature at
which iron melts if this flame is not put into swiftest motion by
the breath from a blowpipe. Therefore, we must again re-
mind the chemist that he must know how to excite motion
of a flame when this is required.

39

Different forms of using fire are: that either there penetrates
into the heated body the heat alone, or the flame itself sur-
rounds and touches the body directly. There are experiments
well enough known in the practice of chemistry which occur
somewhat differently because of this effect, although the same
degree of fire is used in the course of the same period of time.
Therefore, let the chemist note where it is necessary to use pure
heat and where flame.

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40

For flames it is necessary to consider different combustible
materials: whether wood or coal and whether coal or charcoal
and from what wood. For how they burn depends on dense-
ness or porousness, fatness or thinness, dryness or moisture,
and the flame itself may be pure or smoking, and with other
conditions equal, the effects are often changed.

41

Fire cannot make a great difference in abolishing or weaken-
ing or in any other way changing the strength of cohesion be-
tween the particles of a mixed body if it is not helped by water
or air, separately or together; it separates particles liberated
from their bonds, transfers them, and interposes others be-
tween them. Thus, fire naturally changes the cohesion between
particles, and air and water change their positions. Therefore
the first as it were is the instrument and the other two the
vehicles. We will state here in a few words the care with which
we must use these terms.

42

Air combines with mixed bodies in two ways: either flowing
around them and depositing on their surfaces, or by occupy-
ing their pores. In the latter case we must speak of it as inter-
nal, in the first case, as external. The influence of either type
on chemical phenomena is rather great.

43

External air, as found immobile on the surface of bodies,
often changes the mixed bodies by shifting the characteristic
particles of the latter with the aid of fire, and when it is found
in motion it brings foreign particles to them, particles which
it carries within itself, or it carries away with itself the particles
torn away from the bodies, or both processes occur at once. The
faster the motion of the air, the more foreign particles are
brought, or the more natural particles of the bodies are carried
away.

44

Particles carried by the motion of air to mixed bodies are
either taken from the atmosphere itself or are supplied artifi-

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daily by the chemist. The first differ depending on the weather,
the nature and position, the number of inhabitants, and oc-
currence near a workshop; the second depend on the nature
of the fuel used for maintaining the fire or on the nature of
the body specially taken for the experiment. It is necessary in
both cases that the chemist be careful: 1) not to consider the
action of air identical when it comes from swampy places, in
summer time, or from a place near to which much sulfur is
roasted out of metals, or the action of a drier and purer air;
2) not to assume that material is added from the fuel or from
any neighboring body except for what is natural to the body
itself.

45

Internal air, contained in the pores of a body, should of
necessity saturate them because of the greater subtlety of its
finer particles, especially if the body is sweet scented. There-
fore, as soon as the particles of the body are freed from mutual
cohesion they are scattered and the internal air is mixed with
the external; the more subtle particles escape from the mixed
body and so a considerable change in quality must result.

46

Then the internal air, liberated from the separated body
and inflated by the subtle vapors, often occupies a surpris-
ingly large space and exerts a very strong force against an ob-
stacle. That is why the chemist is warned, so that this inflating
air, seeking an outlet may not break the vessel with damage
to the work, to expensive materials, and even to health.

47

Experiment shows that there are several forms of water dis-
tinguished by the bodies with which they are impregnated. In
rain water we find one property, in river water another, and
in spring water a third. When rain from on high falls through
the atmosphere it takes to itself the sulfurous and salty vapors
which it encounters. Therefore, if the water stands for several
days in the sun in summer, a greenish tint develops; it fur-
nishes food for plants also. River water contains salty particles

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washed out from the earth, from fermenting, decaying, and
burned bodies brought by the streams flowing from all sides;
many of these particles are detected in the residue when the
pure water vapor is scattered into the air by heat. Spring water
very often, almost always, carries in itself minerals dissolved
in the mountains which can often be detected by taste, some-
times by smell.

48

How many of these impurities cause injury in chemical ac-
tions is well enough known from technical chemistry: thus,
dyers, brewers, and other craftsmen complain that in their arts
they cannot attain the same degree of perfection using just any
sort of water. Therefore in chemical investigations carried out
for a physical understanding of mixed bodies we must take
only the purest water which can be found or prepared, if we
do not wish to be deceived in discovering the secrets of nature.

49

The processes by which we must purify the water will be
given below. Of the natural waters the purest is most simply
prepared from snow not contaminated by dust, especially from
that which falls after a severe frost in quiet weather, for the
surface of the earth, confined by the severity of winter and
covered with snow emits salty and combustible vapors, as in
summer. In second place stands river water flowing under ice
in midwinter. At this time the streams generated by rains do
not contain impurities, nor does dust generated by the wind
make them cloudy and saturated with salty substances; but we
draw it as it comes from the earth filtered through the sandy
shore. The third place is held by rain water. Other water can-
not be used without study and purification.

50

Actually the changes produced by water in the composition
of bodies are aggravated by the fact that water itself is the chief
constituent part in many bodies, so that after its removal their
form is completely altered. Therefore water used as a medium
should be strictly distinguished from water which exists in the
body itself as a constituent part or has considerable significance

The True Physical Chemistry

among the other constituent parts along with which it forms
the mixed body.

51

Such are the true and genuine media without which, or es-
pecially without two of them, no changes can be produced in
mixed bodies* Besides these, other authors name many more,
almost an infiinite number of chemical media, as many as there
are different mixed bodies which act on each other with the
help of fire, air, and water. But to describe and explain them
all seems to me to be the same as to give an account of all
chemistry in the introduction to it before an account of it it-
self. Therefore we have decided to describe the interactions of
mixed bodies and the different constituent parts in the place
needed for each.

CHAPTER 4. ON CHEMICAL OPERATIONS

52

Chemical operations are those processes which with the help
of chemical media change mixed bodies, since they are mixed.
With the aid of this definition we can easily determine which
chemical operations are basic and genuine and which are only
subsidiary. Thus, the first either 1) combine separate constitu-
ents into a mixed body, or 2) separate a mixed body into its
constituents, or 3) simultaneously do one and the other, or 4)
change the ratio of the amounts of constituents, or, finally, 5)
shift the positions of the particles in the mixed body. In all
cases there is a change in the individual qualities, one or sev-
eral. The second operation does not lead to anything similar,
but permits preparation of the body for the basic operation.

53

We separate the basic chemical operations into general and
special, or into primary and secondary. We call the six general
ones: relaxation, concretion, solution, precipitation, digestion,
and sublimation. Several are called special or secondary, and
most of these were devised by chemists not because of different
manners of their action, but on different materials. Excluding

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all the unnecessary ones of these, we will consider the most
Important of them along with the primary ones, each In its
place.

54

Relaxation Is weakening or even destruction of the cohesion
between the particles of bodies. This type of operation is In-
troduced and placed with the others with full reason, since 1)
it changes the main qualities in bodies, 2) it opens a road to
alteration of mixed bodies, and 3) it shows the different forces
of cohesion between particles in most bodies.

55

Relaxation changes most of all the position of the particles
of a mixed body (52, No. 5), although other changes occur
often enough depending on the character of the different types
of this operation, which number five: melting., softening, dilu-
tion, calcination, and preparation.

56

Melting is the conversion of a solid body into a liquid, car-
ried out with the help of fire. The usual example is seen in
the work of the goldsmith and many other craftsmen who deal
chiefly with the melting of metals. By this operation the bond
between particles is most weakened, and two or more heterog-
eneous bodies are easily combined into one, or, if a mixed
body, are separated.

57

Softening is the change with the aid of heat of hard bodies
into soft ones; it is as it were some degree toward melting; it
must be distinguished from melting only because sometimes
two bodies, due to their mixing, do not reach their combined
melting point, for at such a strength of the fire the subtlest
and most active particles have flown off into the air.

58

Dilution is the conversion of a liquid body from a thicker
to a thinner liquid by adding a more considerable amount of
aqueous humor, or of other liquid resembling one of the con-

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stituents of the body which is diluted. It has many varied uses,
for a perfectly liquid body is more easily mixed, and heavier
heterogeneous materials settle faster to the bottom, and from
an extremely active substance, milder ones result. An example
often seen among asayers and engravers on copper is the dilu-
tion of aqua fortis with water so that it is made milder and
produces more accurate effects.

59

Calcination is the transformation of a solid or liquid body
into a powder by a strong fire. A common example can be seen
in a sculptor's statue where for preparation of an image ala-
baster is converted by strong fire into a powder. In this oper-
ation there is complete separation of the cohering particles and
a way is opened for entry of foreign bodies which can be com-
bined.

60

Preparation is the conversion of a strong, solid body into a
powder by ignition and quenching with water, repeated sev-
eral times with the aid of grinding. By this method we can
break down the most resistant solid stones and make them, un-
conquerable as they are by other methods, soft and available
for treatment. An example is supplied by jewelers who by the
method described above prepare emery for polishing stones.

61

Concretion consists in this, that particles of a mixed body
which has constituents with weak or completely destroyed co-
hesion are converted to a state of closer mutual bonds. This
operation reverses the preceding. Usually relaxation is the be-
ginning of all experiments and concretion their end; the first
opens, the second closes.

62

The types of concretion, which in great part consists in the
alteration of the position of the particles of the mixed body,
are nine: freezing, setting, thickening, crystallization, coagula-
tion, hardening, petrification, vitrifying, and annealing.

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63

Freezing is the transformation of a liquid body into a solid
by lessening the degree of fire; an example is any metal cooled
after melting, and also the freezing of water. This operation
reverses melting; it is especially suitable for conversion of het-
erogeneous bodies combined by mutual mixing into a solid
compound.

64

Setting is the conversion of a soft body into a hard one. It
reverses softening and is carried out by lessened heat.

65

Thickening is the transformation of a thin liquid into a
thick one, or even into a solid body, by removal of excess
moisture. It is carried out either by gentle heat, without ap-
parent motion of the liquid, or by stronger fire, with boiling. In
the first case this operation can be called evaporation, in the
second, boiling off. Common examples occur in salt making
where brine is evaporated, and in confectionary shops which
prepare sweets from the thickened juice of berries.

66

Crystallization is carried out when a liquid body made
thicker by evaporation or boiling off and left to stand quietly
in a cold place is partly converted to solid, angular grains.
Chemists use this operation for collecting together solid bodies
dispersed in a liquid. Examples are found in salt making and
places for preparing niter.

67

Coagulation is the transformation of a thin liquid into a
thick one or a thick liquid into a soft solid body, produced
without marked evaporation. We see examples in the boiling
of eggs and in the coagulation of milk.

68

Hardening is quenching of heated metal in water to convert
it from a ductile body into a strong one. This operation is very

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often used among craftsmen, especially by gunsmiths, but it
should also have value in physical chemistry.

69

Vitrifying occurs when a body in the form of a powder is
melted by a strong fire through liquification to a lustrous solid
body which when heated can be drawn out into fibers. Exam-
ples can be seen in glass manufacture and in the laboratories
of assayers; also among goldsmiths who in this way decorate
necklaces, rings, etc., with enamel. By this operation many dif-
ferent mixed bodies are combined with strong bonds.

70

Petrification is the conversion, by the force of fire, of a
powdered body converted by water into a paste which is given
a desired definite form into a stony substance which is slowly
dried. This operation differs from vitrifying by the fact that
here the material is not liquified and the resulting stony body
does not soften on calcination and cannot be drawn into fibers.
Examples are common among potters and brickmakers, but are
best seen among workers with porcelain objects. The results,
in the sense of forming mixed bodies, are similar to those ob-
tained with vitrifying.

71

Annealing occurs when a body converted into the state of a
glass or stone is submitted to prolonged action of a somewhat
lower degree of heat than is used in ignition, and is then
gradually cooled, which assures even cohesion of the particles
and lessens brittleness. Also, by the help of this operation many
things are produced with a pleasant appearance from colored
glass.

72

Solution occurs when a liquid body acts on another, solid or
even liquid, so that successively its particles are torn off from
their cohesion and bonds to another body joined to them, and
by destruction and combination, a mixed body is formed. The
body which produces the solution is called the solvent by
chemists.

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73

There are two kinds of solution: complete and partial. The
first occurs when the dissolving body passes wholly Into the
solvent; the second when some constituent part is precipitated
from the dissolving body by the strong solvent and combines
with it. There are several varieties of the first; the second Is a
single one of the varieties of this operation, which number
nine: solution proper, extraction, digestion, elution, amalgama-
tion, cementation, corrosion, deliquescence, and solution in
vapor.

74

Solution proper occurs when particles of solid or also of a
liquid body immersed in the solvent are broken off successively
from the surface and are distributed throughout the solvent
itself. We see an example daily when salt or sugar dissolve in
water.

75

The solution is called partial when some mixture consists
of two heterogeneous bodies of which only one is dissolved in
the solvent and the second, even if it is in a state of the finest
particles, does not mix with the solvent; this can be seen among
assayers, when gold is separated from silver with the aid of
aqua fortis.

76

Extraction occurs when the solvent, as is always the case
with spirit of wine, draws out some constituent part from
bodies immersed in it, and takes this into its own composition.
A common example is daily found when aqua vitae is saturated
with aromatic substances. The very name and definition show
that this type of operation is always partial. It is distinguished
from the preceding one by the fact that that type is used more
for minerals, and this for plant substances; the former dis-
solves a greater part of the body, this dissolves a lesser part.

77

Digestion is almost the same as extraction and differs only
in the degree of fire and nature of the solvent, for here water

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brought to boiling by fire is always used. The common exam-
ples, before the eyes of everyone, are seen in the kitchen.

78

Elution is the separation of the salty parts from powdered
bodies by warm water and shaking. The usual example is the
alkali washed from ashes and very widely used by launderers.

79

Amalgamation is the solution of metals or metallic bodies
in quicksilver. An example can be found among goldsmiths
who dissolve gold in quicksilver for gilding silver and copper
objects. This operation is called partial when a mixture, one
of whose constituents does not undergo the action of the sol-
vent, is placed in this solvent.

80

Cementation occurs when the dissolving body and the solvent
are solid bodies and therefore are put in a vessel one upon
the other in successive layers and are covered and submitted
to the action of a known degree of heat so that the dissolving
body which lies below is dissolved by the solvent and is partly
or completely melted. An example is found among goldsmiths
who separate gold from lower metals by salt cementation.

81

Corrosion is that solution in which corpuscles of the dis-
solved body in great part fall to the bottom of the vessel in
the form of a powder.

82

Solution in a vapor occurs when the exhalations of the sol-
vent act on a suspended body and, dissolving it, combine with
it.

Almost the same sort of an operation as solution in a vapor
is attributed to deliquescence: this is nothing else than solution
of a body placed in moist air by water vapor. An example is
the frequently occurring deliquescence of common salt in moist
air.

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84

Precipitation occurs when heterogeneous bodies, mixed with
each other, interact so that one takes away from the other one
of its constituent parts and adds it to itself, thrusting out the
residue. This is often accompanied by effervescence and change
in the qualities of the particles, preferably those which act on
the sense of vision. It follows from the definition that precipita-
tion occurs by the third method (52).

85

Precipitation in the strict sense is settling out in the form of
a powder of a body soluble in the liquid when another body is
added. This operation gives many and astonishing results: a
common example can be seen in the preparation of ink from
a solution of iron vitriol and a decoction of gall nuts.

86

Reduction is the reverse transformation of a metal or semi-
metal, which has taken the form of a powder or slag, into
metallike form. Many examples are encountered in assaying
and even among those who are almost artisans manufacturing
metallic objects. Reduction of mercury is denoted by the spe-
cial name, revivification.

87

Detonation occurs when a body undergoes the action of open
fire, so that the constituent parts driven out are fired by the
flame and are destroyed by it with a sudden noise. An example
of this is often found in assaying when black flux is prepared.

88

Cuppelation is the separation of gold or silver from combina-
tion with other bodies by the aid of lead in a slag crucible
called the cupple. There are many examples in assaying and
goldsmithing.

89

Chemical growth occurs when, after precipitation, the sep-
arated constituent grows like some sort of plant. Such an opera-
tion is produced in chemical laboratories as, for example, in

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obtaining the arbor Dianae; this has no value for usefulness or
convenience of life.

90

Digestion is the prolonged treatment of mixed bodies by fire
or moderate, uniform heat, due to which the insensible par-
ticles of the body, set in motion, change their arrangement in
the mixed body. Therefore such an operation belongs to the
fifth type (52). There are four different types: mineral diges-
tion, fermentation, putrefaction, and reverberation.

91

We call mineral digestion the operation by which in minerals
treated in a closed vessel a constituent part changes its position
in such a way that the part previously surrounded by another
emerges. Alchemists use this operation very widely.

92

Fermentation is digestion occurring at moderate heat by
means of which substances, preferably from plants, are freed
from combination with other spiritous and vinegary parts.
Examples are met almost everywhere and daily.

93

Putrefaction is digestion with very weak heat by which there
is liberation from combination with other materials of the
urinous constituent parts, chiefly from animal substances.
Examples are met very often, even in spite of our wishes.

94

Reverberation is a longer calcination of a body, converting
it to a powder by directing a flame onto it. This operation
often follows directly on calcination and therefore it may be
confused with it by some who have not studied the nature of
the matter sufficiently. An example of both is the preparation
of minium. Here there occurs not only a shift of the constitu-
ents, but some new constituent is also added from the flame.

95

We call sublimation in general the transfer of a body in the
form of a vapor or smoke by strong fire from one place to

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The True Physical Chemistry

another. By this operation is attained 1) separation of the con-
stituents, since those which do not withstand the strength of the
fire fly upwards and those which do not yield to it remain in
their place; 2) the combination of separate constituents in a
mixed body; it often happens that a body which otherwise was
difficult to combine is very closely bound to another when
transformed into a vapor. The first case belongs to the second
type, the latter to the first (52). Bodies not converted by chem-
ical fire into vapor are called fixed, and the others, volatile.

96

There are four varieties of sublimation: dry sublimation,
moist sublimation, or distillation, rectification, and cremation.

97

Dry sublimation occurs when the vapor of the subliming
body condenses into a solid body, hard or brittle. Examples
are sulfur, cinnabar, and others which collect from the vapor
in solid form.

98

Moist sublimation, or distillation, occurs when the collected
vapors in liquid form fall in drops into a receiving vessel. A
common case is the preparation of aqua vitae.

99

Rectification is distillation in which the liquid is separated
from corrupt parts or from an excess of watery moisture or
other impurity. Examples can also be seen in the preparation
of spiritous liquors.

100

Cremation is sublimation in which a body is burned with a
bare flame and the smoke is collected in a suitable vessel.
Examples are very common in every fireplace.

101

When the enumerated and here given definitions of chemical
operations are carried out at one time in related connections,
the whole series is called a process.

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102

The precautions in the operations are many, and they dif-
fer depending on the nature of the different bodies undergo-
ing treatment, and therefore we will describe each in its place.

103

We must further note that we cannot carry out every opera-
tion with every mixed body, as will be evident when, in the
next chapter, we speak of differences in the nature of mixed
bodies.

104

Subsidiary operations are used; 1) for breaking up; 2) for
separation; 3) for combining constituent parts.

105

Breaking up is promoted: by lamination, in which the body
is flattened with a hammer into plates; by crushing, if the body
is pounded in a mortar; by granulation when the melted body
is immersed in water or, undergoing another type of action, is
split into grains; by scraping, when it is scraped with a knife;
by filing, when it is rubbed with a file; by grinding, if it is
ground in a mortar.

106

Suitable for carrying out separations are sifting, when the
larger parts are separated from the finer ones on a sieve; filter-
ing, when with the aid of a porous body a clear liquid is
separated from a heterogeneous body; sedimentation, when a
powdery body shaken in water sinks to the bottom faster or
more slowly in accord with the different weights of the par-
ticles, and thus the finer particles are separated from the larger
ones; settling, when after some time interval the material
which creates a cloud in the liquid falls to the bottom; pouring
off or so-called decantation, when a clear liquid is poured from
a precipitate over the edge of the vessel.

107

Carrying out mingling makes use of: mixing, when two
liquids are mixed; shaking, when bodies mixed together are

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The True Physical Chemistry

shaken; kneading, when soft bodies are combined by rubbing
together; rubbing, when a mixture of powders is combined by
prolonged grinding.

CHAPTER 5. ON GENERATION OF MIXED BODIES

108

All bodies are either organic or inorganic. In organic sub-
stances the bodies are constructed and bound to each other in
such a way that the cause of one part is included in the other
with which it is bound. In inorganic bodies the particles,
aside from their reciprocal cohesion and position do not have
a binding cause. Among the organic substances we here men-
tion preferably natural bodies, namely those of the animal
and vegetable kingdoms whose fibers, ducts, vacuoles, juices in
their formation and organization depend on each other. In-
organic bodies which are thus mixed form the whole mineral
kingdom, the greatest field of chemical materials.

109

Also, although the organs of animals and plants are very
small, yet they consist of still finer particles and these are in-
organic, that is, are mixed bodies, because in chemical opera-
tions when their organic structures are destroyed, mixed bodies
are obtained from them. Thus, all mixed bodies which are
produced from animal or vegetable bodies, natural or artificial,
also constitute chemical materials. Hence it is clear how wide
are the obligations and forces of chemistry in bodies of all the
kingdoms of however different a nature, so that we consider
it necessary to enumerate briefly here the most important
forms.

110

The first type of mixed body consists of salts and spirits of
salts, the second of sulfurous bodies, the third of juices, the
fourth of metals, the fifth of semimetals, the sixth of earths,
the seventh of stones.

111

By the name salts we designate brittle bodies which are dis-
solved in water which then remains clear; they do not catch

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fire if they are submitted in pure form to the action of fire.
Their types are: vitriols and all other metallic salts, alum,
borax, tartar, essential salts of plants, salt of tartar and potash,
volatile urinous salt, niter, common salt from springs, sea, rocks,
sal ammoniac, English salt and other salts obtained as a result
of chemical work.

112

Spirits of salts are liquids which have a sharp taste and
which cannot be reduced to the solid state unless some other
sort of body is introduced into their composition; they are
not sensitive to flame. Such are vinegar, spirit of tartar, acid
juices, and all spirits produced from the above mentioned
salts.

113

Salts and spirits of salts are divided into acid, alkaline, and
neutral. Acids show themselves by taste, alkaline by effer-
vescence with acids; acids color syrup of violets red, alkalies,
green. Neutral salts are those which are obtained by mixing
acid and alkaline salts.

114

Sulfurous bodies are those which easily catch fire and then
are wholly or in great part consumed; if anything remains, it
consists of slag and not ashes. Such are: sulfur, bitumen, resin,
fat, oil, spirit, phosphorus.

115

Sulfur is a solid body, completely inflammable, evolving a
sharp acid fume; it is either separated from other minerals by
sublimation, or occurs native, otherwise called living sulfur.

116

Bitumen is a solid, sulfurous body, a fossil; ignited it evolves
smoke with soot, and slag remains after burning. Its forms are
amber, asphalt, coal, and other bodies of the same nature.

117

Resin is a combustible body produced from plants naturally
or artificially; here belong myrrh, wax, camphor, etc.

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118

Fats are combustible bodies, isolated from animals, which
begin to burn only after considerable heating. Here belong
butter, meat and fish fats.

119

Oil is a fatty, combustible body which refuses to mix with
water. It is either of natural origin or artificial; the natural
oils emanate from the bowels of the earth, such as petroleum,
naphtha, etc.; the artificial are obtained by pressing or distilla-
tion. Pressing is carried out on plants, chiefly from seeds with
the aid of a machine; such is linseed oil. The distilled oils are
driven off by strong, moist sublimation and give ethereal or
empyreumatic oils. Ethereal oils are those which are distilled
from balsam-like plants at temperatures not above the boiling
point of water and which retain the odor of the plants them-
selves; empyreumatic oils are driven off by a much greater fire
from plant or animal substances, and have a bitter or un-
pleasant taste, causing nausea. The first type are the ethereal
oils, cinnamon oil, oil of cloves, etc.; the second are pitch, dis-
tilled oil of cream of tartar, oil of hartshorn, etc.

120

A spirit is a liquid, combustible body which easily takes up
water into its composition. Its form differs according to the
nature of the fermented body from which it is produced: spirit
of wine, grain, etc.

121

Phosphorus or pyrophors are bodies which spontaneously in-
flame in the open air with a strong flame, and emit light in the
dark, especially if shaken.

122

By juices we mean bodies isolated from animals or plants
which are diluted by water and break up in it, and which,
when brought into the solid state, can burn. Their forms are:
honey, gums, extracts, decoctions, gelatin, expressed juices, and
syrups, for juices are liquids or solidified substances.

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123

Honey is generally well known and does not have varieties
except those of different degrees of purity. The types of gum
are different, corresponding to the different properties of the
plants from which they are extracted. Extracts are obtained
from plants by boiling in water and are thickened by evapora-
tion. Decoctions and gelatin are produced in the same way,
but from animals. Expressed juices are the juices of plants,
especially berries; they become syrups when thickened on a
slow fire, forming a honey-like mass.

124

Metals are solid bodies, ductile, lustrous; they are precious
and nonprecious.

125

Precious metals do not lose their metallic form in a strong
fire without addition of corrosive bodies; nonprecious ones by
a single ignition fall into ashes and pass over into a glass. The
first type are gold and silver; the others are copper, iron, lead,
and tin.

126

Semimetals differ from metals by the fact that they are not
ductile; there are five of them: quicksilver, bismuth, zinc,
arsenic, and regulus of antimony.

127

Earths are solid bodies, crumbling or powdery, which can
be kneaded with water and give a paste; on dilution with water
they form a cloudy liquid from which a sediment separates
out on the bottom of the vessel.

128

Stones are firm, solid bodies which do not dissolve in water
and do not soften into a paste.

129

The forms and types of earths and stones are very numerous,
and we can better become acquainted with them from natural

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history and by direct study than from descriptions; and we
will study their general and specific signs in discussing chem-
istry.

CHAPTER 6. ON THE CHEMICAL LABORATORY
AND VESSELS

130

Besides the problems of the laboratory itself, we must briefly
describe what is required for carrying out chemical operations,
namely 1) furnaces, 2) vessels, 3) instruments, 4) materials.

131

A laboratory should be: 1) sufficiently spacious, divided into
several rooms with cupboards so that there can be free space
to carry out all the operations and keep the chemical vessels in
a suitable place; 2) safe with respect to fires and therefore con-
structed of bricks or of stone, and arched; 3) supplied with large
flues to assure easy outgo of harmful smokes and evaporations.

132

The Academy laboratory, built by the generosity of the
Sovereign in 1748 in the botanical garden under my direction,
was constructed of brick as shown in the plan. 2 AAAA is the
laboratory itself, B the chamber for weighing materials, sep-
arating them, etc.; C another chamber prepared for keeping
the vessels which are not always in use; DDDD four pillars for
supporting the fume flues of the laboratory; EEEE the bases
for the furnaces; F the furnace for heating room B in the
winter; GGGG places for keeping materials, raw or produced
by chemistry; HHH, cupboards for vessels which should be at
hand in the laboratory; K staircase leading to an attic where
the supply of chemical vessels is kept.

133

A laboratory intended most of all for discovering physical
truth through chemistry requires no greater number of fur-
naces than are sufficient for the more common operations and

2. [The plan has not been preserved.]

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does not exceed the size needed in using sufficient materials for
running experiments: for these labors are undertaken not to
obtain profit, but for the sake of science. A chemist cannot be
sufficiently careful if he carries out experiments with amounts
exceeding those which can be required for developing his
mind.

134

In our laboratory there are nine furnaces, which are enough
for us, and these are: 1) II, smelting furnace; 2) mm, assay fur-
nace; 3) nn, second smelting furnace; 4) 00, distilling furnace;
5) pp, furnace with a strong blower; 6) qq, enamel furnace;
7) rr, combustion furnace; 8) ss, furnace for glass; 9) tttt, fur-
nace for digestion or athanor with bath. Besides these furnaces
there can be a portable furnace if it is needed.

135

We took care to construct two smelting furnaces // and nn of
the same size because of their many daily uses, for all chemical
operations carried out by fire can be conveniently carried out
in them if necessity requires. In these furnaces we always
carried out fusions, calcinations, preparations, temperings, di-
gestions, amalgamations, cementations, reductions, detonations,
and cremations.

136

The assaying furnace mm was constructed with an internal
furnace surrounded by charcoal whose opening was seen
through the outer wall and was closed by a movable iron door.
The outer wall of the furnace was made of thick iron plates
and was covered with fire resistant clay. The inner furnace
for ceramic work was of a fire of resistant fatty earth and was
supported by iron rods covered with clay. Besides cuppelation,
for which this type of furnace is especially designed, it can
very suitably be used for all operations in which heat alone is
required, without flame (39), and the corresponding effects
can be found.

137

The distilling furnace had two outlets: through one the
retort was inserted, after which it was closed with bricks so

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that only the neck of the retort jutted out, to which the re-
ceiver was fastened. The rear opening served for packing in the
charcoal. This furnace, besides distillation, was suitable for
carrying out various experiments of vitrification with the help
of a charcoal fire, where the vessels with the mixture were
strengthened with clay on an open tripod.

CHAPTER 9. ON METHODS OF EXPOUNDING
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY 3

It has been briefly explained in the foregoing what chemistry
itself is (this has been done so that in beginning to study mixed
bodies we will have in mind the picture of their general
properties, their important types, media, and methods of treat-
ment and other matters concerned here and partly shown in
tables) and now we come to that which must be brought into
chemistry from physics and which can be joined to it so that
both sciences, mutually helpful, can aid in obtaining greater
development, and on each may be cast a fuller light.

After an acquaintance with mixed bodies by the help of
chemical operations, the chemist is usually provided with
knowledge of the constituents of the bodies and seeks no
other path into the secrets of these bodies, but physics, armed
with the laws of mathematics, shows a multitude of such
paths. Particular properties, as we have shown (8), originate
from mixtures, and chemists are usually absorbed in those
which create new individual qualities in bodies by changing
the mixed bodies. Since chemical operations are studied just
on mixtures, then the mind does not have to pass beyond the
qualities and their study where a clear understanding of sub-
stances is required; but it is absurd to investigate the reasons
of substances when we are insufficiently acquainted with the
substances themselves. Therefore it is necessary to know clearly

3. [Chapters 7 and 8 are missing in the manuscript and the paragraphs in
Chapter 9 are not numbered.]

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the individual qualities of each mixed body which is studied
chemically, and as far as possible to determine and note them
clearly, so that when the constituent parts are known by these
operations, we can find how much and in what form a given
quality is changed from a change in the known constituent
part and so that from the mutual interrelations of one and the
other we can explain the nature of one and the true reason for
the other.

Among the particular qualities the first is one which appears
differently in each body: the specific gravity. Most well-known
physicists have already given sufficiently exact determinations
of this; but up to now many bodies still remain which have not
undergone hydrostatic weighing, but which, however, still
merit preference over others already weighed. Then too, in
some weighed bodies there remains doubt as to their purity,
and some have not been reliably observed. Therefore, every-
thing which is met in this course, mixed bodies and their con-
stituents, everything which can be put into a vessel and touched
with the hand should be weighed hydrostatically, and we
should carefully note all the circumstances and combinations
in each operation to which the body will be submitted.

After the specific gravity comes the cohesion of parts of
which the mixed body is composed. This, it is true, has been
studied for some bodies, especially the ductile ones, by hang-
ing on of weights. But some differences in degree of heat pro-
duce changes in cohesion of particles, as can be seen perfectly
clearly by the melting of solid bodies and from following our
experiments: therefore the previous experiments are not free
from some deficiencies. Besides, the time has not been noted
which passes between loading on the successive weights and
the moment of breaking, and this would be very important to
note, since if the application of successive weights is greater
than is required, then the wire immediately breaks, and if it
is less, then the wire is successively thinned out and then is
broken. What objects and what instruments we devise for
more exact determination than up to now of the cohesion be-

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tween particles of a mixed body of any type will be seen in the
following chapter.

The different degrees of heat which a body can take up,
according to its nature . . .

93

An Attempt at Physical Chemistry.

Part First. Empirical

The "Introduction to the True Physical Chemistry" was In the
main devoted to the general part of Lonionosov's course in chemis-
try. Some fragments of his approach to the laboratory work have
also survived. The selection which follows was written early in 1754
and was first mentioned in the protocol of the Academy of Sciences
of April 15, 1754. It shows how Lomonosov planned a study of the
physicochemical properties of salts. It was first published in Col-
lected Works, II (1951), pp. 579-593.

CHAPTER 1. CONTENT OF EXPERIMENTS AND
OBSERVATIONS ON SOLUTIONS OF SALTS

Solutions of salts are preferably made in water, although
other aqueous liquids are not to be completely rejected. Here
we will consider only water as a universal solvent of salts. We
will use other aqueous liquids only to a slight degree, since
their variety is almost endless and their multitudinous variety
rather distracts the attention than serves to discover truth.

In using water for solution of salts, physics must consider
the following: 1) how much of the most important salts can
water dissolve at different degrees of heat; 2) the specific gravity
of different solutions; 3) the increase in volume of a brine after
solution of a salt; 4) the degree of cold obtained on solution of
a salt; 5) the expansion of a brine from the first degree of cold
to boiling; 6) at what degree of the thermometer does the boil-
ing of the solution and of the saline liquid occur; 7) the dura-
tion of retaining heat by the solution as compared to water;
8) what salts are dissolved and in what amount in saturated
solutions; 9) what solutions freeze more rapidly on cooling;
10) whether water deprived of air dissolves salts faster or more
slowly; 11) whether water loses the cold acquired from salts

An Attempt at Physical Chemistry

with the same rapidity as that acquired from outside; 12) the
cohesion of particles in solution compared to that in water;
13) the refraction of rays of the sun in solution compared to
that in water; 14) the rise in capillary tubes of solutions and
saline liquids compared with the rise of water; 15) microscopic
study of solutions; 16) treatment of solutions in the Papin
machine; 17) whether there is any action of electrical force in
solutions of salts and saline liquids; 19) solution in a vacuum
as compared to solution in air.

3

The ratio of amount of salt dissolved in water is greatly
changed with different degrees of heat. This can easily be
seen from the following table.

Amount of dissolved salt
in thousandth parts at

Name of
dissolved salt

Amount of
water used in
thousandth parts

VO.Xi^ULi> U.Vgi^^i> VIJL \JLAX

thermometer

25 50 75 100 125 150

Potash sulfate

Niter 163

Common salt

Wine vinegar salt

Ammoniacal sulfur salt

Ammoniacal niter

Ammoniacal salt

Ammoniacal vinegar salt

Alum 62

Borax 32

Fixed alkali

Volatile alkali

4

Concerning the crystallization of salt solutions, we must ob-
serve 1) appearance of the crust under the microscope; 2) how
it evaporates to formation of a crust; 3) by careful study, the
shape of the crystals and measurement of the angles; 4) specific

95

An Attempt at Physical Chemistry

gravity; 5) crystallization induced by severe cold; 6) whether
the crystals from water deprived of air are more solid; 7)
whether crystallization can promote the electrical force or hin-
der it; 8) refraction of light in the crystals; 9) crystallization in
the Papin machine.

5
On deliquescence and solution in vapors we should see:

1) how fast the salt deliquesces; 2) how this effect is weakened
compared to 4; 3) whether solution occurs with spirit of wine
vapor; 4) what change is produced by solution of the salts in
the vapors of hot purest spirit of wine; 5) whether crystals of
this type give other electrical sparks.

So

In liquefaction of salts: 1) what degree of heat is required;

2) it is necessary to observe under the microscope the splitting
of rock salt; 3) melting in the Papin machine; 4) to note under
the microscope the shape of the salt in fractures, solidifying
after melting; 5) the hardness compared with the crystals.

Calcined salts: 1) look at the powder under the microscope;

2) specific gravity of the powder; 3) their deliquescence and
solution in the vapors with cohobation; 4) increase and de-
crease in air; 5) increase and decrease in open air; 5) whether
they glow under the pestle and what color; 6) what part of the
particles is most easily calcined; 7) what is removed from the
particles by water, by spirit of wine, by acids and alkalis.

8
Vitrification of fine powders and salts: 1) alone; 2) with sand;

3) what heat; 4) what cohesion; 5) what refraction of the re-
sulting glass; 6) vitrification by a burning glass; 7) what is the
specific gravity; 8) electricity and luminescence.

Precipitation: 1) by fixed alkali; 2) by volatile alkali; 3) at
rest or in motion; 4) heat or cold; 4) measure of air produced
or absorbed; 5) different dilutions of precipitated and precipi-

96

An Attempt at Physical Chemistry

tater; 6) difference and the same degree of one and the other
and their changes; 7) measure of the precipitated powder;
8) crystals from the complex liquid and their study as above;
No. 4; 9) study of the calx under the microscope; 10) specific
gravity; 11) color; 12) taste; 13) vitrification; 14) flash under
the pestle; 15) whether the electric force hastens precipitation;
16) electrified precipitate, nonelectrified precipitate; 17) pre-
cipitation of volatile vapors; 18) mineral growth; 19) mineral
growth in a glass tube; 20) in a vacuum; 21) calcination of the
precipitated powder; 22) in a hermetically sealed vessel; 23)
vitrification of the powder in a closed vessel lacking air and
equipped for preventing increase in weight; 24) weight of
metal reduced from the powder; 25) cupellation; 26) reverbera-
tion of the powder.

10

Sublimation: 1) generation or absorption of air; 2) quantity
separated; 3) specific gravity; 4) value of extension from boil-
ing water to freezing point; 5) difference in extension from
freezing to boiling of the same liquid; 6) refraction of the
liquid; 7) cohesion; 8) comparative duration of heat; 9) rise
in capillary tube; 10) how the electric force affects sublimation;
11) in a vacuum; 12) calcined tartar.

BOOK SECOND. PHYSICOCHEMICAL EXAMINATION

OF SALTS

11

Sulfur and bitumen dissolved in linseed oil, in animal oil,
in spirit of wine: 1) cohesion of bitumen; 2) cohesion of solu-
tion and solvent; 3) specific gravity; 4) solution at different
degrees of heat; 5) increase in volume; 6) change in color;
7) taste; 8) whether on solution heat or cold are produced;
9) how great is the expansion from the boiling of water to the
first freezing; 10) its own boiling and freezing points; 11) re-
fraction; 12) rise in capillary tube; 13) treatment of the solu-
tion in a Papin machine; 14) how the electric force acts on the
solution of salts; 15) color of the electric spark; 16) comparison
of the solutions in a vacuum and in air; 17) whether the solu-

97

An Attempt at Physical Chemistry

tions are different in solvents deprived of air from those pro
duced in the presence of air.

12

Coagulation of the solutions: 1) amount of moisture re
moved; 2) cohesion of the coagulate; 3) color; 4) taste.

98

Meditations on the Cause of Heat and Cold

This paper, which contains some of the most fundamental ideas of
Lomonosov and which he himself cited most often in his later works,
was apparently written in 1743-44 and was presented at a session of
the Academy of Sciences on December 7, 1744. Copies were sent by
Lomonosov to Leonhard Euler and other of his friends in western
Europe. Along with a group of his other papers, it was finally pub-
lished in 1750, appearing in the Navi Commentarii Academiae
sdentiarum imperialis PetropoUtanae, 1:206-229 (1750), under the
title "Meditationes de caloris et frigoris causa/' It was abstracted
or reviewed in a number of learned journals of the West at the
time of its publication. A Russian translation appeared in 1828, and
B. N. Menshutkin published excerpts from it in German in the
Ostwald Klassiker, no. 178 (1910). For a long time this was the
only work of Lomonosov which was fairly well known and avail-
able to Western scholars. Thus it became accepted as representing
Lomonosov's entire corpuscular theory; and only recently have more
balanced judgments been possible.

The full Latin text with Russian translation is given in the Col-
lected Works, II (1951), pp. 7-55, and the Russian translation is
printed in Selected Works, pp. 58-80.

1

It is very well known that heat 1 is excited by motion: hands
are warmed by rubbing together, wood is ignited into flame;
with a blow to the flint sparks appear from the flintstone; iron
glows by hammering pieces and by strong blows, and if these
are stopped, the heat decreases and the fire which was produced
is gradually extinguished. Moreover, in absorbing heat a body
is either converted into insensible particles and is scattered
into the air, or it falls into ashes, or the force of cohesion in
it is so lessened that it melts. Finally, the generation of bodies,
life, growth, fermentation, decay are hastened by heat, slowed
by cold. From all this it is perfectly evident that a sufficient

L By such a name we mean also the greater intensity of its force, usually
called fire.

99

Meditations on Heat and Cold

basis for heat is found in motion. And, since motion cannot oc-
cur without material, therefore it is necessary that a sufficient
basis for heat is found in motion of some material.

Although for the most part no motion in hot bodies is ap-
parent to the sight, yet this very often manifests itself through
action. Thus, iron, heated almost to glowing seems quiet to
the eye, yet one body moved near it melts, another is converted
into a vapor, that is, its particles are set in motion and this
shows that in them motion of some sort of material is present.
Then we cannot deny the existence of motion where we do
not see it; who, in fact, will deny that when a strong wind
passes through a forest the leaves and branches sway, although
when viewed from afar no motion is visible. In the same way
as here, due to distance, so also in hot bodies due to the small-
ness of the particles of moving material, the motion escapes the
sight; in both cases the angle of view is so acute that neither
the particles themselves falling under this angle nor their mo-
tion can be seen. However, we consider that no one, unless he
is a believer in occult qualities, will ascribe to heat, the source
of so much change, a lack of motion, and hence of a mover.

o
3

Since a body can be moved by two motions, total, by which
the whole body continuously changes its position while the
parts remain quiet with respect to each other, and internal,
which is a shift in the position of the insensible particles of
the material, and since with the most rapid total motion often
no heat is found, and in the absence of such motion great heat
may be found, then it is evident that heat consists of internal
motion of the material.

4

In bodies material is of two kinds: cohering^ namely moving
and producing pressure with the whole body, and flowing, like
a river, through the pores of the first body. It may be asked
which of these, brought into motion, produces heat? In order
to answer this question it is necessary to consider the main ef-
fects observed in hot bodies. It is clear from considering these

100

Meditations on Heat and Cold

that 1) in bodies the heat is greater the more dense is the co-
hering of their material and vice versa. Thus, looser tow burns
with greater flames but gives much less heat than that which
burns after denser packing. Straw which under ordinary con-
ditions burns with a light flame is used by the inhabitants of
the fertile parts of Russia which lack wood in place of fire-
wood, after they have first fastened it into a thick, compact
bundle; when more porous wood is burned, it gives less heat
than denser wood, and coal which contains rocky material in
its pores produces a stronger heat than wood charcoal which,
like a sponge, has empty spaces. Moreover, air of the lower
atmosphere, which is denser than air of the higher atmosphere,
heats bodies around which it flows more than the latter, as is
indicated by very warm valleys surrounded by mountains cov-
ered with perpetual ice; 2) denser bodies also contain more
cohering material in the same volume than does flowing ma-
terial. Since it is well known from the laws of mechanics that
the amount of motion is the more considerable, the greater
the amount of material found in motion, and vice versa, then
if a sufficient basis for heat consisted in the internal motion
of the flowing material, the more rarefied body in whose pores
was a greater supply of flowing material should have a greater
capacity for heat than denser bodies. However, since on the
contrary the amount of heat rather corresponds to the amount
of cohering material of the body, therefore it is evident that
a sufficient cause for heat consists in the internal motion of the
cohering material of the body.

5

This truth is confirmed by the action of celestial fire directed
on a body by a burning glass: on its removal from the focus
this fire remains in it longer the denser it is, so that in the most
rarefied of bodies, air, it does not last for the shortest percep-
tible time. Hence we add that heat is different according to
the differing heaviness and hardness of the body, and experi-
ment shows that its intensity is proportional to the weight of
the body, corresponding to the degree of cohesion of its par-
ticles, evidently an indication that the cohering material of the
body is the material of its heat. Although the cohering material
is of two kinds: the natural material of which the body con-

101

Meditations on Heat and Cold

sists and the foreign material lodged in the empty spaces where
there is no natural material, yet since both move together with
the body itself and are combined in one common mass, it can-
not be that when the natural material is aroused to calorific
motion there is not the same motion of the foreign material,
and vice versa, as on heating a sponge the colder water in the
pores receives heat and, reversibly, warmer water heats the
colder sponge.

6

We consider that the internal motion certainly occurs in
three ways: 1) if insensible particles continuously change places,
or 2) if they rotate while remaining in place, or 3) if they
continuously move backward and forward in an insensible
space and in an insensible period of time. The first we consider
as progressive, the second as rotary, and the third as oscillatory
internal motion. Now we must consider which of these motions
produces heat. In order to explain this, we take as a basis the
following positions. 1 ) Internal motion is not the cause of heat
if it cannot be shown to be in a hot body. 2) Nor is internal
motion the cause of heat when it occurs in a body less hot than
another body which lacks this motion.

7

The particles of a liquid body are bound to each other so
weakly that they spread out if they are not held by any solid
body and they need hardly any external force to counteract
their cohesion, but they can spontaneously separate, withdraw
from each other, and move progressively. Therefore we can-
not impress permanent marks on a liquid, for these would all
immediately vanish. Whether or not internal progressive mo-
tion is present in each liquid body, even one colder than the
level of vital heat, we will not investigate here; we do not
doubt that for our purpose it will be sufficient to show that
there are many cases in which it is shown quite clearly. For
this we begin first of all with solutions of salt in water. It is
invariably found that water felt to be perfectly quiet gives a
sensation of cold to the hand when it dissolves sea salt, niter,
or sal ammoniac placed on the bottom of the vessel, and dis-
tributes them to all its parts. Since this can occur only if the

102

Meditations on Heat and Cold

particles o water remove the molecules of salt which are torn
off from the piece of salt, then it is quite evident that the water
particles themselves move progressively when they dissolve any
kind of salt. In the same way no one can deny this; it happens
also in quicksilver when it attacks metals and distributes their
particles; in spirit of wine, too, when it removes colored sub
stances from plants.

8

On the other hand, particles of a solid body, especially the
more solid inorganic ones, are compounds of such close cohe-
sion that they firmly resist outside forces which tend to sep-
arate them; because of this it is impossible to separate them
from each other spontaneously by breaking the cohering bonds
and to show progressive internal motion. Therefore even the
slightest marks on them are retained for centuries and are de-
stroyed only by constant use or by the action of air or by
change of the body itself into the liquid state. In this respect
a good example is gold which, deposited on the surface of a
silver object, remains on it for a long time and wears off only
by frequent use. On the other hand it immediately leaves the
surface and is distributed through the whole mass of silver
when the gilded silver object is melted on the fire. All this
clearly shows that the particles of the solid body, especially the
harder and inorganic ones, do not have progressive motion.

9

Having established this, we consider first any silver vessel or
other object of this metal covered with gold and carved with
the finest engraving marks and heated to such a degree of heat
as that of boiling water. We see that the gold on the surface
remains unaffected and the marks are not in the least changed;
the hardness of the vessel remains as before, and this entirely
excludes the possibility of separation of insensible particles.
This then most clearly shows that the body can be strongly
heated without internal progressive motion. Second, we com-
pare any hard stone, for example a diamond, heated to the
temperature of melted lead (which the artisans often do, col-
lecting it for polishing, without any harm or change in the
precious stone) with water, cooled sufficiently by dissolving a

103

Meditations on Heat and Cold

salt in it, by which it is still more cooled, or with mercury
when it attacks silver; the first we find very hot without in-
ternal progressive motion, but the water and mercury which
have such motion have a very slight degree of heat. This ob-
viously indicates that often bodies which have internal pro-
gressive motion are much less hot than those which do not
have such motion. Hence by virtue of the idea given above
(6) it follows that internal progressive motion of cohering
material is not the cause of heat.

10

From the definition of the internal oscillatory motion (6),
we see clearly that with such motion the particles of the body
cannot cohere to each other. Although there is a very small
space in which they vibrate yet here the particles will lack
mutual contact and in great part this will not appear exter-
nally. For perceptible cohesion the particles of the body re-
quire continuous reciprocal contact; therefore the particles of
the body cannot show any perceptible cohesion if they are
agitated by internal oscillatory motion. But since most bodies
on heating to redness keep a very strong cohesion of the par-
ticles, it is evident that heat of a body does not occur from
internal oscillatory motion of the cohering material (6).

11

Thus, after this, as we have rejected progressive and oscil-
latory internal motions, it necessarily follows that heat consists
in internal rotary motion (6) of the cohering material (4);
for it is necessary to ascribe it to some one of the three mo-
tions.

12

Here, however, we can ask the question, whether the parti-
cles of a solid body, occurring in continuous and perfect cohe-
sion, can rotate around each other. In order to answer this, it
is enough to remember that two pieces of marble with polished
surfaces placed in contact move easily with respect to each
other; also glass lenses on grinding adhere so firmly to the
rapidly rotating form that they cannot be shifted in a line per-
pendicular to the plane of contact without their breaking. Con-

104

Meditations on Heat and Cold

sidering this, we can plainly imagine that the finest particles
of the body can rotate one around the other in spite of the
cohesion, the more easily, the less the observed ratio of their
plane of contact to the whole surface. As to liquids, it is quite
evident that their particles, which in most cases move by inter-
nal progressive motion due to the absence of resistance pro-
duced by cohesion, can also have a rotary motion while
preserving the first type of motion.

13

From this theory of ours we also draw the following corol-
laries. 1) The most suitable form of corpuscular material for
calorific motion is the spherical, since such particles can mu-
tually touch at only one point and have almost no force of
friction with each other. 2) Since each motion when large can
increase or decrease, this must also be assumed for calorific
motion. But the greater this motion, the more considerable
should be its action; hence, on increasing the calorific motion,
that is, on more rapid rotation of the particles of cohering ma-
terial, the heat should be increased, and with slower rotation,
decreased. 3) Particles of a hot body rotate faster, of a cold
body, more slowly. 4) A hot body should cool on contact with
a cold one, since it slows the calorific motion of the particles;
on the contrary, a cold body should warm up due to hastening
the motion on contact. 5) Thus, when the hand feels heat in
any body the particles of the cohering material arouse a more
rapid rotation in the hand, and when cold is felt, its rotary
motion is slowed.

14

There is no surer way to truth than the method of mathe-
matics, which confirms the a priori ideas by examples and the
a posteriori ideas by tests. Therefore, in order to develop our
theory further, we explain by mathematical examples the most
important effects found for fire and heat, and thus confirm the
full reality of the ideas given in 11.

15

Phenomenon 1. On mutual friction of solid bodies, one of
them moves on the other and scrapes it; hence it follows that

105

Meditations on Heat and Cold

particles lying on the frictional surface strike each other. Thus
[Fig. 1], let body AB move on body CD from B to A; the par-
ticle ab partly strikes its surface b on the part c o the surface
of particle cd, so that particle ab excites particle cd to motion,
and on the other hand, particle cd by its resisting force excites
particle ab to reverse motion. Since these enter the composition
of a solid body, they cannot leave their places and move pro-
gressively; therefore the motion of body AB does not stop, and
so particle cd will move around its center in the direction in
which it is pushed by particle ab, and particle ab around its

o

o

b

Fig. 1

center in the direction in which it is held back by particle cd',
that is, both will move in rotatory ways. In this way the indi-
vidual particles which lie in the plane of friction, being put
into rotation, excite the other particles which make up bodies
AB and CD to rotation propagated by friction. Thus it is clear
how solid bodies are heated by mutual friction; further con-
clusions also follow from this. 1) Phenomenon 2. The more
strongly the surfaces of bodies AB and CD are compressed by
friction, and the faster they move around each other, the more
strongly are particles ab and cd excited to rotary motion and

106

Meditations on Heat and Cold

the faster the body itself is heated. 2) Phenomenon 3. Since
the particles of a liquid body adhere very weakly to each other
and very easily leave their places, then when the particles ab
and cd occur on the surface of liquid bodies, they yield place
to each other and cannot show that rotary motion which occurs
in particles in the composition of solid bodies. Due to all this,
liquid bodies not only are not markedly heated by friction be-
tween masses of shaken liquids, but also they do not heat solid
bodies when their surfaces are wet by liquids.

16

Phenomenon 4. If we scrape a nail with a longer iron rod,
the separate particles on the rod surface strike the particles of
the nail which meet them. But since the rubbing surface of
the rod is larger than the surface of the nail, then on the nail
surface a greater force of particles strikes than on the rod sur-
face; due to this, the particles of the nail, excited by more
blows should come to rotary motion faster than the particles
which make up the rod. Therefore it is not surprising that the
nail is heated before the rod.

17

Phenomenon 5. When cold iron is hammered with a ham-
mer, especially if it is struck at an oblique angle, then part of
the iron mass yields to the blow of the hammer and pushes on
the neighboring part which does not feel the blow, and strikes
it just like a body closely attached to another surface, and
moves it with a strong friction; under the influence of more
frequent blows the friction between the excited parts of the
iron mass is increased and the rotary motion of the particles
is increased so that the iron is sometimes heated to redness.
Phenomenon 6. It is just the same in any metallic rod, espe-
cially if it is not elastic, when it is repeatedly bent: in fact,
parts of the mass on the convex side are pulled apart in oppo-
site directions and, passing by each other, with a rubbing mo-
tion they create friction to give a rotary motion and the bent
rod is heated.

18

Phenomenon 7. If a hotter body A is in contact with an-
other body B which is less hot, then the particles of body A at

107

Meditations on Heat and Cold

the point o contact rotate faster than the neighboring parti-
cles of body B (13), the faster rotation hastens the rotating
motion of the particles of body B, that is, gives them part of
its motion; as much motion leaves the first as is added to the
second, that is, when the particles of body A hasten the rotat-
ing motion of the particles of body B, their own is slowed. Due
to this, when body A heats body B by contact, it itself is cooled.

19

Phenomenon 8. Further, the particles of body B lying on
the contact surface when set into motion touch other particles
of the same body further from the contact surface; these hasten
their motion by mutual friction with the first, and other neigh-
boring ones rotate, and so their internal rotary motion is suc-
cessively distributed from the plane of contact to the opposite
surface- On the other hand, particles of body A on the plane
of contact are slowed in their motion (18), and the slowing is
transferred from them to their neighbors, then successively to
newer and newer particles up to the surface opposite the con-
tact. Hence it is explained why on contact the surface of a less
hot body applied to a hotter one is heated before the opposite
one is, and the surface of a hotter body applied to a colder one
is cooled before the opposite one.

20

Phenomenon 9. If the opposite surfaces of the less hot body
A approach two hotter bodies B and C, then from each con-
tact surface there will be propagated toward the other an in-
ternal rotary motion, and therefore it will envelop all of body
A faster than if this motion, beginning on one side, should be
distributed to the other side, that is, if it were supplied either
by body B or body C. In the same way, if body A were warmer
than bodies B and C on both sides of it, the rotary motion of
its particles should be retarded faster than if body A were in
contact with the less hot body B or C alone on one side only.
Hence It follows that the rotary motion of the particles is in-
creased or slowed faster, the greater the surface in contact with
the hotter or colder body. Therefore, since the surfaces of such
bodies are in double and the volumes in triple ratio to the

108

Meditations on Heat and Cold

diameter, then it is also explained why hot bodies o the same
nature and the same shape but larger volume in the same sur-
rounding medium, for example air, are cooled more slowly
and cold bodies are heated more slowly than if they were of
the same volume.

21

Phenomenon 10. Moving and resting bodies show resistance
in proportion to inertia which, as is known, is proportional to
the weight; therefore heavier particles are excited by the same
force to calorific motion with more difficulty, or if in motion,
slow with more difficulty than lighter objects. Hence also it is
evident why cold bodies, specifically heavier, in the same re-
sisting medium are heated more slowly and hot bodies in the
same cooling medium are cooled more slowly than specifically
lighter ones.

22

Phenomenon 11. It is certain that particles of harder bodies
cohere specifically more firmly than particles of softer bodies.
Hence the further conclusion is relevant that these are held to
each other by greater contact surfaces. Correspondingly, as can
be assumed from further consideration, the contact surfaces of
the particles themselves should be larger, that is, the particles
of harder bodies should have a greater mass than the particles
of softer bodies. It happens that particles of harder bodies are
in great part rough to the touch and thus give the senses a
feeling of their greater size. Since, therefore, with other condi-
tions equal a body of greater volume can be excited to motion
with more difficulty from rest, and be slowed with more diffi-
culty in stopping motion than a body of lesser volume, then
the larger particles of harder bodies do not receive and give
off caloric motion as easily as the finer particles of softer bodies.
Thus the reason is clear why harder bodies receive and give
up heat more slowly than do softer bodies.

23

Phenomenon 12. Since particles of a heated body rotate, we
must accept the reasoning that by the movement of their sur-
faces they act on each other so that each repels the other the

109

Meditations on Heat and Cold

more strongly the more energetic is the rotary motion. Since
this repulsion opposes the cohesion of the particles, one lessens
the other, and on increase of the rotary motion there should
be a decrease in cohesion of the particles. Therefore it is not
at all surprising that the hardness of hard bodies is decreased
by the force of heat and even is finally so weakened that it
totally destroys the cohesion of the particles, and we find that
first the body is converted into a liquid and then the body is
dispersed in the form of a vapor.

24

Hence it follows 1) that the reason for liquidity and fluidity
is the rotary motion of the particles, and the repulsive force
thus produced is sufficient to destroy the cohesion of the par-
ticles to such an extent that the particles either circle freely
around each other and spread out, or by complete destruction
of the bonds are dispersed in air. 2) The reason for volatiliza-
tion and evaporation is chiefly this, that due to different com-
position of the air, and also to the fact that the calorific, or
what is the same thing, centrifugal force acts with differing
strength on them, the particles of the body are torn off and
scattered. 3) Fluid and liquid bodies always contain heat,
though not much, when they seem to be cold.

25

Phenomenon 13. Body A acting on body B cannot give to
the latter a greater rate of motion than it has itself. Therefore
if body B is cold and is immersed in a hot fluid body A, then
the heat of motion of the particles of body A excites the par-
ticles of body B to heat of motion; but in the particles of body
B there cannot be excited a more rapid motion than exists in
the particles of body A and therefore the cold body B im-
mersed in body A evidently cannot show a greater degree of
heat than A possesses. Phenomenon 14. Hence it is clear why
the bottom of a tin vessel filled with water resists heating by
a very strong flame which otherwise would easily melt this
metal. Actually, although the flame sets the tin particles in very
rapid motion, yet the water above it cannot acquire that rate
of heat motion which is needed to negate the cohesion of the

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Meditations on Heat and Cold

tiny particles; therefore the water slows their rotary motion
and does not permit the metal to melt.

26

Here is also the place to mention the reason for the expan-
sion of bodies which is usually increased or decreased depend-
ing on their heat. Since expansion does not occur directly from
the heat, but from the elasticity of the air included in the pores
of the body, we will leave this effect to be considered at another
time. Moreover, we cannot designate such a great rate of mo-
tion that there cannot conceivably be a still greater one. This
relates properly to calorific motion; therefore it is impossible
for a highest and final degree of heat to be due to motion. On
the contrary, it Is true this same motion can be so decreased
that a body finally reaches a state of rest, and no further de-
crease in motion is possible. Hence, from necessity there must
exist a greatest and final degree of cold which should consist
in absolute rest from rotary motion of the particles.

27

Although a greatest degree of cold is possible, yet there is
no evidence which indicates that such a state occurs on the
terrestrial sphere. Actually, everything which seems cold to us
is only less hot than our organs which feel it. Thus, the coldest
water is still hot, since ice, into which water freezes with a very
strong frost is colder than it, that Is, less hot. If melting wax
is actually hot, then why is water which seems to us very cold,
in actual fact not hot, for it is nothing else than melted ice.
However, we should not conclude that freezing of a body is a
sign of the greatest cold, for metals which solidify immediately
after melting are of the nature of ice, but they are so hot that
they ignite a hot body which approaches them. However, there
are liquid bodies which do not freeze at any known degree of
cold. Since their liquid state depends on calorific motion (24),
it is clear that these liquid bodies always have some degree of
heat. Further, bodies usually have a degree of heat inherent in
the medium In which they have been immersed for a consider-
able time. And since air, found always and everywhere, is a
fluid, that is, as demonstrated, warm, then all bodies sur-
rounded by the earth's atmosphere, even though seeming cold

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Meditations on Heat and Cold

to the senses, are warm; and therefore the highest degree of

cold does not exist on our terrestrial sphere.

28

Thus we have shown a priori and confirmed a posteriori that
the cause of heat is internal rotary motion of cohering mate-
rials; now we pass to a consideration of ideas which the ma-
jority of contemporary scholars have expressed concerning heat.
In our times the cause of heat is ascribed to a peculiar material
which most call caloric, others ether, and some, elementary fire.
They say that a greater amount of it occurs in a body in which
a greater degree of heat is observed, so that at various degrees
of heat of a given body the amount of calorific material in it
is increased or decreased. Although it is sometimes assumed
that the heat of a body is increased by strong motion of this
material entering it, yet most often they consider the true cause
of increase or decrease of heat to be a simple entry or departure
of different amounts of it. This idea has taken such a deep root
in the minds of many and is so strong, that everywhere we read
in physical papers of the entry into the pores of a body of the
above mentioned calorific material as if some sort of love po-
tion were attracting, or, on the other hand, a violent departure
from the pores as if it were seized with fright; therefore we con-
sider it our duty to submit this hypothesis to a test. Most of
all we must answer the actual originators from whom this idea
came. There are four of them who are most important, to
whom we should look for an explanation of other effects of
nature,

29

When scholars began to study more attentively the effects
connected with the heating of bodies, they easily noted that
on increase of heat the volume of each body also increased.
Since they knew exactly that nothing except heat had been
added to the body, and their minds still held strongly to the
ancient idea of elementary fire, they did not hesitate to con-
clude that on calcination some sort of material, native fire,
entered the pores of the body and expanded it; and when it
left it, this body cooled and contracted. We would agree with
them willingly if they could as easily show just how the heat

112

Meditations on Heat and Cold

material is driven into suddenly heated bodies. How, I ask,
in the coldest winter when everything is enveloped by severe
frost, or in the coldest depths of the sea 2 where, according to
this hypothesis there is almost no heat material, gunpowder,
ignited by the smallest external generating spark, suddenly ex-
pands with a great flame? Whence and by what remarkable
virtue are fire and this material instantaneously brought to-
gether? But let it fly however impetuously in coming from a
most distant place, what would be the reason for the ignition
and expansion of the gunpowder? In this case it would be nec-
essary either that another body surrounding the gunpowder
was previously heated by arriving fire and was expanded, or
that this volatile fire, nothing else than the gunpowder itself,
could not ignite and expand, which would be for it to forget
its own nature; the first is evidently contradicted by experi-
ment, the second by common sense.

30

In general the nature of a thing is such that on increase of
its source there increases also its action, and on the contrary,
when this decreases, its action is lessened. Therefore, when the
same degree of heat is observed in two bodies with other con-
ditions equal, there should be the same increase or decrease in
the amplitude of each body. But what differences are found in
this respect! I say nothing about air which from the degree of
freezing of water to the degree of its boiling expands by a third
part while water in this time increases by one twenty-sixth part
of its volume. Even bodies of almost the same liquidity, such
as mercury, water, spirit of wine, different oils, and also some
solid bodies like metals, glass, etc., show an evident variation
in increase or extension from the same degree of heat. How-
ever, let no one assume that more marked cohesion of the parts
acts as a hindrance for expansion: for steel has a stronger co-
hesion of the particles, as everyone knows, but experiment
shows that steel expands more, iron less. So also for bronze, a
body harder than copper which expands more than the latter
from the same degree of heat. We cannot ascribe any slowing
in incandescence to the great weight of a body, not to mention

2. Boerhaave, Elem* Chym. f part 2, from Sinclair, Arte gravitatis, p. 301.

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Meditations on Heat and Cold

any other fact which in different bodies would hinder their
expansion, without showing contradictory cases which run
counter to the assumption made when the expansion of heated
bodies is ascribed to entering material. But this is the case for
different bodies. Sometimes one and the same body is com-
pressed when heat increases; for example, water coming from
ice is specifically heavier than it, since even with a considerable
degree of heating it does not permit the ice to sink to the bot-
tom. Thus also iron and most other bodies, still in the solid
state, float in those same bodies in the fused state, since they
occupy a greater volume though they still do not have the same
degree of heat at which they usually melt. From all this it is
quite clear that expansion by accumulation of heat and con-
traction on cooling cannot at all show these apparent shiftings
of the material of heat.

31

However, this theory, already weakened by its own magni-
tude, can be established in another way by a fact which has
greater weight. Thus scholars, and especially chemists, think
that this circulating fire can show its presence in bodies not
only by an increase in their volume, but also by an increase in
weight. If I am not mistaken, the most illustrious Robert Boyle
showed for the first time in an experiment that bodies increase
in weight on calcination 3 and that one could make part of fire
and flame stable and ponderable. If this could actually be
shown for some elementary fire, then refutation of our opinion
would be strongly supported. However, the greater part, almost
all, of his experiments on increased weight by the action of fire
led to this, that the weight was possessed either by part of the
flame calcining the body, or part of the air which during the
calcination passed over the calcining body. Thus, metallic
plates burned in the flame of burning sulfur actually expanded
and increased in weight; but here the reason for the increased
weight is nothing else than the acid of sulfur which can be
freed from phlogiston, collected and accumulated under a bell;
then it penetrates into the pores of copper and silver and, com-
bining with them, produces an increase in weight. Thus when

3. In the Treatise on the Weight of Fire and Flame.

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Meditations on Heat and Cold

lead is burned to minium, the workman deliberately directs
onto the liquefied metal the very smoky flame; it is just this
which colors the lead slag red and increases its weight, to the
profit of the workman. The remaining experiments of the fa-
mous author in a supplement to the paper mentioned seem,
it is true, more positive, but they are not at all free from doubt,
since the author himself was not present at them and carrying
them out was entrusted to some assistant. But let us assume
that besides the particles of the calcined body or the particles
flying around in the air, which continuously flows around the
calcining body, some other kind of material is added to the
metal which increases the weight of the calx. Since the calx,
removed from the fire, keeps its acquired weight even in the
most severe frost and, moreover, does not show any excess heat
in itself, then it follows that in the process of calcination some
material is added to the body, but not that which is ascribed
to the fire itself, for I do not see how the latter in the calx
could forget its own nature. Further, the metallic calx reduced
to the form of the metal loses its acquired weight. Since the
reduction is produced in the same way as the calcination, by
an even stronger fire, we cannot find any basis why the same
fire introduced into the body by it, then leaves, also by it.
Finally, all the similar experiments made by the famous Boer-
haave 4 and Duclos 5 evidently had contradictory results. The
first investigator weighed, before calcination, and then again
after calcination and cooling, five pounds and eight ounces of
iron, but did not find any change or decrease in weight. The
second worker ascribed increased weight of minerals on cal-
cination to sulfur particles carried in air (as we said above)
which continually flowed over the mineral undergoing calcina-
tion, and the introduction of the latter when these particles
broke up in the fire; he showed this in his experiments: he
found that from regulus of antimony burned in open air there
was extracted by spirit of wine a red extract, by the removal
of which the remaining mass had the same weight as the reg-
ulus before burning. 2) Regulus of antimony burned in an-
other way, namely, without increase in weight, does not give

4. Elementa Chymiae, part 2, De Igne, experiment 20.

5. Mem. de I'Acad. Roy. des Sciences, Anne*e 1667.

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Meditations on Heat and Cold

such an extract. Thus, the argument is also not conclusive
when given in defense of the individuality of fire material
based on increased weight of a calcined body.

32

The rays of the sun, caught and collected by a burning glass,
give a very strong heat and a bright light; it is thought that
this shows visually and with the sun itself as a witness that heat
material or elementary fire coming from the sun is condensed
at the focus and this strengthens the brilliance and heat. It is
easy to see here that it is assumed that the material of light is
emitted from the sun like a river from its source. This hypoth-
esis is very much as if we should state that air from a sounding
body is emitted on all sides at a rate equal to the speed of
sound. Evidently ether and light, which differ from each other
in the same way as motion and matter differ from each other,
are here confused, and it is clear that we should discard the
condensation of material delivered to the focus of the glass
and replace it by concentration of heat motion. For me, the
assertion that in the focus of the burning glass or mirror there
is concentrated the matter of ether does not seem otherwise
than if we should say that in the focus of an elliptical arch
sound waves are not collected, but the material of air itself is
concentrated. That the sun's focus is very hot is not due to the
great density of ether matter, but is due to its heat motion;
this is sufficiently shown by the focus of the sun's rays reflected
from the moon. Since they are very bright, they should also be
very hot if the heat came from a concentration of ethereal mat-
ter. But there is no heat in them; therefore the luminous focus
is produced either by accumulation of ether matter or by con-
centrating its motion. To exclude concentration of material
means to go against the hypothesis; to avoid concentration of
motion means to recognize that fire matter can also exist in the
cold, that is, that fire is not fire. Whoever considers this with-
out prejudice then will agree with me that the existence of heat
material can in no way be shown from the occurrence of heat
in the focus of a burning apparatus.

33

By mixing common salt with snow or crushed ice, physicists
obtain a substance called from its origin a freezer, since water

116

Meditations on Heat and Cold

placed in it in some sort of a vessel is converted to ice. While
this is taking place, the snow with the salt melts. Hence it is
usually concluded that fire matter from the water moves into
the surrounding snow and from combination with it the latter
melts, and the water, because of the departure of fire matter,
is converted to ice. Beautiful! But something remains to be
tested before our trophies of victory are snatched away. Intro-
duce, if you please, a thermometer and a bottle of water into
the snow, add salt to the snow, and you will see that while the
water is converted into ice and the cooling mixture melts, the
alcohol in the thermometer still sinks; a clear sign that along
with the freezing of the water the cooling mixture becomes
colder; thus no elementary fire is forced into it from the water,
but rather the snow, melted by contact with the warmer water,
acts on the salt, dissolves it, is cooled, and acquires a less de-
gree of heat than the water has as it passes into ice. From this
the pure water in the vessel freezes and the snow itself, due to
the absorption of the salt, remains liquid. Who, in fact, does
not know that pure water put in a glass vessel in water sat-
urated with salt is converted into ice at 26 on the Fahrenheit
thermometer, while the brine itself remains liquid?

34

On the basis of all the above ideas we state that we cannot
ascribe the heat of a body to condensation of any sort of subtle
material especially assumed for the purpose, but that heat con-
sists in internal rotary motion of cohering material of the
heated body; and we not only say that such motion and the
heat of the most specific and finest matter of ether, which fills
all space, do not contain sensible bodies, but also assert that
the matter of ether can communicate the motion of heat ob-
tained from the sun to our earth and the other bodies of the
world and to heat them; it is the medium by which bodies
separated from each other communicate heat without any di-
rect sensible ones.

35

Rejecting the material which other authors have assumed as
the exclusive cause for explaining heat, we could conclude if,

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Meditations on Heat and Cold

on the other hand, a new problem did not arise. This is that
the cause of cold is also a peculiar substance, seeing that there
can be a positive basis for this in salts, due to the production
of cold in their solutions. But since the same salts sometimes
also produce heat, and thus ordinary salt effervesces and grows
hot when oil of vitriol is added, we could with the same rea-
son ascribe a principle of heat to the salt if we did not con-
sider such an unintelligent controversy beneath our contempt.

118

Dissertation on the Action of Chemical
Solvents In General

During the years immediately after his return from Germany to
St. Petersburg, Lomonosov developed most of his chemical Ideas
and embodied them in a series of papers which he presented to
the Academy of Sciences. These were finally collected and pub-
lished in 1750. The following paper was written in 1743 and re-
vised several times before reaching its final form in 1745. It is the
first paper to include a description of actual experiments carried
out by Lomonosov before the construction of his laboratory In
1748.

The paper was read and approved by Euler in 1747, and was
published in the Novi Commentarii Academiae sdentiarium im-
perialis Petropolitanae, 1: 245-266 (1750) in Latin with the title
"Dissertatio de actione menstruorum chymicorum in genere." The
Latin text and Russian translation were published In Collected
Works, I (1950), pp. 337-383, and the Russian translation appeared
in Selected Works, pp. 19-42.

Although even in ancient times persons skilled in chemistry
devoted much work and effort to the science, and especially In
the last hundred years its supporters strove with each other,
as we might say, to study the composition of natural mixed
bodies, yet one important part of natural science was still hid-
den in deep darkness and was smothered by its own mass. The
true reasons for the astonishing effects which nature produces
by its chemical actions were hidden from us, and therefore,
up to now, we have not known of a more direct path leading
to many discoveries which would increase the happiness of the
human race. For we must recognize that although there are a
great multitude of chemical experiments whose accuracy we
do not doubt, yet we can rightly complain that we can draw
from them only a small number o conclusions such as would
please a mind satisfied only by geometrical demonstrations.

119

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

2

Among the most important chemical operations is solution
of bodies, which most of all deserves physical investigation: in
fact, it is very often used in chemical laboratories in the study
of bodies, and in lectures in physics it is usually shown to the
curious along with other experiments; however, the causes of
it are still not clear enough for an explanation of the effects
which occur in this operation.

Usually those who speak of the causes of solution assert that
every solvent enters into the pores of the dissolving body (it
will be shown below that this does not always occur) and grad-
ually breaks the particles. But as to the question of what force
carries out this disruptive action, no sort of probable explana-
tion is given except the arbitrary ascription to the solvent of
wedges, hooks, and I do not know what other instruments.

4

The same solvent cannot act on every kind of body, but for
the solution of each body there will be a corresponding sol-
vent. The usual explanation for this is to assume differences in
the size and shape of the pores of the dissolving body and the
particles of the solvent, so that, as it is assumed, the pores are
blocked up or access is made easy for the solvent which enters
them. Thus, for example, while spirit of niter dissolves silver,
copper, iron, and other less precious metals, it does not act on
gold, and this is usually explained by the statement that the
pores of gold, as the densest of all bodies, are the narrowest
and therefore the particles of the spirit of niter cannot enter
them. We are prepared to recognize that larger particles of
solvent cannot penetrate into finer pores of the dissolving sub-
stance, but as we will see later, particles of spirit of niter are
much finer than pores of gold. Spirit of niter and spirit of salt
taken separately do not dissolve gold but, mixed into aqua
regia, they become a special solvent for gold. Hence they enter
its pores (that this actually occurs will be shown in 20),
whence it follows that particles of spirits of niter and salt com-
bined in mixed corpuscles are smaller than the pores of gold
and hence have much less diameter than pores of gold. How-

120

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

ever, there is no doubt that there are many who assert that
spirit of niter is subtilized by salt, that is, its particles are made
smaller. But if this were actually so, then spirit of niter, care-
fully separated from spirit of salt, since it had been made finer,
would dissolve gold in this state alone, which does not happen
at all.

There are also other reports which indicate that large diam-
eters of pores do not facilitate entry of liquids into solid bodies
at all. Thus, mercury easily passes into the pores of gold, a very
dense body, but does not penetrate into wood, leather, and
paper, which are very porous bodies, unless force is used.

Neither can we find much to hope for with different forms
of pores or particular shapes in order to explain the reasons
for differing penetrations of solvents into bodies. Actually, if
the qualities of a particular body depend on this, then a great
disparity of shape should exist between the particles of mer-
cury and aqua fortis; for these two bodies differ in many qual-
ities: ability to pass and reflect light rays, taste, density, and
differing abilities to act on homogeneous bodies. Nevertheless,
both these solvents pass into the same pores of the same body,
namely, silver. That the shape of a body impedes very little its
entrance into a sufficiently wide passage is also evident without
scientific study: we can see that people, pack horses, and wag-
ons, in spite of their different shapes, pass through a wide gate.

The entry of a liquid into the pores of a solid body is noth-
ing more than the combination of both bodies into one, like
the mixing of liquid bodies. The difference lies only in this,
that when two liquid bodies are mixed, they both penetrate
into each others pores by internal progressive motion, and
when a liquid body combines with a solid, only the liquid
body enters the pores of the solid by internal progressive mo-
tion.

When liquids are blended, one mixes more easily, another

121

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

with more difficulty: thus water easily mixes with aqueous
spirits such as acid or ardent spirits, but does not give combi-
nation with oils; in the same way also for fused solid bodies:
metallic bodies combine much more easily with metals, earthy
bodies with earths, salts with salts than do metallic bodies with
earths or rocks or fused salts. Hence it is clear that the parti-
cles of liquid bodies of the same type penetrate each other
more easily and more readily enter the pores by progressive
motion than do particles of different types of liquid bodies.

Thus, as a measure of the similarity of type, we should deter-
mine the entry of liquids into the pores of solid bodies (7),
that is, liquids should more easily penetrate the pores of similar
solid bodies, and with more difficulty the pores of different
sorts. This is confirmed by the following experiment. On sep-
aration of the precious metals from the lower ones in the assay-
ing furnace, the fused lead does not enter the cupel until it
vitrifies. This means that up to that time the metal retains in-
flammable material in itself which imparts luster and ductility
to it, and it cannot mix with the ash forming the cupel and
penetrate its pores. But when the phlogiston is driven out by
force of fire, the other constituent part of the lead remains and
this latter, losing ductility and metallic luster, vitrifies and
penetrates the pores of the cupel, which is a body also capable
of vitrifying; this means similarity of type, and so it is carried
into the pores of everything which can undergo vitrification.
Therefore it is not surprising that gold and silver do not enter
the ash of the cupel, for they never vitrify.

10

Since similarity of type, which facilitates entry of liquids
into solid bodies, consists in identity of the material itself, it
is vain to seek it in the pores themselves; the reason why spe-
cific solvents easily enter the pores of the dissolving body does
not lie in them, for the pores are nothing else than spaces
which do not contain the material of the actual body.

11
Thus, since almost everything which has been proposed up

122

Action of Chemical Solvents In General

to now concerning the cause of solution does not have a firm
foundation, we feel that It Is not useless to create a more exact
theory of this cause, considering in more detail the physical
and chemical experiments which can supply some sort of ex-
planation for solution, and comparing them with each other.
Here, however, we will not give a complete explanation of the
separate special properties by virtue of which different solvents
act on different dissolving bodies (this cannot be expressed and
clarified until the number of chemical principles has been de-
cided and their chemical nature becomes exactly known), but
we propose only to describe the reasons for solution in general.

12

Thus, studying the general causes for solution, we will at-
tempt to show how and by what forces solvents can separate
the particles of the dissolving substance, nullifying the Internal
cohesion. The acting particles of the solvent and the action
itself are not evident to the senses; it therefore remains for us
to attempt to find the truth by centering all attention on the
effects alone which accompany solution.

13

Comparing these effects with each other, we find that in one
case they are the same, and In another contradictory. The best
known such cases are: acid spirits are heated in the solution
of metals, but water is cooled in the solution of salts. These
effects depend on opposite causes, so that we suspect that metals
are dissolved in acid spirits differently than are salts in water.
Since experiments on solution in a vacuum which we have
carried out have shown full agreement with the theory which
we had previously worked out, we have strengthened it by
these experiments so that now they are firmly established.

14

When aqua f ortis acts on metals, effervescence is usually pro-
duced; In order to observe this I took an iron wire, short and
thin, and fastened each end of it with wax to a glass jar; in the
middle of the wire I placed a drop of spirit of niter diluted
with water so that solution occurred slowly (a rapidly occur-
ring process of this type is too indistinct and difficult to ob-

123

Action o Chemical Solvents in General

serve): above the drop which was dissolving the iron I placed
a sufficiently strong microscope. Bubbles of air arose from the
surface of the wire along with particles of iron of a brown
color which, like the air bubbles, were driven off in a di-
rection perpendicular to the iron wire, and though I often
changed its position, yet they retained their perpendicular di-
rection. After this, using stronger spirit, I again watched solu-
tion of the wire under the microscope. I saw a great mass of
particles driven off with countless bubbles continuously fol-
lowing each other; they came from the surface of the wire in
a perpendicular direction and appeared in the light of a candle
like countless glittering fountains, or rather, like entertaining
fireworks shot simultaneously into the air. The particles of
iron in the latter case were not seen until, repelled further
from the wire, they moved into the solvent with a confused
motion.

15

Thus the particles of metal were repulsed by the strength
of the solvent in a direction perpendicular to the surface of

B

E

Fig. 1

124

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

the dissolving body [Fig. 1]. Let us assume that particles af are
repulsed by the action of the solvent from the surface BC of
the body BCDE in the direction ag; it is therefore necessary
that the solvent acted on them in the same direction, that is,
pushed them from a to g; but to push from a to g it cannot
do otherwise than to hit part of the surface of the dissolving
body ff on the other side from the closest dissolving surface of
BC; the solvent cannot hit this unless it is first placed between
the particles af and the other parts of the dissolving body in
the spaces ff; that is, the acid spirit cannot dissolve the metal
except in entering its pores.

16

Metals fused in a very strong fire effervesce and, like acid
spirits and water, throw off bubbles of air, a clear indication
that in metals, as in acid spirits and water, air is present, scat-
tered through their pores, and is driven off from them by heat;
by virtue of its particular lightness this rises and forms bubbles.

17

As soon as metals are dipped into acid spirits they at once
throw off bubbles of air from their surfaces; hence it is clear
that the air, scattered in the pores of each body or one of them
expands at the moment of solution, that is, shows the effect of
its elasticity. This can occur for three reasons: 1) by removal
of the pressure of the outside air; 2) by the air itself taking up
a greater degree of heat; 3) finally by introduction of a larger
amount of air into the same receptacle.

18

Since the solution of metals, accompanied by effervescence
of the solvent, always occurs under atmospheric pressure, it is
quite evident that this expansion of air does not come from
the first reason mentioned. Further, acid spirits dissolving met-
als first effervesce, then are heated, and the heat which follows
effervescence is always much less than that which occurs on boil-
ing of acid spirits exposed to fire; therefore the expansion of
air which produces effervescence in acid spirits dissolving met-
als does not depend at all on increased heat. Hence a sufficient
reason for the boiling of aqua fortis is found in the compres-

125

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

sion of air scattered in the pores of the aqua fortis itself or

of the metal.

19

Thus, we must accept the observed compression of air in
the pores of the spirit solvent or of the metal itself. Since the
particles of spirit, the liquid body, do not cohere very strongly
to each other, they cannot resist the air condensing in their
pores and expanding by reason of its great elasticity; therefore
they should give way to the rising tension since the air, ex-
panding quietly in bubbles because of its lightness rises with-
out any agitation to the surface of the liquid. But the air
bubbles liberated at the time of solution are precipitately
repelled perpendicularly to the surface of the metal at any
position of the latter (14); therefore we cannot assume that
this air was condensed in the pores of the solvent spirit, and
hence it should be in the pores of the solid body, that is of the
metal itself, iron, from whose surface it was evolved in small
bubbles.

20

But air cannot be concentrated in the pores of the metal
without addition of new air to that already in them; and in
the course of solution no air can be added except that enter-
ing with the solvent into the pores of the metal, that is, air
which occurs in the pores of the solvent. This is confirmed by
further results.

21

Air scattered in the pores of the liquid penetrates the closest
and narrowest pores of the solid body into which it cannot go
alone. The reason for this can easily be seen from our theory
of the elastic force of air (24 and 26), and this truth, con-
firmed by experiments made by the illustrious Wolff with the
pores of a bladder, is well known to physics.

22

When the air under the bell of an air pump is exhausted,
boiling is produced in acid spirits with much more difficulty
than in water; hence it is evident that air is more strongly

126

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

fixed in the pores o acid spirits than in the pores of water

and that hence this air penetrates the pores of solid bodies
with these spirits more easily than with water.

23

When liquid homogeneous bodies touch each other, they
mix together, so that a drop of water adds to itself a sec-
ond drop nearest to it; two globules of mercury, when they
reach sufficient contact absorb each other at once and form a
single globule; therefore there is no doubt that particles of
air also along with acid spirit penetrate the pores of the metal
and because of the fine separation of the solvent, the liberated
particles are combined with the air molecules present between
the particles of the metal.

24

It is easy to see what follows from everything which has been
said, if we keep in mind first those properties of air which
were discussed earlier 1 and to which we have given the name
regenerated elastic force of air.

25

Certainly the natural properties of air are such that its most
minute particles, removed from mutual contact, occur as in-
clusions between the particles of some denser body, and have
almost no elasticity, but, liberated from their prison they allow
themselves to come into mutual contact and again regain their
half-dead elasticity and show it with respect to a resisting body.
Very many experiments carried out by the most excellent Hales
have shown this most clearly, and we have made many experi-
ments for this purpose, of which the following are most suit-
able for strengthening the assumptions of our theory. I poured
5 drams of spirit of niter into a vessel with a narrow neck and
put into it 2 drams of copper; I immediately tied a bladder
tightly to the neck of the vessel, after which as much air as
possible was driven out from it; solution stopped after about
the fourth hour and the bladder was very much inflated with
air evolved from the metal and spirit; tying up the bladder

1, Attempt at a Theory of the Elastic Force of Air, 26.

127

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

over the neck of the vessel with thread, I took it from the
vessel and did not doubt that it was full of true air, for after
pinching the bladder with the fingers it again assumed its for-
mer shape; placed in snow it became limper and on placing
it near a furnace it inflated again; pricked with a needle and
compressed, it emitted a stream of air which set in motion light
objects near it and the flame of a candle. Making a careful
measurement, I determined the ratio of the volume of air ex-
panded by regeneration of the elasticity to the volume of spirit
and metal as 68 : 1 and to the metal, of which 1 dram was
dissolved, as 2312 : L From these experiments it is quite evi-
dent that air scattered in the pores of the bodies lacks almost
all of its elasticity and, on the contrary, after its particles are
liberated from the enclosing body and come into mutual con-
tact, their elasticity is again restored.

26

The elastic property of air regulated in this way has sur-
prising actions. It breaks vessels in which water is converted
into ice; iron tubes fly apart with a great noise. Evidently under
the influence of cold, water is compressed into less space; its
pores are made narrower and air is squeezed out from it, as
is indicated by the numerous bubbles which cooled water gives
off; the liberated air particles collect together as homogeneous
bodies mixed together; they again attain the elasticity inherent
in them which was previously lost by separation and expand,
forming bubbles, and thus when an innumerable number of
particles has collected, forming innumerable bubbles, the water
at the moment of transformation into ice expands and breaks
the strongest vessel which contains it. The truth of this is
shown by the fact that ice removed from the vessel broken by
it is filled with innumerable bubbles and lacks almost all trans-
parency.

27

Considering all this we do not find it diflicult to show the
actual force which scatters the particles of metal torn off by
acid spirit. Particles of air entering with the acid spirit into
the pores of the metal on solution combine with those which
were previously present in the metal (21); from this they re-

128

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

gain the lost elasticity (24, 25, 26), trying to expand into a
greater space and not being able to endure the narrow pores,
they seek an outlet; and since they are blocked in and locked
up by the acid corpuscles which are following them they break
off the particles of metal which oppose them and drive these
through the spirit. Evidently the particles of acid spirit on
solution introduce particles of air into the pores of the metal
and the air tears the particles from the metal by its regained
elasticity.

28

For the study and confirmation of this theory I have made
the following experiments. I poured into a cylindrical glass
vessel 5 drams of aqua fortis and placed it under the bell of
an air pump. After several strokes of the piston, air was
pumped out and air bubbles began to evolve from the aqua
fortis, frequent but small. After the fourth hour I put the sol-
vent out in the open air again and placed in it a copper coin,
which we call denga. After the first 20 minutes I poured in a
large amount of water and cleaned the coin of sediment and
adherent moisture; I weighed it and found that it had lost 74
grains. Then I placed a second copper coin, equal and similar
to the first, in 5 drams of the same aqua fortis, but from which
the air had not been driven off, and I placed it in the same
vessel and put it in the same place for solution. After the first
20 minutes the coin was 85 grains lighter. This experiment
showed that acid spirit acts on metals more strongly if it con-
tains a larger amount of scattered air and hence each portion
of aqua fortis introduces with itself a more considerable amount
of air into the pores of the metal; the elasticity rises more
rapidly and tears off pieces of metal more often.

29

Then I took the aqua fortis in the same two identical por-
tions and poured them into two vessels, equal and of the same
shape, and at the same instant dropped into each a copper coin
which we call a poluschka, each one of which weighed 50
grains; one vessel remained in the open air, the other was
placed under the bell of an air pump. Both coins at first dis-
solved with the same effervescence of the solvent. But when

129

Action of Chemical Solvents In General

several strokes of the piston had pumped out the air from the
bell, the solvent began to boil much more strongly: the bub-
bles were larger and they were evolved more often than in the
previous experiment. At the end of 11 minutes both coins
were simultaneously removed from the solvent, freed from sedi-
ment and moisture, and weighed. That which was dissolved
under the bell lost 10 grains, and that which was dissolved in
the open air lost 26 grains. Thus, in this experiment the ex-
cess of copper dissolved in the aqua fortis which contained the
whole weight of scattered air was relatively much more than
in the previous experiment, namely, In the first experiment
the ratio was as 11 to 74, in the second as 16 to 10. The ex-
planation of the fact is this. The aqua fortis dissolving the
metal under the bell of the air pump was warmed and lost a
greater amount of air than in the previous experiment; thus
the solvent was deprived of a large amount of the air scattered
in It and therefore should act on the metal with less force.

30

These and other phenomena accompanying the solution of
metals fully agree with the proposed theory: most important
here is the heat connected with the effervescence of the solvent.
The elasticity of air regenerated In the pores of the metal tears
off particles of the metal which are carried off through the sol-
vent, causing friction on the particles of the latter and causing
them to rotate, and since rotary motion is the cause of heat 2
then it Is not surprising that aqua fortis grows hot when dis-
solving metals.

31

Spirit of niter with zinc gives a very great effervescence and
Is strongly heated; with Iron, somewhat less so, with copper,
less still, much less with silver, very little with lead and mer-
cury. Hence it is evident that metals and semimetals, especially
the lighter ones, produce a greater effervescence and heat in
spirit of niter than the specifically heavier ones, which fully
agrees with our theory. For the physicist does not doubt that
metals and semimetals, specifically lighter, consist of a lesser

2. Mediations on the Cause of Heat and Gold, 11.

130

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

amount of coherent material and hence have more or more

frequent pores than the specifically heavier material. Therefore
they contain a greater amount of scattered air; more air is
additionally introduced with the solvent into the pores of the
metal, and there is a greater increase in elasticity which acts
more strongly on the particles of metal, tearing them off more
strongly and leading to more rapid rotary motion of the par-
ticles of spirit of niter, markedly increasing the boiling and

heating.

532

If iron is dissolved in alkali and precipitated by vinegar,
then spirit of niter dissolves the calx without effervescing. It
is just the same on mixing a solution of copper green in dis-
tilled vinegar with aqua fortis; the latter takes the copper into
itself, but no effervescing occurs. In both cases the particles of
metal have no mutual cohesion and hence do not require the
same force which in other cases tears them off, but these par-
ticles immediately adhere to the added particles of solvent
and spread with it by progressive motion. Therefore no ac-
cumulation of particles of scattered air occurs, its elasticity is
not regenerated, and there is no effervescence or heat.

When we take sufficiently concentrated portions of the same
acid spirit for solution of metals, but one of the portions is
somewhat diluted by mixing with water, then this dissolves a
greater amount of metal than the first, due to the greater
amount of air scattered through the large volume.

34

When a sufficiently strong spirit of niter is used for solution
of the metal, solution is completed quickly, since the solvent
ceases to act. But if after several days metal is immersed in the
same spirit, then again a considerable amount of it is dissolved.
Evidently, when violent solution occurs, the spirit becomes
somewhat deficient in air so that it can no longer act on the
metal; but when in the course of time it receives into its pores
aerial particles from the surrounding air, it again acquires the
ability to dissolve.

131

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

35

A high degree of confidence is gained in physical problems
if a thesis is studied and demonstrated a priori and is confirmed
by phenomena and experiments so that it is also in agreement
with mathematical truth. In order to establish such a degree of
validity for this theory, we should show that the elasticity of
the air regenerated in the pores of the metal is sufficient to
break off its particles.

36

For this purpose it is necessary first of all to consider what
force is required to produce such action, that is, how strong
is the mutual cohesion of the particles which the force of the
air regenerated in the pores of the metal breaks off from the
surface of the latter. The illustrious Musschenbroeck found by
experiment that in order to break up a copper wire whose
diameter was 1/10 inch of a Rhenish foot divided into 12
equal parts or 1 19/120 of a line of the royal Parisian foot
[about 2.6 mm] required a weight of 299 14 Amsterdam
pounds, which equals the Parisian one [about 146 kg]. Under
the microscope which increased the diameter of the body 360
times, I found the finest particles of copper dissolved in spirit
of niter had an apparent diameter of 1/2 line of the Parisian
foot. Therefore the true diameter equalled 1/720 line. We
suggest that the wire itself, consisting of such particles arranged
beside each other in a continuous series and cohering by strong
linkages has a diameter equal to that of the particles them-
selves. Since the force required for breaking a homogeneous
body is double the diameter of the body itself, therefore the
force required for breaking this finest fiber is related to the
weight of 2991/4 pounds as the square of the diameter of the
same wire to the square of the diameter of the wire broken by
a load of 29914 pounds, that is, = (1/720) 2 : (1 19/120) 2 =
(1/720) 2 : (834/720) 2 = 1 : 695 556; hence it equals 1197/2
782 224 pounds or 3 846 288/2 782 224 grains. This force
equals the force of cohesion of the particles of copper broken
off by the elasticity of the air which is regenerated in the pores
of the metal.

37

Whoever finds air massively evolved from the metal at the
time of solution can easily admit that it occupies the greater

132

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

part of the bladder tied to the neck of the vessel (25). It is
true that we do not deny that the bubbles arising from the cop-
per and directing themselves through the spirit to its surface
are added to the particles of air scattered through the solvent,
which also enter the bladder and inflate it; but this occurs only
at the beginning of the solution. For if it continued longer,
the bubbles rising from the metal not only would be less large,
but would disappear entirely before reaching the surface of
the solvent, since the solvent, eager for air (25) would again
disperse them throughout its pores; this we find not only for
copper, but also for lead and mercury at the time of their
solution; and so it is that no less amount of air, regenerated
in the metal, is again dispersed through the pores of the solvent
nor enters the bladder except at the beginning of the solution
when it was added to it by the bubbles which were formed.
Similarly, observe that not long after solution, when fixed
alkali is mixed in, the spirit effervesces strongly, a clear sign
that there remains in its pores after the process of solution a
large force of the air. In order that it will not seem that we
have suggested something arbitrary, we assume that 1312 parts
(25) of expanded air pass into the bladder from the pores of
the solvent and the remaining 1000 parts actually are regen-
erated and expanded in the pores of the metal. Therefore the
volume of the dissolved metal relates to the volume of air
arising in its pores and expanding into the bladder as 1 to
1000; hence in breaking off any particle of copper there would
act an amount of expanded air relating to the particle itself
by a volume ratio of 1000 to 1; therefore the diameter of the
bubble of expanded air after breaking off the corpuscle would
relate to the diameter of the corpuscle as 10 to 1, that is, would
equal 1/72 of aline.

38

A cubic inch of mercury weighs 8 ounces 6 drams and 8
grains. Hence a cylinder of mercury supported by pressure of
the atmosphere with a height of 28 Parisian inches, diameter
1/72 of a line weighs about 7 838 595 072 / 63 207 309 312
grains; since this weight equals the pressure of the air column
which is above the bubble evolved from the pores of the metal
(37) and which supports this column, then the elasticity of
the bubble equals the weight of this column of mercury. Since

133

Action of Chemical Solvents In General

this bubble before expansion, while acting in the pores of the
metal on the corpuscle, was compressed in a space a thousand
times narrower (37) (here I do not consider the narrowness of
the pores; for the air before occurrence of the elasticity does
not occupy the volume of the whole metal, but the particular
material of the latter occupies the greater part of the volume),
then its elasticity will be greater by a thousand times, that is,
will equal in weight 124 888 717 312 / 63 207 309 312 grains
and hence will exceed the cohesion of the copper (37) by
more than 2 drams. Therefore it is not at all surprising that
the particles of copper torn by such rapid motion from the sur-
face of the metal are carried off through the solvent.

39

After this, it remains for us to study the force which frees
the particles of salt put into water from mutual cohesion, and
distributes them through the water. In order to explain this
we must first note that all salts contain a considerable amount
of water which is abundantly separated from them in a receiver
during distillation; and although from some volatile salts no
water separates, yet by analogy and by the ease of their com-
bination with water we assert the same thing concerning them.

40

Salts dissolved in water on slow evaporation are converted
into clear crystals, hence they take their form in water; there-
fore it is necessary to assume that the pores of the salts are
filled with water. This is also shown by their transparency; for
the body is porous and little transparent in itself, but being
filled with water, it becomes transparent. Thus vitriol, heated
on a slow fire to whiteness but in such a way that its most
minute parts do not break down, is made opaque; but when it
takes added water into its pores, it again becomes transparent.
Sugar obtained by crystallization from water is transparent,
but that formed by evaporation of the final form transmits light
rays scarcely or not at all; however, water entering the pores
makes it more transparent.

41

Since the pores of salts (not heated) are filled with water,
then salts, being put into water, cannot absorb it into them-

134

Action of Chemical Solvents In General

selves. Hence it is evident that the air scattered through water
also does not enter the pores of the salts and therefore cannot
expand In them from engendered elasticity nor act on the par-
ticles of salt.

42

The correctness of this Is confirmed by the following experi-
ment. I placed a glass vessel half filled with water under the
bell of an air pump and repeated strokes of the piston several
times to remove the air; frequent air bubbles rose from the
water. When I judged the water was sufficiently free from air,
I exposed the vessel to the open air along with another vessel
equal and similar in form to the first, in which was the same
amount of water (from which, however, the air had not been
removed). In both I placed the same pieces of rock salt of
cubic form, weighing 50 grains; in the course of one hour the
piece of salt which was dissolved in the water submitted to
pumping out the air lost 27 grains, and In that containing air,
15 grains.

43

It is evident from this experiment: 1) that air scattered in the
pores of water not only cannot dissolve salts, but even is an
impediment to this: how truly It hinders this will be shown
in 47, and this itself will confirm our theory; 2) it Is necessary
to conclude that particles of salt are separated from each other
by the action of the water particles themselves.

44

When a solid body is made liquid, its particles are excited to
a more rapid rotary motion. Hence, on liquifying salts in water
the rotary motion of the salt particles is hastened. Since the
salts are dissolved by the action of the particles of the water
itself (43), then it follows that the water particles, like a more
liquid body, are rotated in faster rotary motion and approach
the salt particles Immersed in the water and touch them as
well as the water particles which are homogeneous to them-
selves and which make up the mixed salts; these are set into
faster rotary motion. Due to this the salt particles separate
from the rest o the mass and, adhering to the water molecules,

135

Action of Chemical Solvents in General

begin progressive motion with them, and thus they are scattered

through the solvent.

45

When any body hastens the motion of another, then it gives
to it part of its own motion, but to give part of its motion it
cannot do otherwise than lose exactly the same part. Therefore
the particles of water, in hastening the rotary motion of the
salt particles, lose part of their rotary motion. Since the latter
is the cause of heat, it is not at all surprising that the water is
cooled in dissolving the salt.

47 3

Since air is scattered in the pores of the water, then the
water particles, alternating with air particles, are somewhat
rarefied, as the following experiment shows. We poured water
which had been pumped free of air into a vessel with a narrow
neck, leaving over it a small space filled with air. We closed
the neck with a stopper and sealed it with wax so that no sur-
rounding air could enter; during one or two days the air
which remained over the water entered into it and the vessel
appeared full of water; this clearly showed that the water was
expanded by the air scattered through it. Therefore, when salt
is put into water saturated with distributed air, a lesser num-
ber of particles of the solvent itself touch the surface of the
salt and it acts on them more slowly so that their solution is
slower.

48

Of the actions mentioned up to now, by the aid of which
solvents dissolve bodies placed in them, we can call the first
mediated^ the second, direct. For in the first case the solvent
breaks off particles of the dissolving body by means of the
engendered elasticity o the air, and in the second case the
solvent itself acts by its own particles. Since mediated solution
produces heat and direct solution cold, these effects should be
considered as signs of one or the other.

3. [ 46 is absent in the printed text.]

136

Action of Chemical Solvents in General
49

Besides the solution of metals in acid spirits and of salts in
water it remains to discuss amalgamation and partial solution;
also extractions and decoctions, solution of bitumen in fatty
oils, etc.; although these cases seem different from the first,
yet we do not doubt that these solutions occur either by one
or the other process, or both together. Since, however, there
are few experiments which in any way serve for judging this
and we have no opportunity to make new experiments, at
present we will refrain from discussing them.

50

In our problem, we started to explain why the specifically
heavier particles of metals and salts were suspended in their
solvents and did not sink according to the usual laws in specif-
ically lighter liquids. But since all this is shown in sufficient
detail by the most learned Freind 4 and Heinsius 5 we will re-
frain from repeating all this.

4. In lectures on chemistry.

5. In the description of the comet, 1744.

137

On the Luster of Metals

At a session of the Academy of Sciences on May 3, 1745, Lomonosov,
then an adjunct, formally requested appointment as professor of
chemistry, that is, as a full academician. He was requested to pre-
pare an essay on some theme in the science of metals, and proceeded
to do so in all haste. On June 14 he read his essay "De tincturis
metallorum," and on August 7 he received the appointment he de-
sired. This is one of the more clearly chemical writings of Lomon-
osov and offers the best evidence of his views on the nature of
phlogiston. It was published in Latin in the Commentarii Aca-
demiae sdentiarum imperialis Petropolitanae, 14:286-298 (1751).
The Latin text and Russian translation appeared in Collected
Works, I (1951), pp. 389-417, and the Russian translation is given
in Selected Works, pp. 43-57.

Q A

Those who have the pleasure of seeing a good mineral col-
lection or who do not hesitate to crawl into dark and dusty
mines well know how different and admirable are the bodies
which nature bears in the bowels of the earth. Some minerals
show a play of luxuriant colors, various and beautiful, and
since they often appear themselves to be of the greatest value
they lead those who do not know mineralogy into error. Other
minerals, covered with a rough coating, deceive the gaze of
inexperienced persons and seem worthless. Thus the outward
appearance of precious metals is often ugly, and of the lesser
metals, beautiful. Finally, many minerals have forms usually
found in natives of the earth's surface, or of the air, or water:
these are actually true animals or plants which after a very
long time interval have acquired the hardness of rocks or actual
minerals while still showing in their form their ancient, intri-
cate nature.

o
JL,

With the same admiration we see in the metals which we
use when already refined and which are intrinsically hard
bodies, the property of ductility and malleability, and we find

138

On the Luster of Metals

that these bodies, most worthy of the light of day and so lus-
trous, occur in the Invisible depths of the mountains. By these
very qualities they differ most sharply from other bodies, so
that they can appropriately be defined as lustrous and ductile
bodies.

These unexpected qualities which make up the visible dif-
ference of metals from other bodies are inherent in certain of
them to a greater degree than in others* Thus, some are con-
verted easily enough by the action of fire into ashes and glass,
losing their luster and ductility; others are not changed at all;
to some we give the name precious, to others, nonpreclous.
The first include gold and silver, the other four are copper
and tin, Iron and lead.

4

The qualities of bodies cannot undergo any sort of change
unless there is some change in their insensible particles. But a
change in a body can occur only if something is added or re-
moved from it, or the arrangement of its particles is changed.
The nonprecious metals when burned evolve vapors which
affect the sense of smell and cause coughing. Lead is converted
into a glass by a strong fire in the assaying oven and emits a
smoke visible to the eyes; this effect clearly indicates that cal-
cination and glass formation of nonpreclous metals occur due
to the removal of some of their particles.

5

Although calcined metals increase in weight, whence we
could conclude that this change is brought about by addition
of some sort of foreign material, yet it is true that: 1) reduc-
tion of a metal mentioned below (10 and 11) indicates the
removal of material; 2) a metal which is converted to a glass
loses in absolute weight; 3) increase of weight of calcined
bodies can occur from an entirely different cause than from
addition of any external material; this is agreed to by every-
one who does not deny that gravitational material should act
more strongly on the sides of corpuscles freed from mutual
contacts by calcination.

139

On the Luster o Metals

6

But if we remove by strong fire or by any other method par-
ticles of a mixed body which are similar to the whole body
because of the qualities and composition of these particles,
then the body does not undergo any change in qualities, but
only its mass is decreased. This also occurs when we distill
mercury or sublime sulfur. But nonprecious metals change
their forms by calcination and glass formation (3). Thus it is
evident that they are mixed bodies and that at the time of
calcination and glass formation some volatile constituent part
is removed from them.

As long as this volatile constituent part of the nonprecious
metals occurs in them the luster of the metal and its ductility
remain inviolable; and only when it is driven out by the vio-
lence of the fire do these metals break down to ash and finally
melt into a brittle, nonlustrous mass. It is clear from all this
that luster and ductility of the lower metals depends on this
volatile principle.

8

Although precious metals, undergoing the action of strong
fire for months, do not lose their strength, yet analogy offers
a very strong argument that a sufficient basis for their luster
and ductility lies in some volatile constituent part which co-
heres to a fixed constituent part of them much more strongly.
There are indications by famous chemists which show that gold
and silver slowly and by prolonged calcination can be con-
verted to ash. 1 This will be more evident from what is given
below (14, 15, 19).

9

Since this volatile constituent part of the metals imparts
metallic form to them and as it were gives them their lustrous
color, then it is pertinent to give it the name luster.

1. Stahl In Treatise on Salts, chap. 31.

140

On the Luster of Metals
10

Niter, though submitted to the action of the flame in a
crucible up to red heat, does not burn with a flame unless we
add to it a body containing inflammable material; then it
immediately bursts into flame. Nonprecious metals in filings
give a flash with this salt in the fire. Hence it is fully evident
that there is some inflammable material in nonprecious metals.
When this is driven out by an explosion, the remaining metal
is converted to a glassy mass: therefore it is perfectly evident
that the luster of nonprecious metals consists chiefly of this
inflammable substance which is usually called phlogiston among
chemists.

11

The truth of this assertion is also supported by the reduction
of metals which restores to glasses and metallic slags luster and
ductility. However, for reduction of metals it is necessary to
use phlogiston. The so-called black flux which is usually used
for this purpose is nothing else than charcoal from tartar
burned with niter. Litharge with powdered wood charcoal,
calx of tin with charcoal from burned tallow, on ignition in
the fire with sulfur and the herb Nicotiniana gain the form
of metals. All these bodies are saturated with inflammable ma-
terial.

12

Another chemical operation shows this also. Thus, on solu-
tion of any nonprecious metal, especially iron, in acid spirit
there emerges from the opening of the flask a combustible
vapor which is nothing else than phlogiston, evolved by fric-
tion of the solvent with molecules of the metal, 2 and removed
by the entrapped air with the more tenuous particles of the
spirit. For: 1) pure vapors of acid spirit are noninflammable;
2) the calxes of metals destroyed by the loss of inflammable
vapors cannot be reduced at all without addition of some
body rich in inflammable material.

2. Our Dissertation on the Action of Chemical Solvents, 14 and 31, Nov.
Comm. f Vol. 1.

141

On the Luster of Metals

13

When iron is dissolved in very concentrated oil of vitriol, a
black powder falls to the bottom, which shows the presence of
sulfur. 3 The latter consists of phlogiston and acid of sulfur
whose properties are identical with the properties of vitriolic
acid. Hence the phlogiston of the iron is added to the vitriolic
acid which dissolves the iron, and thus sulfur is composed.

14

According to Becher, 4 a black powder is formed from mud
impregnated with linseed oil, rolled into balls, then roasted
and freed from the lighter earth; from this iron is extracted
with a magnet; in the iron is gold; this is never found without
the linseed oiL For preparation of bronze from copper we take
calamine and add to it ground up wood charcoal so that part
of this mineral, taking on the nature of a metal, is reduced and
can combine with copper. 5

15

The facts given previously are sufficient to establish the cor-
rectness of the position which we gave in 10. Though all this
relates more to the nonprecious metals, yet their easy combina-
tion with the precious metals on fusing shows perfectly clearly
the similarity of these in their luster, the more so in that the
color of the most precious of all the metals is strengthened by
the phlogiston of the nonprecious metals. Thus regulus anti-
monii martialis or venereus which are impregnated by the
phlogiston of iron or copper give a more beautiful color to
gold. When in the purification of metals we use stronger waters
we try to retain in them the subtle vapors which are evolved
with the solution (and also the inflammable vapor, 12) by
adding the metal in very small portions to the solvent, 6 so that
with the aid of this vapor the gold is extracted from the pure
silver.

16
That metals attain luster in the depths of the earth is shown

3. Stahl, Treatise on sulfur.

4. On Mineral Ores.

5. Stahl, Treatise on sulfur.

6. Kunkel, Chemical Laboratory, part III, chap. 26.

142

On the Luster of Metals

quite evidently not only by gold, silver, and copper, which are
often found free, but this is also indicated for those metals
which occur in combination with other minerals. Thus, spirit
of niter dissolves several pyrites rich in iron; here the sulfur
which is united with the metal falls to the bottom in the form
of a powder, 7 an obvious indication that iron, even in a vein,
does not lose its phlogiston, since a metal lacking its phlogis-
ton should not undergo the action of spirit of niter at all. Note
that with calcined metals sulfur does not give minerals, but
with uncalcined ones it does.

17

The foresight of the supreme Deity has so provided that
mankind, scattered over the surface of the earth (and what
part is not inhabited) would everywhere find metals for the
satisfaction of its needs. Since for their formation a vast amount
of luster-giving phlogiston is required, there is divine fore-
sight in the appearance in the rich, deep bowels of the moun-
tains of the fatty mineral which we call sulfur, due to which
the metals were not only created at some time in the youngest
period of the world, but are generated in large quantity up to
the present day. 8

7. Stahl, On Sulfur.

8. Many, however, will assert that all metals were created by God at the
creation of the world where they are now discovered by the work of miners.
Nevertheless, there is very weighty evidence which testifies to the contrary, and
I wish to present some of this here. In the Swedish province of Angermannia the
inhabitants work a vein of iron at the bottom of a lake; and when they have
recovered from the bottom all the substance, so that no more remains, then
after 20-30 years it is again renewed and yields a harvest (Swedenborg, Opermn
phil. et Met. Tom II, class I, 4). In the Duchy of Tuscany near Mount Vesulan
there is a lead mine where the shafts and underground passages 10 years after
removal of the ore are again filled and are again worked (Bruckman, Magnalia
dei, Tom I, cap. 10). The island of Ilva [Elba] in the Sea of Tuscany is very
rich in iron; the worked out metal on it is again renewed after 10 years just as it
was in ancient times, according to the report of Virgil (Aeneid, Lib. X, v. 174):
"The Island of Ilva abounds in inexhaustible iron ore/* In the mines of St.
Lawrence in Abertamii, exhausted 20 years earlier, was found native silver
generated on the wooden posts (Lohnheiss, Bericht von Bergwercken, I Theil).
Of all this evidence, however, the most weighty is the impregnation often
observed by miners in a fruitless vein by exhalation to form a rich vein, a process
which the Germans call Wettern.

143

On the Luster of Metals

18

Earth contains in its depths such a quantity of sulfur that it
is not only accumulated underground (we do not know a single
mine or a single type of metal which would not contain sul-
fur 9 ), but this mineral is even separated on the surface of the
earth. In the islands of the burning Indies and in cold Iceland
the mountains bear so much sulfur that their covering would
seem to be gilded. Mineral springs often have natural flowers
of sulfur. This is indicated in addition to everything else by
the fires of volcanoes, where sulfur cannot be consumed, though
they burn with great flames in the course of many centuries.

19

The following shows that it is just the phlogiston of sulfur
which gives luster to metals in the earth. 1) Sulfur converted to
a powder and ground with sand or mud and treated as de-
scribed in 14 with mud and linseed oil gives metals. 10 2) The
same mineral colors metals a brighter color, which can be
seen in the bright minerals of lead and in pyrites composed
of sulfur with iron and copper. 3) Gold, slowly ground with
saliva and water, gives a sulfur odor. 11 4) But still more con-
vincing is the complete identity of the phlogistons mentioned.
Actually, just as metals are reduced from calxes and glasses for
the most part by wood charcoal as we mentioned in 11 above,
so also is the sulfur regenerated from oil of vitriol when in
combination with a fixed alkali by the addition of powdered
charcoal it first passes into the liver and then by addition of
distilled vinegar milk of sulfur precipitates.

20

Nevertheless, metals differ considerably from each other in
luster and ductility: the reason for this difference can be
sought in the remaining component particles of the metal
which are mixed in various proportions with phlogiston and
are held along with it to the surface of each corpuscle of the
metallic mixed body. Then since the luster and ductility come

9. Ldhnheiss, Bericht von Bergwercken, I Theil.

10. Stahl, Fund, chym., p. 102, 14.

11. Stahl, Fund, chym., capite de auro.

144

On the Luster of Metals

from the phlogiston, It follows that the more lustrous and
ductile the metals, the more thickly does the phlogiston occur
on their surfaces as compared to those which are less lustrous
and ductile; and where the inflammable material adheres less
thickly to the surfaces of the corpuscles of the mixed body,
there the particles of their other constituents must be inter-
posed and must be seen through the intersticies.

21

We are convinced on the basis of sufficiently weighty facts
that an acid principle adds to the luster of some metals, and
in each in a different amount. For metals obtain their phlogis-
ton from sulfur (20), but have a binding quality inherent in
acid bodies. Further, all metals are dissolved by acid spirits,
and the faster, the more binding they are. Since dissolving a
body in a solvent greatly helps its homogeneity, 12 there is no
doubt that in metals, especially binding ones, along with
phlogiston there is also acid. Therefore Swedenborg 13 not with-
out reason considers that the raw sulfur which enters the com-
position of iron is indeed the acid of sulfur combined with
phlogiston. Compare the experiment described by the illus-
trious Pott 14 who in his words obtained cinnabar from metals
dissolved in spirit of niter, precipitated by common salt or its
spirit, and distilled with mercury. Related to this is the fact
that silver fused with sulfur is converted into a soft mineral,
Glass-Ertz, not unlike lead; thus on addition of sulfur, metals
up to now precious, very ductile and lustrous, come to resem-
ble the nonprecious in character.

22

Arsenic has the property of giving metals luster; tin gives
hardness and sound and makes them more dense; copper and
iron whiten, and combined with nonprecious metals by alloy-
ing and long treatment improve their particles* 15 Therefore it
is very likely that some arsenic particles take part in the luster
of metals (especially metals which when dug out of veins are

12. Our Dissertation on the Action of Solvents, 10, Nov. Comm., Vol. 1 .

13. Operum Phil, et Mental, Tom II de ferro, Class. I, 1.

14. Dissertatio de sulphuribus metallorum, 4.

15. Pott in Dissert, de anat. auripigmenti, 13.

145

On the Luster of Metals

more often combined with arsenic than with sulfur), and that
thanks to this they are distinguished from others by their luster
and tensile strength. This can be asserted first of all with suf-
ficient basis for tin. Actually, 1) this metal is always found in
earth containing arsenic. 2) Its ductility yields much in tensile
strength not only to the precious metals but also to some of
the nonprecious metals (and the ductility is weakened by some
principle while the heterogeneous fire material adds to the
luster, 19). We have decided not to ascribe that which adds to
the luster to the universal acid w r hich with tin is less binding
than with other more ductile metals. 3) Tin is more inclined to
dissolve in spirits containing acid salts. As far as it is analogous
to arsenic we can see that tin alloyed with silver in the sub-
stance hornstone and sublimed gives a poisonous material re-
sembling arsenic in outward form.

23

There is a strong suspicion that also in the phlogiston of
silver and copper there are some arsenic-composing particles,
since they are both often extracted from earth along with arse-
nic. When the vein of arsenical copper, built up into a pile,
is dried by fire in the course of a month or more and is pre-
pared for smelting, there grow up most beautiful copper fibers,
displaying all the colors of the rainbow and fully deserving
the name of the tree of Venus. This I have seen with the most
illustrious Henckel several times with the red silver ore called
Rothgillden Ertz. This famous author heated lumps of arseni-
cal silver for a month in sand, regulating the strength of the
fire in such a way that the arsenic could be sublimed, though
very slowly. Then the silver after volatilization of the arsenic
was drawn out in fine fibers. Both these experiments show at
once the homogeneity of arsenic with silver and copper.

24

The statement (in 20-23) can be considerably strengthened
by the fact that sulfur and arsenic, added in large quantities
to metals by fusion, almost completely destroy their ductility.
Therefore we suspect that regulus of antimony, zinc, and bis-
muth are nothing more than metals containing an excess of

146

On the Luster of Metals

sulfur or arsenic, or both, more closely bound to them and
therefore making them brittle.

25

Since the acquiring of luster is not a little affected by even
distribution of the particles on which the rays of the sun are
reflected parallel, and shine more than on the disordered ones,
it is not remarkable that in the semimetals mentioned above
there is still some luster, though they do not have any ductility.

26

In order to report all this more clearly and to show this
more strictly, we could give still more and still could never
give all that we intended several years ago; in the absence of
a chemical laboratory, 16 we are prevented from carrying out
these experiments and therefore we lack the conclusions to be
drawn from their evidence.

27

It is true that it is well known that there are some experi-
ments which show how to remove sulfur and luster from
metals; these experiments can be seen in the dissertation of
the famous Pott on the sulfur of metals; but it is not easy to
believe that these constituent parts of metals can be removed
by themselves in pure and authentic form, since for their re-
moval it is necessary to take salty and sulfurous bodies; al-
though the latter are hidden under beautiful names by the
expositors, we nevertheless cannot fail to suspect that in their
use as media for extracting metals they are combined with
the mixed corpuscles of the metals and very often, if not al-
ways, they give to them what is sought.

r !7

27

Most of all, to conclude, we consider it not unnecessary to
add some conclusions based on the analogous assumption of

16. This was true when this dissertation was written in 1745. However, one
was constructed in 1748 during the presidency of the Academy of the most
illustrious Count Razumovskii.

17. [The number of this paragraph is repeated in the text.]

147

On the Luster of Metals

the transmutation of metals, coming, as we assume, from the
transmutations of their luster which we have studied.

28

Whoever looks into the spagyric art, even from the threshold,
knows that weaker acids are driven off from alkalis by stronger
ones and, as it were, separated out. Thus, vinegar is removed
from potash by adding spirit of salt; this itself yields place to
spirit of niter which is removed by stronger acids like sulfuric.
Sulfuric acid is considered by chemists to be the purest of all
and the most free from other types of particle; for they main-
tain that in spirit of niter there is something combustible and
in spirit of salt some arsenical particles; that vinegar is con-
taminated by empyreumatic products is shown by its distilla-
tion through sand. Acid particles are more and more weakened
in this process and are less able to combine strongly with al-
kalis. Their specific gravities agree with this, for the more
concentrated the acid spirit of sulfur, the greater is its specific
gravity, so that the heaviness of the spirits is increased by their
acid particles. Thus a cubic inch of oil of vitriol, which is of
the same nature as spirit of sulfur, weighs 7 drams 59 grains;
of spirit of niter 6 drams 24 grains; of spirit of salt, 5 drams
49 grains; of distilled vinegar 5 drams 11 grains. 18

29

We consider that nature, in transmuting metals, can behave

in a similar way to the working of masters of the chemical
arts. More concentrated phlogiston, coloring the more precious
metals, adheres to them more strongly. For we believe that if
anyone, very skillful in the chemical art, has the most concen-
trated phlogiston most carefully purified from foreign sub-
stances, then he can precipitate and convert the lower metals
into more precious metals.

IS. Eisenschmidt in Disquisltione nova de ponderibus et mensuris, p. 174.

148

Dissertation on the Origin and Nature
of Niter

In a letter dated January 31, 1748, Euler wrote to Schumacher, the
secretary o the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, telling of a
prize which the Berlin Academy of Sciences was offering for the
year 1749 on the subject of the origin and composition of niter.
He suggested that Lomonosov offer an essay on this subject. Lomono-
sov accepted the suggestion, though it was not until January 1749
that he actually began to write. His essay was completed in March
and was received by the Berlin Academy on March 29, 1749. Lo-
monosov did not receive the prize, which was awarded to a certain
Dr. Pietsch. His essay, written in Latin under the title "Dissertatio
de generatione et natura nitri," remained in manuscript in the ar-
chives of the Berlin and St. Petersburg academies until it was dis-
covered and translated into Russian by B. N. Menshutkin in 1934.
It is the most purely chemical of all Lomonosov's general writings
and shows very well how he interpreted the results of analysis and
studies of chemical reactions. The Latin and Russian texts appear
in Collected Works, II (1951), pp. 219-319, and the Russian trans-
lation is in Selected Works,, pp. 81-121.

As much as the acquaintance
with principles means for chem-
istry, so much do the principles
themselves mean for bodies.

INTRODUCTION

Among bodies which the chemist calls salts there are es-
pecially many uses for niter, particularly the surprising action,
resembling the lightning, which it produces in gunpowder.
Therefore it is not astonishing that the spagyrists, studying
nature, have devoted much work to the study of the principle
o niter. They were prompted to this by the tendency to be-
come acquainted with such a wonder; but accompanying their
work the most beautiful effects and useful products pushed

149

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

them on to farther work. Their attempts did not remain un-
successful; at the present time the composition and method
of origin of this body have been disclosed and Illuminated by
many fine experiments and discoveries of the heroes of chemis-
try, famous in this and previous centuries; and It would seem
there Is nothing further to wish than that the results of their
outstanding labors for explaining this be systematically de-
veloped In a more orderly manner by applying the geometric
method. This is especially so if the elasticity of niter burned
In a mixture with charcoal, which empirical chemical writers
usually do not touch upon, Is explained starting from the na-
ture of niter Itself and from physical experiments. Although
these seem difficult, since up to now no basis has been laid in
general physics for explaining the origin and components of
such a body and there has been little success In applying
physical experiments to chemistry, nevertheless we consider
It possible through scientific relations to express the greatest
part of chemistry in terms of special positions recently taken
In physics; we do not doubt that we can easily uncover the
hidden nature of bodies If we combine physical truths with
chemical ones. When all the chemical truths are consolidated
by stricter methods and It becomes clear how much one truth
can be explained or brought out from another, then chemistry
itself will be a science, and finally it may be seen more clearly
what different branches of other natural science will offer for
Its explanation and how much It Itself will contribute to Its
service. Then such a well worked out science will be carried
on by the honorable members In the ranks of the physicists.

We wish to give an example of this in this proposed work
and for this purpose, first, we will develop from the chemical
point of view the composition and generation of niter, and
then use physical effects connected with its nature to explain
Its elasticity. Hence there are three chapters: in the first we
study the composition of niter; knowing this we already con-
sider It not difficult to explain its generation, which makes up
the subject of the second chapter. In the third chapter we will
speak of the explosive force of niter.

The chemical assumptions on which we will develop these
themes are the following:

150

cue origin ana rNauire or iMtcr
Assumption I

Mixed bodies are composed of those constituents into which
they are decomposed by analysis and from which they are
formed by synthesis.

The truth of this is fully evident from the idea of the whole
and its parts and does not require any demonstration. We re-
member only that in chemistry synthesis is often more reliable
than analysis, and even it alone is sufficient to show the constit-
uents. Analysis is not so dependable with respect to mixed
bodies whose components are themselves mixed bodies: ac-
cordingly with different media used to separate the constituents
there may be noted different components. Thus, on dry distilla-
tion of plants, we extract constituents which are far from those
observed in their fermentation. However, in connection with
synthesis, analysis gives much weight and is much used itself.

Assumption II

Between homogeneous principles and mixed bodies which
contain in greatest amount the same principle, there exist some
mutual interrelations by virtue of which they more willingly
combine with each other than with heterogeneous bodies and,
penetrating one another^ they mutually combine. This combi-
nation differs from a simple cohesion, since by the latter only
particles brought into contact are bound. Thus, watery bodies
combine more avidly with watery ones, oily ones with oily,
glassy ones with glassy, metallic ones with metals. On the other
hand, heterogeneous bodies, though they cohere closely enough
with each other (as can be seen from large enough drops of
water adhering to a sloping board rubbed with oil), yet all
their particles tend to mutual interpenetration with difficulty
and can hardly combine. We consider it appropriate here to
describe briefly how we present this, since we apply these
hypothetical principles for a deep explanation of several ques-
tions. Everyone knows that particles of bodies cohere with
each other on mutual contact. From the findings of Boyle it is
evident that all particles have internal motion; we have shown
in a separate dissertation, approved by famous men and soon
to be published, that some of the particles have a progressive
motion, all have rotational. Now [Fig. 1 was not contained in

151

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

the manuscript] let particle C adhere by contact to the surface
AB of some body. Let it move about its axis by rotary motion
from a to b; then, if between the surfaces at the point of con-
tact B there Is no friction, particle C will rotate at the point
of contact B of surface AB and will not move forward to J5. On
the contrary, if at the point of contact of the plane there is
friction, then under the influence of the internal force of mo-
tion impelling the particle to rotate and the cohesion which
constantly maintains it, particle C will move on the surface AB
in the direction of B and will penetrate into the first when the
pores are large enough. For this reason also the particles of
bodies mutually rubbing each other move relative to each other
and shift their positions until a greater force of cohesion makes
internal motion impossible. On the contrary, if there is no
friction between the particles or there is only a very slight one,
then such an effect entirely or almost entirely fails to occur.
It is probable that the surfaces of homogeneous particles ap-
proach each other more than do heterogeneous ones and there-
fore their roughness from which, as we assume, friction arises
combines them more with each other. Therefore, we assume,
homogeneous particles are combined by the roughness, like
gears, and in heterogeneous particles, due to the different sizes
of the cogs, this does not occur (surfaces of homogeneous par-
ticles in contact are shown in Fig. 2 and of heterogeneous ones
in Fig. 3 [p. 160]). Then there is no difficulty for any reason
that homogeneous particles bound by linkages and having in-
ternal rotary motion would move around each other, and
heterogeneous ones would not. According to this hypothesis we
will call the mutual correspondence of homogeneous particles
congruence, and we are persuaded by experiment that it can
be used to explain chemical and other natural phenomena.

Just such action of particles can be the reason for the
tendency of entrance of fluids into pores, the rise of bodies at
the side of other bodies, as for example, the rise of mercury
above its surface on the side wall of a silver cylinder and the
spontaneous distribution of dry salt of tartar on the walls of a
glass vessel up to its cover, and many other similar effects
which can be ascribed to reasons of this sort. In order to study
these more deeply and to show them more obviously, we would
have to have a full treatise on chemical principles so that as a

152

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

result more closely related reciprocal facts would enlighten
more fully. Since, however, the present theme neither requires
this nor permits it, we will leave our stated hypothesis as a
hypothesis, satisfied with the simplicity and probability.

Assumption III

// any body A, originally combined with body B, being sep-
arated from it; is shown to have the form and all the properties
which it would have when mixed with body D, then body D is
actually mixed with A and is received from body B: for exam-
ple, when water in which gunpowder was soaked and diluted
is passed through a filter, a liquid is obtained which is nothing
else than a solution of niter, and so without hesitation we draw
the conclusion: the niter now found in the water was before
this mixed in the powder. This assumption can well enough
be called incongruency.

All these three assumptions are not only sufficient for our
purpose, but they can also easily be used for showing chemical
truths which are confirmed below by examples. We add that
we deliberately do not give definitions of substances and opera-
tions since we do not wish to trouble with statements of those
things which are well known to everyone.

CHAPTER 1. ON THE CONSTITUENTS AND
PRINCIPLES WHICH FORM NITER

1

There is no doubt that niter consists of fixed alkali salt and
acid spirit. Actually, chemical analysis produces both from it
and shows them separately. On distillation, niter gives an
abundant and very acid spirit, and if the distillation was car-
ried out with oil of vitriol, the residue is nothing else than
vitriolated tartar which is prepared from fixed alkali and oil
of vitriol: clear evidence that the fixed alkali which along with
oil of vitriol forms this neutral salt already exists in niter itself,
since no one can assume its presence in the oil of vitriol (by
assumption III). Then niter which explodes with charcoal, on
losing its acid gives pure fixed alkali. The latter cannot be
formed from the charcoal used in the operation since the

153

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

amount of charcoal taken for fixing the niter, reduced to ash
and washed with water, gives only a few grains of alkali salt.

Chemical synthesis itself reliably strengthens the correctness
of this* Thus, the alkaline part of niter, previously separated
by explosion from the acid, on mixing with spirit of niter
again combines with it, and on crystallization gives the purest
niter with all its properties; and if, instead of the fixed alkali
of niter we take the alkaline salt prepared from wood ashes,
especially the more solid, and combine it with the spirit of
niter we also form true niter. Finally, the presence of alkali
salt is so important for the formation of niter that in the ab-
sence of natural alkali Its acid spirit will take to itself the
fixed salt in associated minerals, and combined with the alkali
of sea salt or even the alkali of urine forms a type of niter, dif-
ferent In form of crystal and in appearance, but not very dif-
ferent in strength of explosion and other properties of true
niter.

Thus, by virtue of assumption I, the conclusion drawn in
1 is fully true; therefore it Is very strange that even famous
people 1 have considered this assumption doubtful and have
accepted that the alkali on distillation of niter is rather gen-
erated from the fire. Although after driving out the spirit from
niter mixed with clay by fire they cannot find true alkali in the
residue from distillation, yet they should not assume on this
basis that there is no alkali in the composition of the niter. For
we cannot deny everything that we do not see. This doubt
evidently arises because the true course of the interaction be-
tween clay and niter on the fire was not known. According to
the Ideas of chemists which then prevailed, clay was mixed with
niter to prevent its liquefaction which, as they thought, pre-
vented the evolution of the spirit. But it is sufficiently known
from glassmaking that fixed alkali salt used with earthy bodies
gives a glass by removal of the volatile parts which were in the

L Boerfaaave, Elementa chymiae, Vol. 2, part 3, expt. 134; Lemery, Cours de
chemie* p. 456.

154

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

mixed body; therefore evidently we can conclude that with
this very strong fire which is used for driving off the spirit of
niter from the clay, the alkali of the niter attacks the earthy
material of the clay and, losing the volatile spirit, combines
with it more strongly; thus also the spirit is separated from the
alkali and therefore the alkali itself either scarcely can or can-
not at all be washed out from the clay by water. Confirming all
this is the differing ease of driving off the spirit of niter; from
a mixture of niter and oil of vitriol it is driven out by a light
fire, but from a mixture of niter with clay, by the strongest
fire; that is, the alkali of niter is more avidly combined with
oil of vitriol than with the earth of the clay.

4

In order to learn in turn the nature of the constituent parts
of niter, it is necessary to study the general properties of both
the acid spirit and the fixed alkali salt. Thus we must find
whether this alkali of niter differs from other forms of fixed
alkali salt, and its acid spirit from other spirits of the same
type. We begin with the acid spirit which is the more simple
and thus more general than fixed alkali.

The chief acid spirits which are usually produced by mineral
and plant bodies are these: spirit of sulfur, spirit and oil of
vitriol, spirits of alum, niter, common salt, vinegar. Each of
these contains water even if we consider the most rectified
spirit; they all, combining with the dryest alkali salts form on
distillation tasteless phlegm. Then all in general are similar in
corroding ability and acid taste, but differ in their strength
and other properties. It is certain that the corroding power
and acidity are produced in individual types of spirit from one
and the same principle. Hence, with other conditions equal,
each separately should have the same strength. Since, however,
this is not a fact, then a sufficient cause lies beyond this prin-
ciple; the latter blunts the strength of the acid when it is
mixed in different amounts with the acid principle. Hence fol-
lows the conclusion: the greater the blunting of the corroding
strength and acidity, the greater is the amount of the other
principle in the acid spirit; and on the contrary the stronger

155

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

the corroding strength and acidity, the more of their own prin-
ciple is present in the acid spirits. This truth is also widely
confirmed by experiments. Thus, even the strongest acids,
sweetened by spirit of wine, are usually very much weakened.
Although water also weakens acids, yet differences between
them cannot arise from different amounts of water, which is
evidently confirmed by this fact, that acids, even diluted with
water, retain their own qualities.

6

Although the different strengths of acid spirits are also clearly
seen in solution of metals, yet since there is no single acid
spirit which can dissolve all metals, by reason of the different
congruency of metals (by assumption II) with the foreign con-
stituent part of the spirits, then we cannot draw on this basis
a reliable conclusion about the degree of their acidity and
corrosive strength. Therefore here we must use a more gen-
eral criterion. With no other body do acid spirits combine
more strongly and avidly than with fixed alkali salt. They tend
to take it up, pushing out other metals and minerals which they
had previously dissolved and kept in their network. This is
done with different forces and tendencies, due to the different
strengths of the acids, which act very differently in them, since
the more powerful spirits acting on alkali salt drive from it
other weaker spirits. Thus, vinegar yields place to spirit of
sea salt, the latter is driven out by spirit of niter which in its
turn is forced out by spirit of vitriol or, what is the same
thing, of sulfur or alum (which do not reciprocally replace
each other). Hence it is evident that spirit of vitriol (and the
related spirits of sulfur and alum) are the strongest of all; the
remaining ones, those of niter., salt,, and vinegar are weaker and
successively the latter are combined with the other principle;
the first consists of pure acid principle when present in the
purest state, or in any case, contains less quantity of admixed
side principles.

We find good confirmation of this in the different specific
gravities of the spirits. That pure acid material, the chief con-
stituent part of the acid spirits, has considerable density is evi-

156

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

dent from the following considerations. Sulfur certainly con-
sists of vitriolic acid with a small amount of phlogiston
combined with water. That phlogiston is specifically lighter
than water is indicated by the floating on water of ethereal oils
and rectified spirit of wine. Since sulfur itself is twice as heavy
as water, it follows directly from the laws of hydrostatics that
the specific gravity of vitriolic or sulfur acid should consider-
ably exceed the specific gravity of water and that, hence, acid
spirits are specifically heavier, the more acid principle they
contain. Vitriolic acid and its relatives after most careful rec-
tification and purification exceed the rest of the acids in their
specific gravity, as shown by the hydrometer, and the greater
difficulty of converting them to a vapor on distillation. There-
fore there remains no doubt of this, which confirms 6 as en-
tirely true. On this basis the most famous chemists take vitriolic
acid for the universal acid and consider it the simplest of alL
Comparing spirit of niter with it, we will try to define the
specific differences. This is not the place to study another type
of acid, since we speak only of niter.

OO

Moreover, as we assumed in 6 and 7, the greater strength of
vitriolic acid as compared to spirit of niter is shown in its
precipitation of metals and in the fixing of mercury: it is fully
evident that spirit of niter has in its composition some lighter
material or more volatile principle. What the nature of this
is must be established from the properties of the acid. The
chief distinction in its properties is that the neutral salts formed
by this acid and some alkali, when ground with charcoal ex-
plode with a huge flame and immediately burn up. Since this
is not done by any other acid combined with an alkali salt and
charcoal, then evidently spirit of niter, besides the universal
acid and water, must have still another principle which is most
inclined to the generation of a flame; which also combines
with acid and water, which resists flame, and which, overcom-
ing it and carrying it away from itself, explodes with a flame;
there is no doubt that this purest inflammable principle is
called phlogiston by many. We have already noted above that
the phlogiston principle is lighter not only than acid but even
than water (7). Therefore it is natural that it transmits to

157

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

the heavy universal acid a greater volatility and along with
this it lessens its strength: hence the spirit of niter consists of
the universal acid (5) and the phlogiston principle, combined
together and intermingled with a watery liquid.

No little significance for confirming this truth is found in
the congruency of spirit of niter with those bodies which in all
probability have phlogiston in their composition. Thus,
camphor rejects all other acid spirits, but combines with spirit
of niter and goes over into a tarry substance. Ethereal oils
combine very avidly with this spirit and give off a large amount
of heat and even flame; though such action is found for some
other acids, yet it is much less. For they act on these oils only
by virtue of the acid spirit included in the latter, but spirit of
niter attacks their phlogiston with its phlogiston, and their
acid with its acid, which naturally should evoke a stronger mo-
tion and more considerable heat. Spirit of niter dissolves all
metals and semimetals except gold, the more energetically and
the more strongly, the greater the amount of phlogiston in them
and the more manifestly the latter shows itself in them. After
its expulsion by calcining the metal, the calxes undergo the
action of spirit of niter very little, while vitriolic acid, on the
contrary, acts much more willingly on the calxes than on the
whole metals, which gleam from their phlogiston. Finally, oil
of vitriol, mixed with rectified spirit of wine, combines without
effervescence and although heat is evolved, yet it is less in de-
gree than on mixing it with water. 2 On the other hand, fuming
spirit of niter with water produces less heat than oil of vitriol,
but with rectified spirit of wine produces a huge and appalling
effervescence with heating to 180 and even more 3 and if to
one dram of spirit of niter we add one dram of alcohol, a
hotter effervescence occurs, after which nothing remains, but
everything evaporates into air. 4

2. The illustrious Pott in Exerdtatione de acido vitriolo vinoso and the
illustrious Muschenbroek in Addit. ad exp. Acad. del dm., par. 2.

8. Muschenbroek, ibid.

4. Hoffmann, Obsewationum f p. 40.

158

On the Origin and Nature of Niter
10

Besides the acid principle, phlogiston, and the watery liquid
with which the first two intermingle, we cannot admit that any
other principle is in spirit of niter, and therefore we are limited
to establishing these three component parts. There is also no
necessity to discuss the specific properties of these liquids, since
the theme under discussion requires consideration only of those
properties which can explain the genesis of niter. Finally, it
would be very interesting and useful to know in what ratio by
weight or by volume are the component parts of this perfectly
pure spirit; but from the experiments made up to now this
cannot be determined exactly. It is evident only that the acid
principle occurs in much greater amount than phlogiston, since:

1) the taste of the liquid is very acid; 2) it itself is not susceptible
to flame; 3) it is heavier than water in specific gravity, and this
would be lowered if phlogiston were more abundant; but even
their approximate ratios cannot be shown. The relative amount
of water was studied by the ingenious Homberg; 5 he added one
ounce of spirit of niter to the driest alkali and from this mix-
ture drove off the water into the air by a strong fire, leaving the
acid principle; he found a loss in weight of 5 drams and 49
grains. Therefore water by weight is related to the other con-
stituent parts of the spirit by about 8 to 3.

11

Fixed alkali salt has earth in its composition. For: 1) after
long digestion it yields an earth, tasteless, insoluble in water;

2) it is formed on combination from bodies rich in earthy
substances, so that the more solid and firm are the parts of
plants, the coarser is the ash remaining after combustion and
the stronger and more fixed is the alkali salt obtained. On the
contrary, volatile mixed substances lacking in earth principle
give no ash and alkali. These facts, by virtue of assumption I,
confirm the statement. It is true that very solid bone and other
parts of animals, like rotted plants, do not form such alkali
salts, but this is not in the least to the detriment of the truth
expressed above, since for the constituents of these bodies, be-

5. Mem. roy. Acad. Sd. f 1669, p. 52.

159

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

Figs. 2-10

sides earth is required still another principle (see below, 13),
which, if it is absent from the mixed body in combustion or
encounters an obstacle to combination with the earth on burn-

160

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

ing, cannot form alkali with the earth and remains a mere
earth, as appears in the ash of bones.

12

In order to confirm these phenomena, we should first of all
mention the congruence of fixed alkali salts with earthy bodies.
For fixed alkali salt enters into such close bonds with them
that there is formed a transparent and very stable body, not
decomposed by any known strength of fire. This is daily found
in glassmaking. This combination of the substance mentioned
with sand is marked by rare phenomena. Thus, if such a mix-
ture of sand with fixed alkali salt is heated in a pot on a great
fire to melting, the liquid suddenly starts to boil, gives a foam,
and moves just as occurs on combination of an acid with an
alkali; from it comes a thick smoke and a heavy odor of acid. 6
We consider it very probable that this acid smoke is the part
of the volatile principle which enters into the composition of
the alkali salt which the earth loses in combining more closely
with sand (cf. 3) and hence we come to the conclusion that
in fixed alkali salt there is an acid principle combined with an
earthy one; but since we could assume that acid volatilization
takes place not from the alkali, but from the sand, we must
have more reliable data and concurrence with the effects dis-
cussed, which will remove all doubts.

13

To obtain the alkali salt by ashing, we select plants rich in
acid material, the so-called essential salts; the more of these,
the more alkali is washed from the ashes. Therefore the plants
from which the essential salts are extracted give less alkali
than if they are not extracted. 7 Further, if the plant does not
burn cleanly, but smokes and is slowly consumed by a smolder-
ing fire, then much acid volatilizes from the plant and the ash
lacks a considerable amount of the alkali salt. 8 Then if the
plant, containing volatile acid, is dried before burning, it gives
less alkali salt than the undried. 9 Finally, tartar, the most acid

6. Stahl, De salibus, ch. 8.

7. Neumann, De alcali fixo.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

161

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

of all the essential salts, after distillation leaves a very black
residue; the ash obtained from burning this residue on an open
fire gives a large amount of especially caustic fixed alkali salt
so that a very considerable part of the tartar passes into it; If,
indeed, we add the acidified water, the spirit and oil which were
previously removed by distillation to the remaining alkaline
mass and then again distill as before, then almost no acid at
all distills out and little oil, and almost the whole mass of tartar
is converted to alkali. 10 From all this it Is perfectly evident,
1) that for the formation of fixed alkali salt,, acid is certainly re-
quired (by assumption I); 2) that essential salts of plants are
more strongly bound with earth by strong fire (11) and pass
into the composition of alkalis.

14

That the acid principle occurs in the composition of animal
material is shown by the souring of milk and the discussion of
the illustrious Lemery, 11 but this principle hardly yields to
isolation and it cannot be coagulated in the form of an actual
salt, either because it occurs in small amount, or (which is
more likely) because it is hidden in combination with other
principles and thus cannot enter into contact with earths nor
is strongly bound to them at the time of combustion. Decaying
of plants is always preceded by fermentation, which disperses
the greater part of the acid. Therefore parts of animals and
decaying plants after combustion and washing out the ashes
do not give fixed alkali, and for us this is a very important
reason against the contrary argument. No little weight is given
by the above mentioned proposition of violent effervescence
and heating of the acid spirits with alkaline salts; we men-
tioned before how their hatred and struggle, and now, more
correctly, how liking and avid tendency to mutual compre-
hension, beyond doubt show the congruency of the constituent
parts (assumption II).

15
Concerning the joining of these constituent parts in the body

10. Boerhaave, Elementa chymiae, vol. 2, part 1, expt. 55.

11. Mem. Acad. 1720, p, 266 ff.

162

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

of fixed alkali salt, we think no one has doubted. However,
among very prominent scholars the question has still arisen
of the presence of the third constituent part, the principle of
phlogiston. Indeed the most famous authors, Stahl and Neu-
mann, assert that It Is present in fixed alkali salt; on the other
hand, others deny this, especially the illustrious Bourdelln 12
from his own studies. The first opinion depends on experi-
ments and conclusions directly from them; the second on
deeper discussion, reinforced by experiments. Confirmatory
opinion is substantiated by the fact that to obtain alkali, oily
substances are needed and their formation does not occur with-
out some fatty material. 13 Therefore, removing combustible
substances from vegetable bodies by spirit of wine, we obtain
less potash from their ashes than without the preliminary ex-
traction; 14 to which is joined the no less weighty argument,
according to assumption II, that the purest and driest alkali
is attracted by the most rectified spirit of wine; If both these
substances, or either of them, contains any water, their mixing
is difficult. 15 Therefore on mixing them the temperature rises
from 49 to 54 degrees (Fahrenheit thermometer); but the heat
Is scarcely perceived if instead of very dry alkali we take spirit
of fused tartar. 16 Contrary to this, Bourdelln from the same facts
by which the above authors confirmed their position, draws a
contradictory conclusion on the basis of the following account.

16

He asserts that fixed alkali of plants comes from burning
their essential or natural salt, on which the more fixed part
of their acid salt in combination with earth forms alkali; the
remaining more volatile part is either driven off by the fire
so that pure alkali salt remains, or remains unaffected by fire
and then the neutral salt, the nitrous, is washed out from the
ashes, as Stahl himself indicates. In the first case, he says, the
more subtle acid along with the more abundant oil produces
a greater flame; in the second, with an insufficiency of fatty

12. Mem. roy. Acad. Sd., 1728.

13. Stahl, Zjmot.y ch. 12; Neumann, de AlcalL

14. Ibid.; ibid,

15. Boerhaave, Elem. Chym., vol. 1, part 2, "de alcali et menstr."

16. Addit. ad exp. A. del dm., part 2, p. 153,

163

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

substance, occurring either because of using a drier plant such
as tamarisk or because the fatty principle had been extracted
by spirit of wine, the acid is combined with the alkali formed
in the combustion and gives a neutral salt. Since, therefore, by
the absence of the fatty principle or after its extraction from
the plant there is formed an alkali salt, but it is hidden in the
form of a neutral salt due to combination with acid, therefore
he concludes that the presence of the inflammable principle is
not a necessary condition for the formation of alkali, and there-
fore he considers that the experiments of Stahl and Neumann
in themselves cannot confirm their hypothesis. From the ex-
periment of Lemery, who by adding oil drove off vitriolic acid,
which remained in the colcothar after distillation, he showed
that acid which binds the fatty substance was driven off by
the fire and scattered in the air.

17

On attentive consideration of these contradictory opinions,
based on both sides on sufficiently weighty evidence, we find
that both are partly true, partly do not correspond to actual-
ity. Therefore we, aiming for the truth, will reconcile both of
them; and first of all, along with Stahl and Neumann, we accept
the fact that alkali salts have in their composition the princi-
ple of phlogiston, but in different proportions to the other
constituent parts. Second, we assert with Bourdelin that fixed
alkali salt is formed from burning plants not in proportion
to the fatty material which enters their composition^ but that
by its agency the alkali is liberated from the more volatile
acids of plants and remains free. In order to show what fol-
lows, it is necessary to describe the different nature of the
alkaline salts of which the chief are salt of tartar and the al-
kali salt of plants.

18

Tartar is formed from the juice of grapes, rich in spirit, after
completion of their fermentation. Phlogiston is found remain-
ing in the tartar after very strong fermentation; and since it
is especially volatile in its nature, it is certain that it has es-
caped the force of such great motion by being strongly bound
to the acid of tartar or with the earthy substance of tartar.

164

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

Hence it follows that this phlogiston can more strongly resist
the action of fire and more easily combine with earthy and acid
principles in fixed alkali salt than if no preliminary fermenta-
tion had occurred. The fact is different with plants simply
burned. Their juice is much poorer in amount of spirit than
that of grapes; under the influence of the flame it is scattered,
setting in motion the more volatile phlogiston (so called wild),
and there breaks forth with it even that which could resist
fermentation and flame* Therefore it is clear that in the ash
of plants much less phlogiston can remain than in the dry
residue of tartar. Since tartar salt is coagulated with fats into
soap, and most rectified spirit of wine is easily combined with
this salt if it is perfectly dry, and there is even extracted from
it a golden tincture such as is usually extracted in greater
amount from fats, but this is not extracted from salts nor from
bodies lacking phlogiston, then on the basis of assumptions
II and III it follows that tartar salt includes in its composition
the principle of phlogiston. On the other hand, although al-
kaline salts of plants also give soap with fats, and thus the
presence of phlogiston is shown, yet they hardly combine or
do not combine at all with the most rectified spirit of wine
and do not give any colored fatty tincture. All this, in con-
nection with what was said at the beginning of this paragraph,
clearly shows that the phlogiston principle is found in tartar
and in alkaline salts of plants and more in the first than in the
second.

19

Plants which before burning are dried, ground up, and
treated with spirit of wine until they stop coloring it, then
burned to ash, give little or no pure fixed alkali salt when
leached, but do give neutral salt. Since this neutral salt consists
of acid and alkali, we conclude that 1) extraction of resinous
substance does not hinder formation of fixed alkali salt so that
this fat contributes nothing to the formation of alkali; 2) since
in this case, if the resin existing in the plant is not removed
from it by any extraction, and after burning there remains pure
alkali salt without acid, then it is evident that this acid adher-
ing to the resinous substance is scattered from the heat. There-
fore the conclusion of Bourdelin is correct. But it does not

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

follow from this that there is no phlogiston in the composition
of the alkali salt, the more so that it is extracted by spirit of
wine, but only the more volatile phlogiston leaves the more
fixed, which after extraction arouses flame in the plant and can
also enter into the composition of the remaining alkaline ash.

20

Besides this the alkaline salts, especially of plants, differ in
the quantity and quality of earthy substances: those which are
leached from the more delicate parts of plants are more subtle
and more delicate; and on the other hand, those leached from
the thicker stems are stronger and coarser. The quantitative
interrelations of these constituents of alkali salts (not more
than three of them have been found) still cannot be deter-
mined; there are no experiments from which we could draw
any conclusions unless that phlogiston, as very subtle, is least
of all in the alkali and in acid is very abundant, as can be
judged from the preparation of salt of tartar from the pure
acid. All these principles are modified by watery moisture de-
pending on its amount, as is very well known.

21

This is all we consider it necessary to say in general about
alkalis, but most of what was said, almost all, should refer to
the alkali of niter. We will say a few words about the remain-
der which is specific for niter; thus, 1) since for the prepara-
tion of niter we use the ashes of plants, as shown below, then
it is certain that the potash of ashes constitutes in great part
the alkaline salt of niter; 2) since to the alkali from which niter
is extracted we add unslaked lime in addition to the ashes, it
is very probable that some earth of an alkaline nature enters
into its composition. This is confirmed by the following: 1)
niter dissolved in water and long digested evolves earth; 17 2)
niter regenerated from its spirit and fixed alkali of plants is
softer and more caustic, since its alkali on boiling in a tin
vessel attacks it, but if its alkali is passed through unslaked
lime it becomes more inert and loses its corrosive ability. 18

17. Boerfaaave, Elem. chym*, vol. 1, part 2, "de terra."

18. Stahl, de nitro, ch. 2 and 3.

166

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

But we will speak of this below ( ). 19 Here, however, we
remember that it is unreal to infer the properties of the alkali
of niter from the properties of fixed niter, since the alkali in
this is contaminated by the acid spirit remaining in it, which
obviously departs when oil of vitriol is added. There is also a
difference with respect to inflammability induced by combus-
tion of niter: with inflammable fluids it becomes less caustic
than on detonation with dry bodies, and it becomes especially
caustic with metals. 20 This does not contradict the above state-
ment (1) since besides this the alkaline nature of fixed niter
is well enough known.

22

We consider what has been said about the composition of
niter to be sufficient to discuss its generation. From the pre-
ceding we have shown that niter is a doubly mixed body, that
is, first of all it consists of acid spirit and fixed alkali salt;
the latter is composed of acid principle more firmly bound to
an earth and of a small amount of phlogiston and a calcareous
earthy and all of this is more or less diluted with water. The
acid spirit is made up of the same acid principle and phlogiston
occurring in water. The illustrious Neumann gave a ratio of
fully rectified spirit of niter to alkali and both to water: acid
14, alkali i/ 4 , water i/. 21 The same theory was confirmed for
the acid by KunckeL 22

23

Such is the internal nature of niter, not at all clear to the
senses as a whole, but subject to disclosure by chemical means.
This gives the number of constituents, their qualitative and
often even quantitative ratios; but with its aid it is impossible
to guess the place and order in which are arranged the cor-
puscles of the constituents and the particles of the mixed body.
This latter would be very valuable and useful for deeper study
of mixed bodies if only it were complete and reliable. How-
ever, since this cannot be discussed even by an expert, we will

19. [No number given in text.]

20. Neumann, de alcali fixo.

21. Dissert, de alcali fixo.

22. In Ldboratorio chymico, part 2, di. 6.

167

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

attempt to guess about this, as far as possible, on the basis of
the qualities of the constituents themselves and on the basis
of the external form of niter. Since here the discussion cannot
operate on a sufficiently firm basis, we will carry it on more
hypothetically.

24

Corresponding to the very fixed and inactive properties of
earths and the rapid penetrating nature of the acid principle,
the latter should consist of much finer particles than the first.
Since acid makes up the greatest part of the alkaline salt (20),
it is very probable that one particle of earth is surrounded by
several particles of acid principle adhering closely to it, and
some particles of phlogiston are interspersed between them, and
water surrounds on all sides, as shown in Fig. 4. When the acid
spirit is mixed with the alkali salt, its particle C [Fig. 5] first
of all touches particles of B which adhere to the earthy mole-
cule A of the alkali and turn toward it around B (by the hy-
pothesis of the introduction, assumption II); it then enters the
small space D between B and E and displaces the air stored
there. This air, driven out from several pores, collects in bub-
bles and expands in a foam, and the particles of this are heated
by collision and friction. The particles of acid C, if it is pure
and does not contain another principle, join more with the
acid particles B and penetrate the space D more strongly and
deeply. On the other hand, if it is combined with phlogiston
or other principle bound to it, then it cannot so easily enter
and settle so firmly there. Therefore spirit of niter, due to the
interference of the phlogiston, adheres less strongly to its alkali
and thus must be driven off by purer universal acid. Further,
since the particles of the acid spirit, homogeneous among them-
selves, occur among the particles of alkali salt, forming along
with the latter corpuscles of neutral salt [Fig. 6], then the acid-
ity is lessened in the spirit and the acidity is modified; in the
alkali salt the roughness is smoothed over, the causticity is low-
ered, and there is formed a neutral salt of a more delicate na-
ture, so that the very penetrating spirit of niter and the alkali
are combined in a body with not so sharp a taste.

25
If we assume that a thus composed particle of niter has a

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

spherical form and that in great part the smallest parts of the
body tend to collect into a cluster, we can very easily explain
why niter grows in a hexahedral crystal. Although all this is
based on one hypothesis, yet it answers exceedingly well the
nature of the constituent parts of niter and therefore gains
some weight. Actually, let six corpuscles be arranged around
each other in such a way that the straight lines joining their
centers form an equilateral triangle [Fig. 7]; as a result we
obtain a figure bounded by six lines like the cross section of
a prism of niter. The particles of niter thus arranged in almost
infinite number form the crystalline prism of niter, true, often
with unequal sides which, however, are always parallel and
correspond to the assumed arrangement as shown in Figs. 8, 9,
and 10. However, the guess which we have assumed is con-
firmed in three ways: 1) this process explains the form of the
particles, which is not suggested by anything which the crystals
of niter have in themselves, and the question does not then
remain unanswered, as is often the case; 2) the angles of the
niter crystals correspond to the assumed arrangement of par-
ticles, since usually each of them is 120; 3) on the basis of
our hypothesis we can easily explain other sorts of crystals, for
example, the cubic crystals of common salt can be explained
by assuming such an arrangement of salt particles that the lines
passing through their centers make a square.

CHAPTER 2. ON THE GENESIS OF NITER
AND ITS PRODUCTION

26

In describing the production of niter we have arranged all
the material as far as possible in such a way that we first dis-
cuss in detail methods of producing niter in Europe; then we
explain the composition of niter itself and the character of the
substances serving for its preparation and how they contribute
to the formation of its constituent parts. Finally, we support
our explanation by suggesting processes for rapid production
of niter.

27
As experiment has taught, the dung of animals, especially

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

horse manure which has lain long in a shady place, is whitened
as if covered by frost, and equally so are walls made of clay and
straw and covered with lime, which also whiten as if from hoar
frost (the whitening occurs more rapidly by drenching with
the urine of animals); as a result of known procedures this
shows the presence of niter. Therefore the producers of niter
carefully collect these materials for their needs and when they
have noted that fresh bodies of this sort do not contain niter, 23
they begin to use those which have been aided by putrefaction.
They collect not only the easily rotting parts of animal and
kitchen wastes, but also plants which are undergoing rotting.
From the walls of wooden huts constructed of clay and straw
they take off a layer of a finger's breadth, which is granted to
certain persons as a privilege of the state. 24 Then they collect
the discarded soap boiler's ashes and earth from a cemetery.
Moreover they avoid those substances which have lain long in
the open sun. Also, from plant materials they mix fresh and
fallen leaves from willow, fresh and delicate shoots of spruce
and leaves of other fragrant woods, squash leaves, herbs con-
taining stinging acid sap, straw of beans and peas, and finally,
any plant thrown out of gardens and from fields as useless, for
the construction of the very valuable niter piles. Sometimes
they add sediment and wastes from brewery production, and
also those obtained from distilling spirit of wine from grain.

28

These parts of animals and plants are mixed with muddy
earth and set out in the open air in long piles like embank-
ments, parallel with each other, so that one pile protects an-
other from the rays of the burning summer sun; therefore they
are usually laid out in a line from east to west. Also they are
enclosed with walls extended to a height of two sazhens and
made of the same niter material; thus a shadow for the piles is
attained, and in order that it be still larger, at the southern
edge and also between the embankments are placed shading
trees, which by the falling of their leaves also contribute to the
piles. Further, since too abundant rain water would harm the

25. Hist. Ac. Roy. Set., 1717, p. 50.
24. Stahl, De nitro, ch. Z

170

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

delicate niter which is forming, canals are placed around the
piles; sometimes the piles are even covered with a straw roof,
leaving free access of air at the sides. The piles thus prepared,
kept from the action of bad weather, are repeatedly wet with
decomposing urine or rotting pieces of kitchen waste.

29

When the piles are enriched with niter, which is recognized
by the whitening of the material adhering to their sides like
wool or frost, the nitrous earth is taken and slowly dried in a
shady place if there is moisture in it; then it is prepared for
extraction thus. In a vessel with a double bottom in which the
upper movable bottom, containing numerous openings, is sep-
arated from the lower by two or three fingers' breadth and
covered with four inches of straw, is placed a layer of niter-
bearing earth four fingers thick, and above this the same thick-
ness of a layer of ashes obtained by burning hardwood powder
mixed with unslaked lime. Then a layer of niter-bearing earth
of the same thickness is put in, above it a layer of the same ash
with unslaked lime, and so further, layer is piled upon layer
until the vessel is almost entirely full. The number of such
vessels corresponds to the quantity o nitrous earth. On top of
everything hot water is poured, so that it covers all the material
by two or three fingers' breadth. The whole is allowed to stand
quietly overnight and on the next morning the opening in the
lower bottom is unstoppered and the alkali is drained into an-
other vessel underneath. The liquid at first runs cloudy; it is
again poured over the niter-bearing material until it passes
through more clearly. When the upper vessel is free from water,
pure water is again poured into it and there is obtained
through the draining outlet an alkali much weaker than the
preceding. Both alkali solutions are then poured into another
vessel with niter material and the drainage from the outlets of
the vessel until the solution is sufficiently saturated with niter.

30

Ash and quicklime are added with the niter-bearing material
because the latter alone on washing out its alkali does not give
true fixed niter; saturated with alkali it can scarcely be evap-
orated enough to give crystals, which moreover are very deli-

171

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

cate and fragile; on evaporating most of the water, they are
volatilized and scattered into the air. These fine crystals ob-
tained thus are much weaker in explosive force than true
fixed niter; they much resemble the ammonium salt which is
prepared from volatile salt of urine and spirit of niter. On the
other hand, alkali passed through ashes and lime is enriched
by the most fixed alkali, very strong and having great elastic-
ity. 25

31

When the nitrous alkali is judged by examination to be
ready for evaporation, it is poured into a copper pot, higher
than it is wide and narrowing toward the bottom as a trun-
cated cone. In it is placed a wooden bucket, filled with rocks,
of approximately the same shape as the pot, but of much less
size, so that between its walls and the pot there is space enough;
its bottom is separated from the bottom of the pot by two or
three fingers' breadth and its lip should lie at a considerable
depth below the surface of the alkali. At one side of the pot,
over the edge, is placed a tub filled with alkali and with an
opening directed into the pot and open in such a way that as
much alkali flows into the pot as goes out in the form of vapor
on heating. During heating the earthy material is separated
from the alkali and is collected in the bucket; without this it
would be precipitated on the bottom and walls of the pot and
would cause expense in money and work, as is evident from
the book of Ercker 26 on the preparation of niter, when he still
did not know how to use the bucket. This phenomenon results
from different heating of the alkali found at different distances
from the fire. Thus, in the space AAA (Fig. II) between the
walls of the pot and the bucket the alkali is heated more than
in the bucket itself and therefore stronger motion takes place.
Therefore the earthy substance mentioned, separating from the
alkali and gradually making it cloudy, rises in the bucket to
EE, goes toward D, and rapidly is precipitated in C because
of the greater quietness of the liquid; the remaining alkali in
part A is in strong motion so that it cannot settle before it has

25. Stahl, De nitro, ch. 1.

26. Aula subterranea f Bk. 5.

172

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

Fig. 11

collected in more considerable amount. After this time, the
alkali, stirred up by the great heat, enters the bucket and mixes
with the clear alkali and is quieted and precipitated; thus by
continuous motion the earthy substance almost entirely pre-
cipitates in the bucket.

32

The alkali, concentrated to a sufficient degree of saturation,
is poured from the pot into tubs and stands in a cold place for
crystallization. When the liquid is cooled, solid, transparent
hexagonal crystals grow in it. The residual alkali on further
concentration gives in great amount finer, more brittle crystals
with less explosive power and often contaminated with com-
mon salt. After the end of the evaporation and crystallization,
there remains a yellow liquid which does not produce a crystal-
line species; in German it is called Mutterlauge, mother of
alkali, and the latter alkali is precipitated either by oil of tartar
per deliquum, or also by vitriolic acid; it yields a white earth

173

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

called magnesia by physicians. 27 The same alkali converted into
a solid body by evaporation evolves a brown, choking vapor;
after ignition on a stronger fire, there remains in the retort a
residue of the so-called magnesia. 28

33

At the end of the extraction, the earth, deprived of niter, is
mixed with fresh earth with addition of suitable plant material
and also manure and decayed parts of animals, which are sprin-
kled with the remaining mother liquor; everything is put into
a pile and submitted as described above to the action of air,
so that new niter will be formed. In the Paris Arsenal the niter
piles are made of a mixture of earth already washed out and
with fresh niter earth, layer on layer, and each layer is wet with
the scum from the alkali of the first evaporation; and so that
the earth may be reduced directly to niter, it is mixed with
pigeon and horse manure and finally is wet with urine. 29 This
discussion of the preparation of niter is sufficient for our pur-
pose, and we now turn to an explanation of its genesis.

34

Niter-bearing earth prepared for extraction of the niter con-
tains in itself volatile niter, otherwise called ammoniated niter
salt y composed of true spirit of niter and volatile animal alkali.
The truth of this Is perfectly evident from 30, since such
volatile niter gives crystals with great difficulty, and very deli-
cate and fluffy ones, and on evaporation is lost in great part,
on heating Is scattered in the air; with charcoal it gives a less
strong explosion than fixed niter. To this we add that distilling
pure alkaline nitrous earth permits preparation of aqua regia 30
which Is usually obtained from acid spirit of niter and alkaline
salt of urine.

35

The volatile alkali needed for formation of volatile niter in
niter-bearing earth comes from the rotting animal parts or

27. Stahl, De salibus, ch. 15; and Ho&nan, ObservatL, p. 110.

28. Ibid.; ibid.

29. Memoires, 1717, p. 44.
SO. Memoires, 1717, p. 49.

174

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

excrement; there is nothing to be surprised at in this. For who
would seek in the distance for what is given by things nearby?
And who w T ould think of reaching that which is absent by re-
jecting that which is present? The more so that without rotting
of animal excrement or parts there is no generation of niter in
piles built up for this purpose, and for producing and hasten-
ing their rotting and for separation of the volatile salt we pur-
posely add ashes whose fixed alkali does this and more rapidly
frees the volatile salt.

36

Plants have in their composition acid of niter. All plants,
especially becabunga, wall pelletory, soap plant, artemesia, com-
mon wormwood, herbs purified and softened by preliminary
extraction with spirit of wine of their resins by boiling or slow
carbonization, show the presence of true niter 31 and hence pro-
duce the acid spirit from which niter is formed with alkali.
This spirit often shows itself by other clear signs. What, pray,
is this other fatal fume of charcoal, very similar in its terrible
odor to aqua fortis; is it not an acid, very similar to that of
niter, driven out by the strong fire?

37

Spirit of niter is driven out from plants by fermentation and
is volatilized into air if it is not caught. It is well known to all
that plants in fermentation are changed and even destroyed.
Here the changes found are that 1) an acid and an inflammable
spiritous substance are evolved; 2) a precipitate is obtained
which consists of a coarser earthy material and a remaining
small amount of acid and inflammable spirit; 3) two sorts of
acid are obtained: one which in fermentation volatilizes in
great part into the air and another which at the end of fer-
mentation remains and on later digestion passes into vinegar.
The first, much stronger, on inhalation through the nose affects
the nerves, dissolves some metals, and passes out into the air
and rarefies; but the second does not act even on metals
plunged into it. The presence of acid of niter which was in
the fermenting plants cannot be assumed in the wastes, and

3L Stahl, Elem, chym. f p. 62. 8.

175

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

therefore it must be sought in one of the acids mentioned. That
acid which is diffused on motion transmitted to the substance
by fermentation, on the basis of the preceding, comes nearer
in nature to acid of niter than to vinegar. It acts in the same
way on the sense of smell as spirit of niter and sweetens spirit
of wine; this is not found in vinegar. Since, however, spirit of
wine is also evolved with this acid spirit, it is evident that the
spirit of niter formed in plants leaves them in fermentation
combined with the spirit of wine and, if there is no medium
ready which is capable of binding it, it volatilizes into the air
along with the spirit of wine.

38

Plants used for the formation of niter-bearing piles (27)
mixed with animal substances are destroyed. But this cannot
take place unless they are first fermented, which, being a slow
and often unnoted process, yet cannot be ended until every-
thing has happened which was remarked in the previous para-
graph. When the plant material is disintegrated by fermenta-
tion, spirit of niter combined with spirit of wine tends to
volatilize Into the air. But since it almost always meets the
alkali salt volatilizing along with it, formed from the rotting
animal substance (35), then it remains, caught by it. At the
same time the phlogiston of wine, previously in combination
with it, Is avidly combined (according to assumption II) with
the animal fat not yet submitted to the action of alkali, and
thus pure nitrous acid leaving It is more closely bound with
the pure alkali liberated from the fat. And once this has oc-
curred, It is necessary we assume this is perfectly obvious
that the nitrous acid generated from the plants, added to the
niter-bearing mass and separated from them by rotting is com-
bined in the niter-bearing piles with urinous alkali into volatile
niter.

39

Against this, as I hear, scholars object, using great author-
ities and having great merit, 32 and assert that spirit of niter is
formed from the air. We know that their opinion is known

32. Stahl, Fund, chym., De nitro, 25, and Henkel, Pyritologia.

176

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

to everyone who has studied chemistry, and is even accepted
by many; therefore we consider it inadmissible to pass it by,
the more so that it is not entirely untrue. That an aerial ele-
ment, and this truly nitrous, could be the bearer of an acid
spirit is evident from this, that 1) volcanoes, taking up sul-
furous material, throw out large amounts of acid spirits, as
underground caverns also emit them; 2) no little are they
emitted by fragrant plants which have an acid sap in growing
and fermenting. It is evident that from the first source comes
vitriolic acid and from the second, spirit of niter. Therefore
it is not surprising that often alkaline and earthy absorbent
bodies, long exposed to the air, especially if they are saturated
by vapors from nearby plants, take up spirit of niter so that
the ashes exposed to the air in the spring season in a shady
place for several weeks show the presence of some amount of
niter 33 and, with spirit of salt driven off from old tiles, dis-
solve gold. 34

40

But how far it is from the truth that a single aerial acid
saturates the piles built for isolation of niter is evident even
from the fact 1) that for constructing them a single alkali is
not used; 2) that pure alkalis would more easily take the spirit
of niter from the air than alkalis mixed with foreign bodies
contradicts daily observation; 3) that Lemery, exposing to the
open air in a place protected from the sun quicklime, salt of
tartar, and carefully washed out niter-bearing earth for two
years and even more, did not obtain even a trace of niter. 35
Further, acid of niter from plants treated in a niter-bearing
mass was found near volatile alkali generated in the same mass
by rotting animal substances. Therefore there can be no reason
why it would be taken from acid scattered in the atmosphere.
But, you may ask, why is the niter-bearing material exposed in
the open air? I answer, in order that the rotting of the animal
substances and the fermentation of the plants will occur more
easily. Without free access of air both processes are hindered.

33. Stahl, Tractate de salibus.

34. The same, in Fund. chym.

35. Memoires de VAcad, 1717, pp. 39 and 43.

177

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

41

When fixed alkali is added to the ammonia salt, the acid
spirit, leaving the volatile salt, combines with the fixed alkali,
which is evident from the driving off of ammoniacal spirit. No
chemist doubts that the same thing occurs with all neutral
volatile salts, including also volatile niter. Hence it is clear that
the alkali washed from niter-bearing earth is passed through
ash just for this, so that the alkali of the latter on expulsion
of the volatile alkali will take to itself the spirit of niter and
be converted with it on extraction and crystallization into
fixed, true niter. By this synthesis we have again confirmed
that fixed alkali salt is certainly required for the formation of
niter (3). It is true that the amount of ash taken for filtering
the alkali can be shown not to correspond to the amount of
niter obtained; it would probably require much more alkali
salt for formation of niter than the water taken from the ash
could give, but we cease to be astonished if we remember that
the lye from the niter-bearing mass can extract more alkali
from the ash than can water.

42

Ordinary salt is separated from the niter-bearing alkali by
repeated extraction (32) though, as is known, it is not ex-
tracted from the pure niter-bearing mass. Hence, it is formed
along with the fixed niter, and this spirit of salt, generated in
the nitrous mass in the pile (which usually occurs on addition
of fresh manure), combines with the fixed alkaline material
in the same place and at the same time as the spirit of niter.
Since the acid salt, acting on the alkali salt of the ash simul-
taneously urith the nitrous, can harm the formation of fixed
niter, another suitable alkali is needed so that the acid of salt
bound to it will not prevent generation of the niter. The na-
ture most like it is the alkaline lime substance with which it
preferably forms ordinary salt. 36 Therefore we take quicklime
for the preparation of nitrous alkali ( ) 37 which has in itself
the spirit of salt, separated from spirit of niter, and this con-
geals into ordinary salt and moreover, the more subtle parts of
this substance permit blunting of the caustic niter (29).

36. The illustrious Pott, in Ms Dissert, de salt comm.

37. [Number omitted in text.]

178

On the Origin and Nature of Niter
43

Having established all this, I do not find it difficult to ex-
plain that which is found in the mother liquor. Since magnesia
is usually precipitated both by acids and by alkalis, it is clear
that this is a substance of neutral nature and consists of acid
and alkali. Its alkali is weaker than fixed alkali, since it is pre-
cipitated by it. At the same time its acid is weaker than vitriolic
acid, which follows from the same reason. It is certain that the
volatile alkali which is driven out from the compound with
acid of niter by the alkaline salt of ash is dissipated by fire on
boiling. Hence it follows that the calcareous alkaline substance,
dissolved in acid, forms the alkali mentioned, and after adding
stronger alkali salt, precipitates the white powder of lime. But
the acid in this compound is weaker than vitriolic acid and
therefore should be acid of niter or of salt. Since the latter is
contained less in the whole mass of niter-containing substance
and the mother liquor gives off a brown, choking vapor (32),
which is certainly nitrous, on evaporation and calcination, then
it is fully evident that this alkali consists of the more delicate
alkaline substance of quicklime dissolved in more dilute acid
of niter. Thus niter manufacturers act quite reasonably when
the alkali is passed through fresh ashes so that combined with
fixed alkali salt it is changed to niter.

44

We consider that our explanation can be supported best by
that process of preparing niter which Is carried out with the
greatest advantage in respect to work and time and which re-
futes what is sometimes stated but can be discarded according
to our theory; the statement that the simultaneous fermenta-
tion of plants and rotting of animal parts is required for the
production of volatile niter. If this can take place by a process
requiring less time, then extraction and crystallization make
up the minimum which is required for the production of fixed
niter. This was long ago noted by Ercker who recommended
for the most rapid preparation of volatile alkali brine, a body
tending to decomposition and very suitable for obtaining uri-
niferous salt. 38 We have considered several processes but, bur-
dened by many duties, we could test only one. This is: different

38. Aula subterranea, p. 189.

179

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

herbs thrown out of the garden and willow leaves in a clay
vessel are macerated for several days at the temperature of a
healthy man; to hasten the fermentation we add bread turning
sour from fermentation. At the same time in another vessel is
carried out putrefaction of kitchen wastes, decayed fish, and
some quantity of putrefied urine is added; as soon as signs of
beginning fermentation and putrefaction are seen in both ves-
sels part of the fermenting material is removed and put into
the second vessel with the putrefying substances; after an hour
in its turn the substance from this vessel is transferred to the
first. By repeating the transfer, movement is excited in both
vessels; the mutual transfer increases the amount of substance
and hastens the time, and the motion increases. Finally, when
everything is placed in one vessel, carefully covered, after a day
and a night motion ceases and above the precipitate is found
a perfectly clear liquid. Passed as usual through ash, this gives
a large enough amount of uncontaminated niter.

45

We think it would be worth an inquiring study if whoever
has the time would use a suitable form of volatile alkali for
catching the fermenting spirit. We would not consider it fruit-
less also to add work on collecting the vapors of charcoal by
fixed alkali. We will not say much about this, leaving it to the
zeal of others. In general our theory permits easy explanation
and understanding of the spontaneous generation of niter, al-
most always the volatile, which is an efflorescence on the walls
of buildings and the limestone cliffs of India and Africa, es-
pecially where the necessary conditions are present. Many have
overlooked, still more have falsely reported only from their
imagination, concerning the niter of cellars cut into cliffs which
is usually nothing more than earth scarcely penetrated by min-
eral acids; miners call this earth kieselguhr or sinter.

46

It is clear from what has been reported in this chapter that
niter is of plant origin. Though it is true that the principles
of all the kingdoms of nature are the same, we also affirm that
the component parts of niter arise from the components of
plants except for that slight portion which is added to the

180

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

alkali salt from the quicklime. This truth is especially con-
firmed by the fact that a considerable quantity of niter can
be obtained directly from plants (36). It is a fixed and every-
where similar fact that nature never takes a round-about path
when she can proceed by a direct route.

CHAPTER 3. ON THE EXPANSIVE FORCE OF NITER

47

In the explosion of niter it is necessary to separate two cir-
cumstances: first that it explodes with charcoal; second that its
flame surprisingly so greatly exceeds the fastest and strongest
expansion of other types of flames by which other bodies ex-
plode. The first is not hard to explain by the combustible
principle of acid of niter; the explanation of the second re-
quires more labor and caution, the more so that it cannot be
revealed from the previously explained nature of niter. It is
therefore important to review other natural effects and to seek
whether we do not meet some other similarities to the action
of niter such as can be correctly applied to an explanation of
this action. No other effect corresponds more to the great power
of niter to give an explosion than the effect of air escaping
after strong compression when its barriers are weakened or
destroyed. Therefore an air gun made ready for firing is less
in strength to this, it is true, yet it is entirely similar in action.
Comparing these effects and taking into consideration the
cleverness of nature which is so generous in various actions
and so sparing in its principles, it easily comes to mind that
the explosive force of niter depends on the air freed from its
pores due to destruction of the niter itself. We assume that
this was suspected even by Stahl 39 who asserted that in niter
there was a vaporous air and at the time other bodies were
extinguished in the absence of its access, niter had sufficient
air within itself. In order to study properly this preliminary
assumption, we must study more attentively the air included
in the pores of the body.

39. De nitro, di. 1 and 3.

181

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

48

It is well enough known from the experiments of the illus-
trious Boyle that a body on destruction gives off an elastic
fluid, very similar to air, which this most learned man called
factitious air. 40 After this Boerhaave did not hesitate to call
this fluid unreservedly air and he considered that he found it
in bodies in such an amount that in water it was more than
the water itself. 41 There were not, however, experiments which
could confirm this truth so that no doubt remained, and then
the famous Hales 42 by incessant work not only did this but
also determined for many bodies the amount of air included
in the narrow pores. The experiment showing that true air

Fig. 12

is found in very large amounts in the pores of bodies is this.
The factitious air obtained from human calculi was kept by
this author for three years, but he could not see any change
in it. He found that its specific gravity was the same as that of
ordinary air, that in both the elasticity was the same, and
moreover, the factitious air compressed for several days lost no
elasticity. 43 Although we had assumed otherwise, we found a
sufficient similarity in the effects. Namely, on mixing alkali
with vitrolic acid, spirit of niter, and other acids, and also on dis-

40. In Experiments* not/is phystco-mechamcis.

41. Element* chym., vol. 1, part 2, De aere.

42. Statica uegetabilium.

43. Hales, Stat. veget.

182

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

solving metals, we obtained a great amount of this elastic fluid,
often a hundred times surpassing the substances taken, and we
found that in all its properties it was entirely similar to air.
In order to separate from this elastic fluid the vapors to which
some ascribe its expansion, we passed it through spirit of wine
and through an alkaline solution. The elastic fluid thus ob-
tained, more pure, remained very similar to air when kept for
months [Fig. 12]. It was compressed by cold, expanded by heat,
underwent compression, and on removal of the compressive
force recovered the original volume, ascended through water
and other liquid bodies in the usual form of bubbles, and, as
our findings showed, never disappeared except In cases when
the liquid body was deprived of air by the air pump.

49

From all this it fully follows that fluids obtained from dis-
solved bodies are natural air, since these findings have the same
force as chemical analysis; but for better evidence we can use
the analogous argument of synthesis. Thus, in several experi-
ments Hales noted that amounts of air were absorbed by some
bodies many times greater than themselves. Thus, one dram
of volatile ammonium salt absorbed 2i/ cubic inches, whence
calculation showed that the volume of volatile salt was related
to the volume of absorbed air as 1 : 9. Since, therefore, it is
evident that true atmospheric air is compressed by the pore
of bodies into much less space, then there Is no doubt that air
given off from bodies, however much it surpasses them in vol-
ume, is true atmospheric air.

50

No differently from other bodies, niter also has a great
amount of air included in its pores. Hales obtained 180 times
its volume from this salt on distillation. 44 From gunpowder
ignited in a vacuum Robins separated air which occupied a
space 244 times greater than the powder itself. 45 On distilla-
tion there occurred a decomposition and separation of the
particles from mutual cohesion, and hence the Included air
was liberated, but there rapidly followed also a reunion in

44. Statica vegetab., ch. 6.

45. Neue Grundsatze der Artillerie, p. 90.

183

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

which the particles were condensed, fusing and, upon this
again, absorbing air. On the contrary, on explosion of the gun-
powder there is a decomposition of its particles without their
subsequent reunion. This was evidently not because in the first
case a less amount of air was observed than in the second. As
for the reason by which the air enters in such great amount
into the pores of the body, this is purely a physical question
and hence not directly related. However, for the greatest en-
lightenment on this question we have considered separately
our ideas on the elastic force of air.

51

Considering that we have suggested in 48 and 49 the ques-
tion just now raised: that all bodies contain such an amount
of air held in the pores, and some a greater amount than niter,
then why do they not have the same explosive force? However,
it is easy to answer this question. Actually let us assume that
one pound of wood and one pound of gunpowder are burned
simultaneously; we see that the latter burns in about one sec-
ond and the first burns in half an hour. Let us assume that the
flame which continues for half an hour when the wood is
burned is generated directly in one second; can we not com-
pare this with the flame from nitrous powder? As the bullet of
a gun, moving with the speed of one verst per hour, striking
a wall, does not damage it, but when it flies the same distance
in one second, destroys it, so sudden liberation of air produces
a striking action which it will not give when liberated little
by little. Therefore the strength of niter or nitrous gunpowder
occurs from the sudden explosion of air liberated from the
pores of the destroyed niter; this also happens in other bodies.
What glass or other vessel is so strong that, being closed, it can
resist the air generated on solution of iron filings in oil of
vitriol? But this same oil, strongly diluted with water, dissolv-
ing an iron bar is incapable of producing any action of this
sort.

52

Thus it remains only to explain why niter combined with
charcoal and sulfur in gunpowder explodes with such strength.
But this can easily be understood if first we consider the nature

184

On the Origin and Nature of Niter

of the various component parts of gunpowder. These are the
particles of sulfur which maintain the flame, the charcoal which
disseminates the combustion, and the niter whose phlogiston,
acting strongly in the acid, arouses the admixed sulfur, sud-
denly breaking down and giving birth to a flame of great
strength.

THE END

185

Oration on the Use of Chemistry. Presented
in a Public Session of the Imperial Academy
of Sciences, September 6, 1751, by
Mikhail Lomonosov

In 1749 Lomonosov was requested by the President of the Acad-
emy of Sciences to prepare an address in both Russian and Latin
"on the origin and present state of chemistry/' In that year he
gave a speech on the name day of Empress Elizabeth, September 6,
and so he was asked to prepare his speech on chemistry for the
name day of the Empress in 175L This he did, giving his "Oration
on the Use of Chemistry" in Russian on September 6, 1751. The
work was first published by the Academy as part of the record of
the celebration of this day, and a Latin translation was prepared
for the Academy by Lomonosov's student, Yaremskii, in 1752. A
second Latin translation was issued as a separate publication by
the Academy in 1759. The Russian text has been reprinted in
Collected Works, II (1951), pp. 345-369, and in Selected Works,
pp. 158-175. This rather bombastic oration is characteristic of the
style admired in Lomonosov's day, and of which he was a recog-
nized master.

In discussing the welfare of mankind, my auditors, I do not
find that It Is accomplished as If its benefits could be brought
about by pleasant and simple labors. Nothing on earth can be
given to mortals higher and more noble than an exercise in
which beauty and significance, taking away a sense of weari-
some toil, gather some delights which, while offending no one,
entertain the innocent heart, and, increasing other pleasures,
thankfully arouse perfect joy. Where can we seek such delight-
ful, unblemished, and useful exercise except in science? Here
we discover the beauty of multitudes of substances and the
amazing variety of action and properties, marvels of art and
order, constructed by the Almighty. Enriched by Him, no one
then is harmed who gains for himself that inexhaustible trea-

186

Oration on the Use of Chemistry

sure given universally to all. In this work we find service, not
for ourselves alone, but for all society and sometimes for all
generations of mankind. How much all this Is true, how many
scholars by brilliant and careful labors have added felicity to
our lives is clearly shown by the state of the Inhabitants of
Europe and that of those who endure wandering on the plains
of America. Picture the differences of these two in your minds.
Picture the one man who knows how to name only a few neces-
sities of life which lie always before him, and the other who
explains In his language not only everything produced by
earth, air, and water, not only everything which has been given
through many centuries, names, properties, and qualities but
who can also express in clear and vivid words an understand-
ing of what Is not evident to our senses. The first of these men
does not know how to reckon the number of his fingers; the
other not only recognizes a weight through Its size without a
balance, but a size through Its weight without a measure, not
only can show from afar the distance of Inaccessible objects on
earth, but can also determine the awesome remoteness of the
heavenly orbs, the vast spaces, the rapid motions, and In the
twinkling of an eye a shift of position of these orbs. The one
does not recognize a year of his own life or the short span
of his children; the other not only locates by years and months
a multitude of past times, existing in almost infinite relation-
ships in nature and society, but also foresees many future
events. The one, thinking that in the year of his birth heaven
was joined with earth, worships wild beasts or great trees as
divinities of his little world; the other, visualizing vast spaces,
skillful structures, and the beauty of every living thing, with
holy awe and reverent love worships the Creator of infinite
great wisdom and strength. Consider the man who Is scarcely
able to cover his nakedness with leaves or the skins of wild
beasts; and the one with clothes of cloth of gold, glittering with
precious stones. Consider the one who for his defense from harm
raises stones and trees from the earth, and compare him with
the man with a supply of sharp weapons and machines which
emulate thunder and lightning. Consider the man who can
scarcely grind sharpened stones and thin trees with much sweat,
and then the man who has powerful and skillfully made ma-
chines for moving tremendous loads, for hastening long drawn

187

Oration on the Use of Chemistry

out actions, and for exact measurement of size, weight, and
time. Fix your eyes on the man who floats on an insignificant
rivulet on a raft of bullrushes and on the man who dares the
gulf of the sea in a huge ship, fortified by sure instruments;
set him who moves against the force of the wind against him
who without a pilot meets the rocky shoals.

Do you not see that one is placed almost above mortal des-
tiny, the other is scarcely separated from the speechless beasts;
one amuses himself with a clear understanding of pleasant radi-
ance; the other in gloomy darkness hardly sees the existence of
his ignorance. What great benefits does learning bring, how
much enlightenment comes from human reason, how pleasant
is the beauty of its enjoyment. I would wish to lead you into
the splendid temple of human well being, I would wish to
show you the penetrating wit and unremitting zeal of the wise
and diligent men within it who devise the most brilliant adorn-
ments; 1 would wish to astonish you by the variety of novel
changes, to cheer you with a delightful enumeration of the
priceless benefits which they bring about, but it would require
more of my understanding, more of my eloquence, more needed
time for carrying this out than is allotted for the completion
of this purpose. Therefore I beg you, follow me in your minds
into just one hall of this great edifice in which I would show
you some of the rich treasures of nature and explain the value
and usefulness of those changes and phenomena which occur
in chemistry. If in showing and explaining these, my words are
anywhere unsatisfactory, the keenness of your own native wit
will recompense you.

The knowledge gained by scholars is divided into science
and art. Science gives a clear understanding of substances and
discovers hidden actions and the reasons for properties; art
applies this to the increase of human benefits. Science satisfies
the innate curiosity rooted in us; art entertains by winning of
profit. Science shows the path to art; art hastens the progress
of science. Both together serve harmoniously for our advantage.
In both of these, how great and how necessary is the applica-
tion of chemistry is clearly shown by the study of nature and
the many uses of art in human life.

On considering natural bodies we find in them two sorts of
properties. One we understand clearly and in detail; although

188

Oration on the Use of Chemistry

the other presents itself clearly to the mind, yet we cannot pic-
ture it so completely and plainly. The first sort includes size,
appearance, motion, and position of the whole body; the sec-
ond includes color, taste, smell, medicinal strength, and many
others. The first can be measured exactly by mathematics and
can be defined through mechanics; with the other such details
cannot be applied simply, since the first has as its basis bodies
which can be seen and touched; the second, particles which are
most subtle and far removed from our senses. Yet for an exact
and detailed understanding of any substance we should know
the particles of which it is composed. For how can we discuss
the human body without knowing the composition of the bone
and the manner of strengthening it; without knowing the
joints and the position of the muscles for movement or the
arrangement of the nerves for feeling or the arrangement of
the viscera for preparing the digestive juices or the spread of
the veins for formation of blood, or the other organs of this
wonderful structure. Equally is it impossible to have a detailed
understanding of the second sort of qualities mentioned above
if we do not study their smallest and most inseparable particles
from which they arise and whose understanding is so essential
to the investigator of nature, since these particles are them-
selves so necessary for the composition of bodies. And though
in the present century the device of the microscope has so
increased the power of our sight that a scarcely visible mote
can clearly show many parts, yet the power of this useful instru-
ment serves only for study of organic particles such as the very
small bubbles and tubules, invisible to the naked eye, which
make up the solid parts of animal and plant substances; those
particles of which mixed bodies consist cannot be seen in-
dividually. For example, it is known through chemistry that
mercury is present in cinnabar and terra alba in alum, but
neither the mercury in cinnabar nor the terra alba in alum
can be seen through the best microscopes; the same form is
always seen in them. Therefore knowledge of this can be at-
tained only through chemistry. Here I notice you say that
chemistry shows only the materials of which mixed bodies con-
sist and nothing of the individual particles. To this I answer
that truly at this time the sharp eye of the investigator cannot
penetrate much further into the interior of bodies. Yet if any

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such secret Is discovered, chemistry will really be the foremost
leader, will first tear away the veil from the innermost trea-
sures of nature. Mathematics to some extent discovers the un-
known. For this purpose, it composes the known from the un-
known, it subtracts, it adds, it divides, it equates, it reduces,
it transposes, it interchanges, and finally it finds the unknown
quantity. Considering the case of the infinite and varied changes
which the mixing and separation of the different materials of
chemistry show, we should reach by reason the secret of the
infinite smallness of form, measure, motion, and position of
the primary particles which make up mixed bodies. When, dis-
tracted by love, a betrothed wishes to know the extent of at-
traction of his fiancee to him, in talking with her he notes the
changes of color in her face, the turning of her eyes and the
order of her speech; he observes her friendship, her amiability
and cheerfulness; he tries to find out from the maid who serves
her in her excitements, her dress, her visits, her domestic af-
fairs; and so by all this he convinces himself of the true state
of her heart. Equally the zealous lover of the beauties of na-
ture, wishing to study deeply the secret state of the primary
particles which make up bodies, must exhaust all those proper-
ties and changes, especially those which are revealed by her
intimate maidservants and confidantes; when chemistry enters
the innermost halls and when it gathers together the particles
separated and scattered by solution into solid forms and shows
the differences in their shapes, the student seeks to learn how
this occurs by the use of careful and ingeneous geometry; when
solid bodies are changed into liquids or liquids into solids, and
the different sorts of materials are scattered or combined, he
suggests answers by the use of accurate and intricate mechanics;
and when, by the addition of liquid materials, different colors
are produced, he investigates by penetrating optics. Thus, when
chemistry spreads open the secret treasurehouse of which she is
mistress before a curious and unwearied zealot of nature, who
begins to measure by geometry, to expand through mechanics,
and to observe through optics, then it is very probable that he
will attain the desired secrets.

Here, I hope, you will still wish to ask why investigators of
natural substances at the present time have not in fact suc-
ceeded so far. To this I answer that it requires a very skillful

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chemist and a deep mathematician in one person. The chemist
must not be one who understands his science from reading
books only, but one who by his own art practices skillfully in
it, and not on the contrary one who, although he makes nu-
merous experiments, yet stimulated by a great desire for enor-
mous and rapidly gained riches, hastens only to cany out his
wishes and therefore, following his dream, scorns the phe-
nomena and changes which occur in his work which serve to
explain the secrets of nature. Nor is there need for a mathema-
tician who is skillful in his work only in calculation, but there
is need for one who in originality and demonstration is accus-
tomed to mathematical strictness and can deduce the laws of
nature from her exactness and order. Useless are eyes to one
who wishes to see the interior of matter but lacks hands for
opening it. Useless are hands to him who does not have eyes
to see the substances opened. The chemist with his hands, the
mathematician with his eyes can rightly be called physicists.
But since both require help from the other in studying the
inner properties of a corporeal body, on the contrary the hu-
man mind often withdraws along another path. The chemist,
seeing in all his experiments different and often accidental
phenomena and products, and enticed by this to the acquisition
of rapid gain, laughs at the mathematician employed in some
careful meditation on points and lines. The mathematician, on
the other hand, sees in his propositions clear proofs and irre-
futable and direct consequences which draw forth an unknown
number of properties, and scorns the chemist as a practical
man, overburdened and lost among many disordered experi-
ments. Very much accustomed to clean paper and light geo-
metrical instruments, the mathematician is choked by the
smoke and ashes of the chemist. Therefore, at this time, these
two, sisters bound by common advantages, give birth to sons
who in great measure disagree. This is the reason that we do
not yet have the full study of chemistry combined with a deep
understanding of mathematics. Although in the present century
some have shown fair success in both sciences, yet this enter-
prise is held to be beyond their strength and they do not wish
to labor over the study of these particles with a firm purpose
and constant zeal, especially when they observe that sometimes
with no little waste of time and work, natural science is more

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darkened by empty schemes born in someone's head than it is
brought into the light.

The investigation of the primary particles which make up
bodies is to be sought in the reasons for their mutual cohesion
which joins them in the composition of bodies and from which
all the differences in solidity and fluidity, hardness and soft-
ness, brittleness and ductility originate. How can all this be
studied more fitly than through chemistry? Only chemistry
softens them in fire and again hardens them, separates them,
disperses them into the air and collects them back again from
it, dissolves them with water and, evaporating it, strongly re-
cornbines them, dissolves solid bodies in caustic solutions and
converts solid materials into liquids, liquids into dust, and
dust into rocky solids. Thus curious physicists reveal a great
many different paths to the great number of forms and infinite
number of bodies by increasing or decreasing the mutual force
of cohesion between the particles of the compound bodies
which skillful nature has attained by her great art. But how
wide and beautiful is the play of colors which investigators of
chemistry have introduced into the field of nature which itself
shows its action through such a multitude of colors, so different
and useful. For copper alone not only produces all the pure
colors which prismatic optical glass shows but also produces all
sorts of colors when mixed under different conditions. The
mixing and separation of other minerals and also of materials
from plants and animals show in their changes bodies with
properties pleasant to see. I cannot include everything in my
brief words, but still, like some pantomime or a silent repre-
sentation in the vast theater of nature these things make known
to the astute observer their secret reasons by the variety of
their changes, and seem to strive to give an explanation by
their mute communication.

Animal and plant bodies consist of organic and mixed par-
ticles. Mixed substances are solid or liquid. Liquids are held by
solids; solid bodies are nourished by liquids, they grow and
bloom, they bring flowers and fruits. In the accomplishment of
all this, nature changes the character of the juices in the dif-
ferent structures and organs; she especially changes the taste
and odor, separates the sweet milk and bitter bile from a single
food and from the same earth gives birth to acid and sweet

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fruits and to herbs with unpleasant as well as pleasant odors.
How many changes are produced in all this is well known to
those who understand the structure of odorous bodies and the
multitude of growing things of the earth. Chemistry strives in
all these to imitate nature exactly; how often it softens strong
tastes and develops weak ones; from lead, repulsive to the
tongue, and sharp vinegar it produces a honey of surpassing
sweetness, and by mixing minerals there is emitted the delicate
sweet perfume of roses; on the other hand, from niter which
has no odor or strong taste is generated the acidity which pene-
trates and corrodes solid metals and hinders breathing by its
stench. Is it not clear from this that you cannot seek success-
fully the causes for different tastes and odors in any way other
than by following this chemistry and using its art to divine
in the fine vessels of organic bodies the locked changes sensible
only to taste and smell?

A great part of physics and the most useful part of science
for humans is medicine, which through an understanding of
the properties of the human body reaches the causes of dis-
turbances in health and, using proper media for its improve-
ment, often restores almost from the grave those who suffer
from disease. Illness in great part occurs from damage to the
fluids which are needed for human life and are transformed
in our bodies, whose qualities make up the parts which are
beneficial or harmful in the changes which produce or cut off
our capabilities and which no one can seek to study without
chemistry. By it we understand the natural mixing of blood
and the nutritive juices, by it we uncover the constitution of
healthful and harmful foods, by it beneficial medicines are pre-
pared not only from herbs, but from minerals taken from the
depths of the earth. In a word, no physician can be complete
without sufficient knowledge of chemistry, and in spite of all
its flaws, of all excesses and of all the feeble intentions of
those in medical science, chemistry alone offers hope.

For a long time it has been felt and stated in detail that
chemistry has revealed and will reveal the secrets of nature.
Therefore it is most important that I now explain this action
to you. Fire, which for the measure of its strength is called heat,
by its presence and action is so widely distributed in all the
world that there is no place where it does not exist, for in the

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coldest northern regions lying near the pole in the midst o
winter it always can be demonstrated easily. There is not one
action in nature which should not be ascribed to its basis, for
from it all internal motion of bodies and hence all external
motion proceeds. By it all animals are conceived and grow and
move. By it blood circulates and our health and life are main-
tained. By its virtue mountains produce all sorts of minerals
in their interiors, and waters spill forth, wholesome for weak-
nesses of our bodies. And you, pleasant fields and forests, you
are covered with such beautiful clothing, you delight our mem-
bers and cheer our senses when friendly warmth by its gentle
advent drives away frost and snow, nourishes you with its rich
moisture, speckles you with shining and fragrant flowers and
enriches you with sweet fruits; except for this your beauty
would wither, the face of the earth would grow pale, and the
universe would be filled with lamentations. Without fire the
nourishing dew and sweetly dissolving rain could not fall on
the cornfields, springs would dry up, the course of rivers would
be stopped, the air would lack motion, and the mighty ocean
would solidify into perpetual ice; without it the sun would be
darkened, the moon would be overcast, the stars would vanish
and nature itself would perish. Therefore many seekers of the
internal nature of mixed bodies not only wish to be called by
the honorable name of philosophers acting through fire, not
only did pagan peoples in whom science was held in great
honor grant to fire divine worship, but also the Scriptures
themselves often tell of divine appearances in the form of fire.
Thus among natural substances, what is more worthy of our
study than that common spirit of all compound substances,
that which gives birth to all the wonderful changes within
bodies, that sensitive and strong instrument? But it is not pos-
sible at all to undertake this study without chemistry, for what
can more know the properties of fire, can measure its strength
and can open the way to the secret causes of its actions than
chemistry which carries out all its enterprises by fire? Without
using ordinary methods, it suddenly produces fire in cold bodies
and great cold in warm ones. It is known to chemists that
strong waters which dissolve metals without contact with ex-
ternal fire are heated, boil, and give off a burning vapor, that
by mixing together strong acid of niter and some fatty ma-

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Oration on the Use o Chemistry

terials not only is there terrible boiling, smoke, and noise, but
also a violent flame which enflames the eye in an instant; and
contrary to this, warm niter, put into warm water, gives such a
strong cold that in a suitable vessel in midsummer it freezes,
I do not mention here the different phosphors prepared by
chemical art which in the open air catch fire spontaneously
and so are related to the above effects; they show that the
properties of fire are not studied by anyone as suitably as the
chemist. No one can approach closer to this great altar, kindled
from the beginning o the world by the Most High, than this
most closely related priest.

This is the use which physics gets from chemistry. This is
the method by which a clear understanding of substances il-
luminates and shows a direct path to the artist, and in this sci-
ence I shall now try briefly to show how useful and how strong
it is.

Among the artisans the first place, in my opinion, is held by
the metallurgists who seek to find and purify metals and other
minerals. This advantage is given to them not only by their
great antiquity, as the Scriptures testify, 1 and by the agreement
of all sorts of humans, but also by the great and widespread
use of the metals themselves. For metals give strength and
beauty to the most important substances in common use. They
decorate the temples of the gods and adorn royal thrones, or,
protecting from enemy attack, they maintain ships, which
bound together by the strength of metals, float safely on the
ocean depths among stormy gales. Metals open up the depths
of the earth for the enrichment of the soil; metals serve us in
capturing land and sea animals for our sustenance; metals fa-
cilitate coinage for the convenience of merchants who thus
avoid the use of wearying and heavy goods. And to speak
briefly, not one artisan, not one craftsman can avoid the gen-
eral use of metals. But these so necessary materials and es-
pecially those which have greater utility and value encourage
us to work deep in the earth, although they are often changed
in external form. Precious metals mixed with simple earths or
combined with base rocks escape our eyes; on the other hand,
simple substances present In small and unprofitable quantities,

J. Genesis, chapter 4.

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Oration on the Use of Chemistry

and material which shines like gold and shows various and
beautiful colors may lead on the unskillful to hope of great
riches. And although sometimes the unskilled happen to find
and recognize precious metals in the mountains, yet this is of
little use to them when they do not know how to separate from
them the undesired substances, or, having separated a large
part, waste it by lack of skill. In this case, how penetrating and
strong is the action of chemistry! In vain does cunning nature
hide her secrets from it by such a base screen and shut them
up in such simple shrines, for the acuteness of the fine fingers
of chemistry knows how to recognize the useful as opposed to
the useless, the precious as opposed to the base, and to separate
them and to see through the false surface to the inner worth. In
vain does she lock up her riches in the hardness of heavy rocks
and surround them with materials harmful to our lives; for
armed with water and fire, chemistry breaks down the strong
covering and drives away everything which is contrary to
health. In vain does she surround this golden fleece with the
mouth of such a fierce and terrible dragon, for the seeker,
taught by our gentle Medea, draws out the venomous teeth
and guards the medicine taken from them with the entwined
vapors. These benefits began from chemistry and in our father-
land are carried out as they were in Germany, about which the
ancient Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus once spoke. 2 "I
cannot say/' he wrote, "that silver and gold are not born in
Germany, for who tries to seek them there?" And as there in
the following centuries great riches were found, as was shown
in the Meissen and Hartz factories, so also in Russia we should
hope for the same and gain obvious benefits from this by suf-
ficient experiments. It is not true, as they say, that in warm
regions there are more precious metals, born by the action of
the sun, than in the cold, for according to true physical experi-
ments it is known that the heat of the sun does not penetrate
to those depths in the earth in which metals are found. And
burning Libya, which lacks metals, and bitterly cold Norway,
which has pure silver in its rocks, are shown to be opposed to
this opinion. The only difference is that in hot countries the
metals lie closer to the surface of the earth, for which reason

2. Germania, chapter 5.

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Oration on the Use of Chemistry

they can be clearly seen. First of all, great rains often fall there
and in some places continue for half a year, softening and
carrying away the soil and washing away the light, leaving the
heavy minerals; therefore the inhabitants of that place after
the rainy part of the year always seek in the proper place for
gold and precious stones. Secondly, parts of the earth are shat-
tered by earthquakes, and mountains are shifted and those
things which nature produced within the earth are thrown out
on its surface. Thus it follows that it is not the greater amount
of metals, but their easier availability that allows the hot coun-
tries to gain the advantage over us. Spacious and abundantly
supplied Russia requires zeal and labor to seek for metals.

It seems to me I hear her prophesy to her sons: Expand your
hopes and reach into my depths, and do not think your search
will be in vain. Give to my fields the work of the cultivator and
my fertile soil will multiply your flocks and my forests and
waters will be filled with animals for your nourishment; all
this will not only satisfy needs within my borders, but will
overflow in its excess into foreign countries. Can you therefore
think that my mountains will not reward the sweat of your
brow with rich treasures? Within my borders from the heat of
India to the Arctic Sea you have evidence enough of my sub-
terranean wealth. For the things needed for these deeds I open
to you in summer my far flowing rivers, in winter I lay down
my smooth snow. From these labors of yours I expect increase
of merchants and artisans, I expect greater degrees of adorn-
ment and strengthening and Increase of armed forces, I expect
and wish to see the expanses of my seas covered with multi-
tudes of fleets, terrible to the enemy, and the glory and strength
of my empire extended over the deep to strange lands. Rest
easy over this, blessed country, rest easy, our dearest father-
land, when in thee such a generous patroness of science reigns.
Thy great enlightener founded and increased the defense of
solid metals; his most august daughter has followed her father
and increased their value for thy ornamentation and enrich-
ment, and has expanded along with other sciences the chemical
art which, affirming her maternal care of this great empire and
encouraged by her generosity, has penetrated into the moun-
tains and purified that which lay dormant and useless within
them for the increase of our happiness and above all, by power-

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Oration on the Use of Chemistry

ful metallurgy, has striven to bring thee other useful materials.

The hands of chemistry are widely spread in human affairs,
my auditors. Wherever we look, wherever we search, do we not
everywhere find before our eyes the success of its enterprises?
In the earliest times of the formation of the world, man was
forced by heat and cold to cover his body; at first using leaves
and skins, he then learned to make himself clothing from wool
and other soft materials, clothing which, although it protected
his body sufficiently, yet by its changeless form wearied the
human heart; his changing desires required differences; he
shunned the simple whiteness and, envying those animals
which were multicolored, he sought to protect his body with
like splendor. Then chemistry, squeezing out juices from herbs
and flowers, extracting roots, dissolving minerals, and combin-
ing different substances with each other, strove to carry out
the wishes of mankind, and how much it has adorned us thus
does not need my words and proofs, but you may see it every-
where with your own eyes.

These chemical devices not only give cheer to our gaze by
variety in garments, but also satisfy other needs. What can
produce greater zeal and respect in us than our parents? Who
is dearer in life to a man than his own children? Who are
more pleasant than sincere friends? But they are often absent
In distant places or have departed from the light of our eyes.
Under such conditions what can comfort us more and soften
the sorrow of our hearts than their likenesses, painted by the
art of portraiture? The absent are made present and the dead
brought to life. Everyone who has long departed or is separated
by space from our sight is brought close to those who gaze
upon the painting. Here we see before us great rulers and
brave heroes and other famous men, worthy of glory among
their descendants. We see far off in distant lands great cities
and huge and magnificent buildings. Turning to distant fields
or between high mountains we gaze for a time in silence on the
stormy ocean, on the shattered ship or on one brought by the
power of the wind to the sheltering shore. In the middle of
winter we are delighted by the sight of a green forest, a flowing
spring, grazing herds, and laboring farmers. All this we can see
through painting. But this depends entirely upon chemistry.
Should we take away the means for preparing pigments, we

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would be deprived of the pleasures of portraiture; likenesses
are lost along with these substances and the very vividness
which we gain from It disappears. It Is true that the pigments
do not retain their brightness and goodness as long as we
would wish, but in a short time darken and finally the great
part of their color disappears. To what shall we turn to escape
this difficulty? Who can invent a long lasting medium which
will last for the artist? That same chemistry which, seeing that
the delicate compositions fade and are destroyed by the changes
from air and sunlight, by the strongest weapon of Its art, using
fire, and combining solid minerals with glass at a great heat
has produced materials which in color and purity greatly excel,
and in hardness and resistance to moist air and the great heat
of the sun assure that through many centuries their color will
not be lost, as Is shown by the mosaics, more than a thousand
years old, found In Greek and Italian temples. And though In
ancient times natural rocks of different colors were used for
this purpose, and for ordinary painting different natural earths
served for the unchanging pigments used in art, yet the great
advantage which glass compositions have over stones at the
present time attracts us to the art of the Roman artisans and
its use. For, In the first place, rarely and with great difficulty
can we obtain the shades of so many colors from natural rocks
to put into the compositions desired by the artist. Second,
though sometimes they are arranged with great difficulty, not
a few precious stones suitable for other uses may be spoiled.
Third, it Is possible to prepare for the compositions parts of a
desired size and shape because of their great softness and easy
melting, while for natural stones great labor and patience are
required. Finally, glass colored by art is much superior to the
color of natural stones, and in the future will attain to great
perfection by the art of the chemist. It is true that stones sur-
pass glass materials in hardness, but this Is unimportant In
matters in which resistance of the colors to air and sunlight is
required. Thus, it is not in vain that modern master craftsmen
prefer art to nature in this matter, since art requires less labor
and produces a better result. Since there is already one use of
glass in the painters art, it is scarcely likely that there will not
be many faster and better uses stemming from this great chem-
ical discovery. But discussing it requires a whole new vocabu-

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Oration on the Use of Chemistry

lary which has no place here. Therefore I hurry on to other
actions which our science shows by its art.

But what vast expanses do I see before me! I see still other
substances which draw my words onward. And when I wish to
show you how much chemistry grants us in the preparation of
pleasant food and drink, the discussion must be preceded by
consideration of the vessels in which we enjoy these. We
imagine their purity, transparency, brilliancy, and varied colors
by which the art redoubles the sweetness of taste, satisfying
alike to the tongue and the eye. Now I do not wish to tire your
patience by the details of all I have mentioned, but I will con-
clude with one salutary boon to mankind which chemistry has
granted.

How sad were adventures and conquests in ancient times
and different lands and how often we read with pity the history
which tells of distant and unknown countries when these were
suddenly invaded, great and glorious cities were turned to
smoke and ashes, villages were laid waste, and whole peoples
who did not have time to resist the rapid attack were finally
destroyed and scattered, so that of their great power and glory
only the name remains. We read of filling fields with many
thousands of wounded and wide rivers of blood and piles of
corpses, which surpasses the happenings of our time, in which
we do not have such horrible events. Yet the concern of
notable writers and the very ruins of ancient cities dispel doubt
as to the truth of these sad and shameful occurrences. From
whence do we see the establishment of moderation among
mortals? Did Orpheus by his sweet singing soften the temper
of mankind? But in the present century we still have wicked
and envious persons who sadden the heart by stealing the pos-
sessions of others. Did Lycurgus or Solon by stringent laws
bind the passions? But now we often respect strong weapons
above the rights of nations. Did the mighty and ancient
Croesus with his surpassing wealth sate the greed for money?
But this is like a flame: the more fuel is added, the stronger
it becomes. Who has given us such a great boon? A simple
and poor man who, to escape his poverty followed chemistry at
a distance to obtain wealth by a new road and in this intention
opened a path into the inner ways of metals; he combined sul-
fur and niter with charcoal and placed them in a vessel on the

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fire. Suddenly a terrible sound and a strong blast occurred! And
though he himself did not remain unharmed, yet great was the
glad hope that he had obtained a strong material for attacking
insoluble metals. Therefore he closed up and riveted his com-
position in a solid iron vessel, but without success. From this
came firearms thundering at troops and city walls, and from
the hands of human beings deadly lightning flashed.

But, you say, this does not revive; it kills, causing further
and stronger blasts. I answer, the more it saves. Consider a
battle of warrior against warrior, sword against sword, blow
against blow in closest contact; would not many thousands of
beaten and wounded fall to death in one moment? Compare
this with the present battles and you will see that the hand
can strike down much faster than the gun can be loaded with
powder and metal; it is easier to strike in inflicting Injury in
the clear air than through thick smoke from distant guns; more
brightly blazes the heart in a confrontation which can be seen
directly against itself than when this is hidden. Here is the
reason that in the present century there is no Hannibal like
the one who took from the Roman nobles killed in one battle
four measures of gold rings. There is no inhuman Batyev who,
proceeding in a short time from the Caucasus to the Alps, is
believed to have laid many lands to waste. There is now no
foreign enemy to trouble our quiet nation; but men fear that
the building up and supplying of these new inventions, pre-
serving their strength, will deprive us not only of profit, but of
life itself. On the contrary, what has the power to destroy such
fortifications, other than the inventions of chemistry: compare
an army on a long march, burdened with heavy equipment,
and the rapidly arriving news of the misfortune and the an-
nouncement calling the nation to the defense. Thus chemistry,
by the strongest weapon, lessens the destruction and the threat
of death to humanity and delivers many from slaughter.

Rejoice, populous places, adorn yourselves, impassable deserts,
your happiness approaches. Tribes and nations will surely in-
crease and will be scattered more rapidly than before; quickly
great cities and rich villages will adorn you; instead of fearing
wild beasts your spaces will be filled with humans who please
the eye; instead of thorns, grain will cover you. Then do not
forget to give thanks to chemistry for your good fortune and

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encouragement, for it asks nothing of you but diligence in its
practice for your greatest adornment and enrichment.

In discussing the uses of chemistry in science and art, my
auditors, I should warn you that I do not consider that all
human life consists in this one study and that I regard with
contempt those amateurs who do not consider the needs of
other arts. Each science has an equal part in our good fortune,
and you have heard of several at the beginning of my oration.
The human race should render great thanks to the Almighty
for the gift to it of the ability to obtain such knowledge. Most
of all should Europe render thanks which most of all enjoys
this gift and is thus distinguished from other nations. But how
fervent is the zeal of Russia which can place its offering on
the altar at a time when science, after the darkness of barbarian
centuries, has begun to shine forth, raising in its great wisdom
a hero, the great Peter, the true father of his country who took
Russia, so long removed from the light of learning, by his
manly hand and, surrounded on all sides by enemies internal
and external, was protected by the gift of God; he destroyed all
obstacles, and set it on the path of clear knowledge. At the end
of his heavy military labors, having strengthened the safety of
the whole fatherland on all sides, he first of all took care to
establish, to assist, and to augment science in it. Blessed be
those eyes which saw the majesty of this man on earth. Blessed
be those who sacrificed, who poured out sweat and blood for
him and for the fatherland and who after loyal service were
anointed by a kiss on head and eyes.

But we, who were unable to behold the mighty father in life,
now have the great comfort that we see on the throne his
daughter, so worthy of her father, his successor, our most gra-
cious empress. We see the pious daughter of the God-fearing
father, the courageous daughter of the heroic father, the
sagacious daughter of the all-wise father; the father a founder
of science, the daughter its most generous patroness. She re-
gards science with maternal care and with devoted zeal she
wishes that during her blessed life and in her fortunate do-
mains there should be not only a meeting place, but also a
happy life for its own learned sons.

202

An Attempt at a Theory of the Elastic
Force of Air

Lomonosov was always interested in explanations of physical phe-
nomena in terms of his corpuscular theory, and though most of his
early work had a more strictly chemical character, he never failed
to note the physicochemical implications of his theories. Thus,
when in 1748 he was planning his essay on the nature of niter, he
ascribed the explosive power of this salt to the presence of large
amounts of air in its pores, and so he was led to a consideration of
the elastic power of air. The results of his thinking were presented
to the Academy of Sciences on September 2, 1748, and were pub-
lished in the group of his papers which appeared in 1750. His
Latin manuscript "Tentamen theoriae de vi aeris elastica" was
published in Novi Commentarii Academiae scientiarum imperialis
Petropolitanae, 1:230-244 (1750). It was translated into Russian by
B. N. Menshutkin in 1936. The Latin text and Russian translation
were reprinted in Collected Works, II (1951), pp. 105-139, and the
Russian translation is given in Selected Works ^ pp. 134-149.

1

After the use of the air pump had been made well known,
the natural sciences received an enormous development, espe-
cially in the part treating o the nature of air. The properties
of the latter, entirely unknown in the last century, are now
not only familiar to us, but are even expressed in mathematical
laws, and we see with admiration that they have reached almost
the highest degree of clear comprehension. But, although in
the reports of physicists its elasticity is described more often
than the other properties of air and to everyone who under-
takes the study of natural science it is presented as one of the
chief factors in natural phenomena, yet the reason for it re-
mains insufficiently explained and even famous investigators
have taxed their inventiveness in vain for its explanation.
Therefore writers on physics in great part do not touch upon
the reason for elasticity, but are satisfied merely to describe
its action. Even if anyone gives a reason, he has under him only

203

A Theory o the Elastic Force of Air

precarious support which is not enough to explain the effects
caused by elasticity of air. In great part, then, these reasons
already lack significance, since they contain in themselves
nothing except questions merely changed into other words.

2

Of all the suggestions for explaining the elasticity of air in
hypotheses which have been made known to us up to now in
the papers of physicists, it seems most realistic to start from the
central laws of motion, for in them there is no question of
varied phrases for the cause itself, and nothing foreign to the
laws of motion is suggested. In taking up this matter we
would only have repeated what has already been done if we
did not see that in the outstanding discoveries made up to now
there are some deficiencies, or, more truly, superfluities.

Actually, we consider it superfluous to call for the aid of
some strange fluid in finding the reasons for the elasticity of
air, a fluid like that which many, according to the usage of this
century, so rich in subtle substances, customarily employ for
explaining the nature of phenomena. We are satisfied with the
subtlety and mobility of the air itself, and seek the reason for
its elasticity in its own material. Everyone who has read our
meditations on the cause of heat and compares what follows
with it will agree that we can safely do this.

So as to set about this task in proper order we begin with a
clear presentation of the idea of the elasticity of air; therefore
we propose this reasoning as certain and say that the elastic
force consists in a tendency of air to distribute itself in all di-
rections. Hence we conclude that the insensible particles of
air, which mutually recede from each other, actually expand
as soon as any obstacle is removed. Thus we come to consider
two matters: the nature of the particles themselves and the
force by which they are separated from each other.

^5

The particles of air can be considered in two ways: either as
separate particles of a complex body such that from their

204

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air
known state and organized structure the particles which form
them tend to expand and thus each separate particle can ex-
pand into a great space and be compressed into a smaller one;
or the property of elasticity can be shown not by the physical
composition and organized structure of the individual particles,
but by their combinations.

The first assumption, which is contrary to the greatest sim-
plicity of nature, also does not agree with the transparency and
indestructible stability of air. For in all compound and or-
ganized structures there should be particles which the force
of heat excites more and more, with production of greater
elasticity. Therefore, when air is rarefied by the sun's heat, the
rays of the sun should certainly penetrate into any particle.
And since in descending from any surrounding ethereal fluid
(or, if you prefer, from a vacuum) the rays must everywhere
pass through solid particles which settle down and hence are
specifically much heavier, an infinite number of times; this can-
not occur unless on entering and leaving each particle of air
they will undergo refraction. And although in particles of such
a nature the refraction may be infinitely small, yet the refracted
light in an endless number of particles from the surface of the
atmosphere to the earth itself would be so weakened that we
would come to be in perpetual night. This is confirmed by
similar cases: particles or molecules of water, consisting of
combinations of its atoms, form clouds, and although each par-
ticle refracts light slightly and separately and in a small space
does not nullify the transparency of the air, yet when these
are collected more thickly and deeply, they darken the sky
with blackness and sometimes almost completely prevent use
of the light of noon.

7

Finally, we take into consideration the numerous changes
undergone by the air, its especially rapid motions, very strong
impact, very great friction with very solid bodies, and the
pressure of the atmosphere, and we remember the experiments
of Roberval who kept air strongly compressed for 15 years
and at the end found its elasticity unchanged; then it is 1m-

205

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

possible to assume that the separate particles of the air, so
minute, will be organized or consist of many particles of in-
comprehensible smallness, very mobile and therefore bound to
each other very slightly. Therefore we accept the second as-
sumption of 5 and in no way doubt that those particles of
air which produce elasticity, tending to separate from each
other., lack any physical complexity and organized structure,,
and in order to be able to undergo such changes and to pro-
duce such remarkable actions, they should be especially stable
and not undergo any changes; therefore in truth we ought to
call them atoms. And since they act physically on material
bodies, they themselves should be corporeal and have extension.

As to the shape of the atoms of air, we consider that the
mobility, stability, simplicity, and very soft nature of air leads
mostly to a shape very close to spherical: this we deduce with
full clarity from the findings on the reflection of air from
elliptkle arches. Since, further, hot air heats cold bodies which
it surrounds, this signifies that its atoms excite in particles of
bodies which touch it a rotary motion 1 which also produces
heat. And this can occur only if friction arises between them;
but friction can arise only if the atoms of air are roughened.

However, this idea agrees to the greatest degree with the
nature of the material. Actually, in all the bodies of the
world, either taken as a whole or in their parts, shape is dis-
tinctive for each but they are never so leveled that they do not
show some irregularities. However, these latter are so present
that, due to their very small ratio to the whole body, the shape
itself retains its individuality. Just as nature for her needs made
our earthly globe mountainous, and she made even the smooth-
est seeming particles of the bodies belonging to it rough and
uneven, just so then we conclude by analogy that the aerial
atoms also, though they have no physical complexity, are sup-

1. See our Meditations on the Cause of Heat.

206

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air
plied by the care of this same nature, skillful in its simplicity,
with very small and very strong projections for the production
of very useful actions.

10

But the atoms of air, showing elasticity, move away from
each other either by some direct reciprocal action or by means
of some fluid which separates them and therefore is formed of
much smaller particles. We will now discuss which of these two
possibilities produces the elasticity. For this we consider one of
the chief properties of the elastic force of air, namely, that the
more the air is compressed by external force and the closer
the atoms come to each other, the more elastic force is excited.

11

We assume first that the particles of air are dispersed to
different sides by the action of some especially subtle fluid
which is located between them. When air of any sort of solid
vessel is compressed into less space, then this fluid is either
compressed along with it, or it is not compressed. In the first
case: 1) the walls of the solid vessel will be impervious to the
very subtle fluid, and hence its particles will be hardly or not
at all smaller than the atoms of air, which contradicts what was
said in 10; 2) this fluid will itself act on the vessel which
contains it; then it evidently is not required that the particles
of air will intermingle with this fluid, since it is sufficient for
producing the action of elasticity with respect to the body by
itself; 3) its particles will have a tendency to withdraw from
each other so that it will again become necessary to explain
this, and finally, the question being considered will remain
unanswered. In the second case: 1) this fluid will scarcely pro-
duce any action on the walls of even the strongest vessel and
hence on the finest atoms of air, easily avoiding by its lightness
and mobility all the forces which could act upon it; 2) when
compressed in a vessel, the air Is thickened and the density of
the fluid which already easily passes through the walls o the
vessel will remain the same so that the number of air atoms
with respect to the amount of fluid becomes greater than be-
fore the compression. Therefore the elasticity of the fluid,

207

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

whose amount is made less, will exert less effect on the air
atoms and hence the elasticity of the air, compressed by an
external force into less space, should be lessened.

12

All this shows very clearly that the force of elasticity of air
cannot come from any fluid which separates its particles. And
since this force, other conditions being equal, is increased or
decreased proportionally to the density of the air material it-
self, there is no doubt that it is produced by some sort of direct
interaction of its atoms.

13

One body cannot act directly on another without contact
with it; therefore when atoms of air act directly on each other
they must necessarily come into contact. Further, since our at-
mospheric air under the influence of an external force can be
compressed into more than thirty fold less space, there must
exist between the atoms spaces not filled with their own ma-
terial and in these spaces many such atoms can be put; hence
the atoms are not found in mutual contact. At first glance,
these two facts seem contradictory, but nonetheless they are
very true and cannot be otherwise reconciled than by dis-
tinguishing two contradictory states of the atoms of air with
time, so that atoms occur in one or another state alternately.
The alternation must be of such a nature that not all the
atoms should simultaneously show the same state, and that a
given state should not last for a perceptible time. For the first
would sufficiently often cause striking changes in amplitude,
and the second would make expansion of the air especially slow
and sluggish. Evidently therefore the separate air atoms in dis-
ordered alternation collide with the nearest in an insensible in-
terval of time and while some are in contact, others are torn
one from another and strike those nearest them, so that again
they rebound; thus, continually repelled from each other by
frequent mutual blows, they tend to scatter on all sides.

14

Having established all this, it remains for us to show how
air atoms so react with each other that one atom repels

208

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

another. No other argument can be presented than the most
important property, this same elasticity of air. Namely, as each
person knows, when the heat of air increases, its elasticity is
more and more strengthened, and when the heat is decreased,
it is weakened, so that, other conditions being equal, the
greatest elasticity is found with the highest heat known to us,
and with the least heat, that is, at the greatest cold examined
up to now, elasticity is lowest, according to a constant law.
Hence it is evident that the atoms of air act reciprocally on one
another by contact more strongly or more weakly depending
on increase or decrease in their degree of heat, so that, if it
were possible that heat of the air entirely vanished, then the
atoms should be completely lacking in this interaction. Hence
it follows that the interaction of atoms of air depends only on
heat.

15

Heat consists of a rotary motion of the particles of the hot
body 2 because everything which produces heat causes a rotary
motion of the particles of the heated body so that the interac-
tion of the atoms of air depends on their rotary motion. But
two spherical bodies, perfectly smooth, placed next to each other
and brought into very rapid rotary motion, cannot interact
so as to repel each other. Thus, here there is once more con-
firmation of the truth presented above (8), and we see the

Figs. 1-3

2. Meditations on heat.

209

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

ingenuity of nature, which very often by one and the same
means produces different effects in bodies, so that here the
roughness of the atoms of air serves to transfer their heat to
other bodies (8) and to bring about elasticity.

16

Thus, let two atoms of air A and B be separated from each
other so that atom A is above atom B (Fig. 1). Let both rotate
very rapidly, so that part of the surface of atom A facing atom
B moves in a direction opposite to that in which moves the
part of the surface of atom jB facing atom A as the arrows show.
Let atom A at the time of rotary motion fall by the force of
gravity on atom B; at their contact the irregularities agree in
such a way that either projection a on atom A falls in the hol-
low b of atom B as in Fig. 2, or it will be on projection d of
atom J3, as Fig. 3 shows. In the first case the projection a of
atom A on rising from the hollow b should ascend projection /
of Fig. 4 so that atoms A and B recede from each other through
a distance gf or ab in that insignificant period of time in which
the oppositely tending directions of these surfaces of atoms
A and B pass over the arc ga. In the second case the atoms at
the point of contact proceed beside each other until projection
a of atom A falls into the hollow c of atom B (Fig. 3). Then
indeed everything follows as it would in the first case.

Fig. 4

17

In this arrangement, since the separate atoms of air have
weight, then by the force of gravity one atom will necessarily

210

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

fall on another. Being in rapid rotation the atoms after contact
at once fly apart from each other as explained in the preceding
paragraph. However, since with a great quantity of atoms it
cannot happen that each will fall on an upper point of the
surface of the lower atom, therefore because of their repelling
action they will most often fall on lines more or less inclined
to the horizontal, and thus the force of elasticity will be dis-
played in all directions.

18

The interaction of atoms is also illustrated by the gyroscope
with which boys play on ice. Actually, two such gyroscopes, put
into very rapid rotation, when they slowly approach one an-
other, after contact rebound very rapidly; this repulsion comes
from irregularities on their surfaces. The more irregular these
surfaces at the point of contact, the more rapidly will the gyro-
scopes rebound. This can occur between two gyroscopes three
or even four times before their rotation is stopped and they
fall; this occurs if they cease to be put in motion by the whip.

19

Although the theory we have suggested is supported solidly
enough by reason, yet the evidence will be still clearer for us
if by its help the particles of air and the effects found in them
can be so explained that their reasons will be presented plainly
and with full distinctness. Just that theory is best which not
only does not contradict any property of the substance for
whose explanation it has been proposed, but by explaining
those properties is used as the most convincing evidence con-
firming them; therefore in what follows we will examine our
theory, analyzing the most important properties of air and the
different effects arising from them.

20

The atmosphere consists o an infinite number of atoms of
air of which the lower repel those which lie above them, as
many as all the other atoms piled up on them right to the
upper surface of the atmosphere. The further the atoms are
from the earth, the less will be the force of the atoms pushing
and weighing upon them which they meet in their upward
course, so that the upper atoms occupying the very surface of

211

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

the atmosphere are carried down only by their own weight and
being repelled from the next lower ones are then carried up-
ward as long as the impact received from the repulsion exceeds
their own weight. But when the latter prevails they again fall
down, so that they will be repelled by those found lower. Hence
it follows: 1) that atmospheric air should be rarer, the more it
is separated from the center of the earth; 2) that air cannot be
infinitely rarefied, for there should exist a limit where the
weight of the upper atoms of air exceeds the force received by
them from mutual collisions.

21

The faster the surfaces of the atoms of air A and B slide over
the arc ag (Fig. 4), the faster will the atoms themselves pass
through the distance ab or fg, receding from each other, and
therefore they will acquire the more speed from the repulsion
the more strongly the resisting contact of the body acts, and
thus they will be separated further from each other by the re-
bound. And since the more rapidly the surfaces move, the
faster will be the rotation of the atoms of air themselves, and
as the rotary motion is increased, so will be the heat, 3 so that
it is not surprising that warmer air has more elastic force.

22

Finally, experience shows that the highest degree of cold
found in winter in countries to the northwest is surpassed by
the severity of winter in our region, and this in turn yields
considerably to the severity of the frost in the Yakutsk region
which binds almost all fluids except air. This discussion leads
us to the conclusion (as is shown in our Meditations on the
Cause of Heat and Cold), that nowhere on our earthly sphere
can there be absolute cold, and therefore nowhere is the rotary
motion of atoms of air ever fully stopped, and nowhere, evi-
dently, can air be found without elasticity.

23

Sound is produced when some body, set in vibratory motion,
imparts this motion to the air particles next to it and these

3. Meditations on heat.

212

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

transfer it in a continuous series to the following ones to a
distance proportional to the strength of the blow. Since most
atoms of air are not in contact with the distant ones, it is nec-
essary that each, in order to excite the motion of sound which
is received from the sounding body in another, should first
approach the other atom and most of all communicate to it
a blow expending motion on it in an infinitely small time.
These infinitely small time intervals with an almost infinite
number of atoms by successive transfers to much greater dis-
tances require a considerable interval of time. And hence it
follows that sound after a blow which produces it will be heard
afar off after a marked interval of time.

24

When air produces pressure on the surface of any body, the
pores of which are larger than the atoms of air but have a
diameter less than the space which is ascribed to the vibrating
atoms, then the atoms of air, due to repulsion, should receive
their own motion around the opening of the pore. Thus (Fig.
5) let P be the pore falling between particles A and B on the
surface of a solid body or even a denser liquid where the air
is located; let some atom of air strike the particle A from a

218

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

onto b and rebound from It to c so that it cuts the line mm;
let another atom of air strike thus on particle B from d onto
e and rebound to c so that the line ec makes the angle bee with
line be. Finally, let other atoms of air strike at points on the
surface of one or the other particle closer to the pore P at /
and g so that, rebounding from these particles they describe
in their paths lines forming angles the apex of which, h, pro-
jects out from the pore as shown by the lines fh and gh, and
others are shown more removed from pore P; then all the
atoms of air which move in the direction of these lines by
joining and proportionally to the area should repel with great
force other atoms directed into the pore between the lines nn
and rr and obstruct the entrance designated by these lines. All
this is concerned with those atoms which fall perpendicularly
to the plane of the body, but many, almost all the atoms of air
which strike at an oblique angle, must of necessity produce a
similar effect. Actually (Fig. 6) let an atom of air strike particle
A from a to b; it rebounds from it to c. Then let another atom
strike the same particle from d to e; it rebounds and strikes
particle B at / and finally is reflected in the direction to g. Both
of these, however, will create pressure against atoms of air di-
rected straight Into the pore. Therefore it is not surprising that
air scarcely or not at all penetrates the many bodies whose
pores, as shown by other results, are larger than the atoms of
air. Finally it is evident that air is kept the more strongly from
penetrating into the pores of a body the more the lips are sep-
arated, as is easily understood from the figure.

Fig. 6

214

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air
25

Sound is propagated by vibratory motion of atoms. But ac-
cording to our theory, elasticity consists of the same sort of
disordered motion; therefore we can ask why we do not hear
a continuous sound from the continuously vibrating atoms of
elastic air. To this we answer that sound comes to the ear
through the eardrum, set in motion by the force of air; when
it is at rest this does not occur. But since the eardrum under-
goes the action of the same vibrating air from both sides, air
which fills the cavity which the eardrum closes both externally
and internally, then, being in equilibrium it does not vibrate
by any motion, and a sensible sound is not impressed on It.
But when this equilibrium is destroyed, there arises motion of
the eardrum and a sound is heard. Therefore if we bring to
the ear a solid, hollow vessel, then the vibrations of the atoms
of elastic air, rebounding from the walls of the vessel, are con-
centrated and react on the eardrum more strongly than the
blows of the atoms enclosed in the inner cavity, thus setting
the latter in motion and communicating to the ear some con-
fused sound. Since this sound is always perceived if we bring
to the ear a concave object, it is evident that in elastic air the
atoms are continuously moved by a vibratory motion.

26

Air can remain elastic as long as there exists a reason for
the elasticity, that is, reciprocal blows of the atoms. On the
other hand, if this action for any reason stops, then by neces-
sity the elasticity of the air should be nullified. Therefore if
the atoms of air singly or several together are so held in the
space between the strongly cohering particles of a body that
they can neither destroy the cohesion of these particles nor act
mutually on each other, then certainly that air should lack
elasticity. On the other hand, if the cohesion of the particles
stops for this body, then the atoms of air leaving by themselves
regain the property of elasticity. And If the particles of the
body which keep the air captive in the pores have a less diam-
eter than those spaces through which the atoms of air run at
each vibration, then the air liberated from the pores expands
into a greater space than is occupied by the body In whose
pores it was concealed.

215

A Theory of the Elastic Force of Air

27

All this already long ago was in fact discovered by the illus-
trious and most deserving in science Robert Boyle, Hermann
Boerhaave, and later the illustrious Hales; they all without
exception called air a subtle and elastic material obtained from
the solution of bodies. And we ourselves carried out many such
experiments, especially those where on solution of copper in
aqua fortis we obtained a great amount of elastic fluid which
we recognized as true air. For in a vessel where this fluid was
collected we put fixed alkali in the form of a strong water solu-
tion which absorbed the brown vapor filled with subtle acid
which rose continuously on solution of the copper; to this some
authors who feared to call the regenerated air by its true name
and preferred to speak of some sort of "gas" ascribed the elas-
ticity of the fluid. Nevertheless, this elastic fluid in the course
of several weeks retained all the qualities of true air.

28

We could here suggest much about air hidden in the pores
of bodies and varieties which perhaps are new, but since this
belongs rather to the description of unusual actions of this
captive air than to showing the reasons for its elasticity, we
will leave this for a special treatise.

216

Supplement to Meditations on the
Elasticity of Air

When Loinonosov presented his paper on the elastic force of air to
the Academy, his Mend and colleague Kichmann pointed out that
in some respects it was incomplete, especially in its failure to ex-
plain Boyle's Law. After considering this, Lomonosov on May 29,
1749, presented his views on this subject to the Academy, and these
were printed under the title "Supplementuin ad Meditationes de
vi aeris elastica" in the same volume as his original paper, Novi
Commentarii Academiae scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae, I;
305-312 (1750). The Latin text and Russian translation were printed
in Collected Works, II (1951), pp. 145-163; and in Selected Works,
pp. 150-157.

1

When we read our meditations on the elasticity of air at a
session of the Academicians, the illustrious Richmann noted
that we passed over a very important property of the elasticity
of air, namely, that in our theory we did not include an ex-
planation of why the elasticity of air was proportional to its
density. Then I answered that I passed over this, since I had
doubts, and I promised to satisfy this position in the future.
These doubts as to this law first arose in me because of the
disagreement of our theory with this law, and this doubt to
a great degree was strengthened by the statements of the illus-
trious Bernoulli.

2

Thus, Bernoulli, 1 studying the ejection of balls from can-
nons, showed that either elastic air from the puff which is
produced by ignited gunpowder is not ordinary air, or that
elasticity rises in greater proportion than the density; for the
density of air generated by burning gunpowder cannot exceed
by more than a thousand times the density of ordinary air,

L Hydrodynamics, p. 243.

217

Meditations on the Elasticity of Air

even if the powder were all composed of compressed air which
was contained in the powder from the specific weight. He even
asserted that the elasticity of this air would have to be still
greater if all the powder taken for explosion in the cannon
burned in one instant.

3

That this air is true atmospheric air we have shown in an-
other place. 2 Whether it is to be asserted that the elasticity of
air is proportional to its density will be apparent if it becomes
possible from other specially carried out experiments to draw
conclusions similar to those of Bernoulli himself and to con-
firm them. For this purpose we have considered most suitable
those experiments in which strongly compressed air, acting on
the vessel which contains it, breaks it, and from the resistance
we can determine the elastic force and compare it to the vol-
ume.

4

As is well known, water going to ice increases in volume and
with great force breaks the vessel which contains it; there is
no doubt that this is produced by the air liberated from the
pores of the water at the moment of freezing, which collects
in bubbles. For the study of this we have been busy preparing
several hollow glass spheres of different sizes, fitted with thick
walled tubes with narrow openings [Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4]; these were

Figs. 14

set out filled with water in strong cold which was violent this
winter. 3 The part of the water which froze, covering the walls

2. In the Meditations themselves ( 27) and in a separate dissertation which
we have prepared [Dissertation on the Origin and Nature of Niter, 49].

3. 1749.

218

Meditations on the Elasticity of Air

of the hollow sphere with a crust of ice, broke several of the
spheres, except those whose openings were not fully plugged
up by water frozen earlier and in which from the pressure of
the internal ice an ice cylinder d was pushed out from the
opening. Breakage was complete in different directions, but
most often along the length of the tube as shown in Figs. 2,
3, 4 by the lines mm. After breaking, the residual water ran
out and left the hollow c

The largest of the glass cylinders which we used had a diam-
eter of 26 lines of the Paris Royal foot [58.5 mm], the diam-
eter of the cavity was 8 lines, the ice crust had a thickness of
about ly% lines (it was impossible to measure it with the nec-
essary exactness because of the irregularities which were pro-
duced, mostly on the inner part of the crust by rapid freezing
to the crust itself of residual water flowing out of the cavities;
this increased the thickness of the crust; we have taken here
the greatest measured thickness). Therefore the diameter of
the cavity within the crust was 5 lines. From this, calculation
shows that the area of breaking, not counting the tube, was
480 square lines; the area of the great circle which the largest
sphere should have formed by the ice crust was 41 square lines.
A glass cylinder 25/100 of a Rhenish inch [6.54 mm] in cross
section broke at a load of 150 pounds, 4 whence we can calculate
that a glass cylinder having a diameter of 1 Paris Royal inch
should break at 2572 pounds; and hence a cylinder whose area
of breaking was 480 square lines would require for breaking
about 10,925 pounds.

6

If the water in the glass spheres were completely frozen, then
the breaking force of the ice would be calculated from the area
of the circle made by halving the entire cavity, but since un-
frozen water remains in the middle and therefore does not give
up its air and does not act on the glass, the acting force should
be calculated from the area of the greatest circle of the sphere
forming the ice crust, and this area equalled 41 square lines.
A column of mercury equal in weight to the aerial one and

4. Muschenbroek in Notes ad experiment Academiae del Cimento.

219

Meditations on the Elasticity of Air

based on 41 square lines, 28 inches high, weighs 40,242 grains,
that is 4 pounds and 3378 grains. Hence, if the water frozen
in the crust were completely composed of air, this latter would
or should be compressed about 1/2521 parts of the space oc-
cupied by it in the atmosphere in order to be in a state to
break this sphere. From this, if the density of the air were pro-
portional to the elasticity, then the water itself would be made
Zi/2 times specifically heavier when it was converted to ice, but
since this does not occur, then it is clear that our conclusion
fully agrees with that of Bernoulli,

7

I will say frankly that suspicion arises as to the material of
the glass, for it could break from sudden cooling and without
freezing of the water in the hollow of the sphere. But the ex-
periment was repeated with two other glass spheres filled with
water and placed in the frost, always with the same success,
while many other similar glass spheres filled or not filled with
water placed in the cold simultaneously with the first remained
unbroken. The diameter of one sphere was 18 lines, the hollow
5% lines, thickness of the ice crust 1 line; the diameter of
the second was 17 lines, hollow 5i/ 2 lines, thickness of ice crust
y^ line.

8

Incidentally, our illustrious colleague Richmann, in the
same frost, made experiments on compressing air by the force
of cold in a bomb which was broken by the force of freezing
water. We measured one bomb; it had a diameter of 94 Paris
lines, middle diameter of the hollow was 60 lines, thickness of
the ice crust 4 lines, and so the diameter of the water which
was not frozen at the moment of breaking was 52 lines. Since
this experiment from all points of view fully agrees with those
which we made ourselves, it can very well be used for our
argument.

9

We take the strength of the cast iron from which the bomb
was made as the average between the strength of iron and glass,
since in cast iron glassy particles are mixed with the iron ones.
Since it follows from the experiments of Muschenbroek that

220

Meditations on the Elasticity of Air

the strength of glass is to the strength of iron as 24 to 450,
then the average will be 237 so that the force required to break
the bomb will be 90410534 pounds. A cubic inch of mercury
weighs 5048 grains; hence a column of mercury having a weight
equal to an air column with a cross sectional area equal to the
great circle of the ice crust formed in the sphere will be
1,375,159 grains or about 150 pounds. Hence for breaking the
bomb, if the whole ice crust were composed of compressed air,
the latter should be 6000 times more dense than atmospheric
air and the ice crust more than six times heavier than itself.

10

Water under the bell of an air pump, on removal of the ex-
ternal air, evolves much more air than is driven out by frost
from freezing water and collected in bubbles which break the
vessel. Hence it is clear that air contained in water does not
regain all its elasticity on freezing and thus does not all act on
the vessel which contains it. If all the air could act, there would
be a much more considerable effect from this itself or the same
from a lesser amount of ice. Thus, from these circumstances,
perfectly analogous to those described by the illustrious Ber-
noulli, 5 it also follows that the density of air with great com-
pression is not proportional to its elasticity. Here also is added
the finding of Muschenbroek 6 that when air is brought to a
volume of less than a quarter it does not further obey the ordi-
nary laws, but shows a greater resistance to the force com-
pressing it. Let us see how this follows from our theory.

Let A and B be two masses of air of equal weight and the
interval of vibration between the corpuscles of mass A relate
to the interval of vibration of the corpuscles of mass B as a to
a-b; then the volume of mass B will be related to the volume
of mass A as a 3 : (a-&) 3 . Since therefore the spheres of air vibrate
more often, the less the space of vibration, then the frequency
of the blows will be inversely proportional to this space. Hence
the frequency of the blows between all the spheres of aerial

5. Hydrody., p. 242.

6. Elem. p hys., Chap. 36, 794.

221

Meditations on the Elasticity o Air

mass A in all three dimensions will be related to the similar
frequency of blows between all the spheres of aerial mass B as
(a-6) 3 : a 3 . But since when mutual blows of the aerial spheres
occur more often, their repulsion from each other should be
stronger and the elasticity of the air should be greater, then
the elasticity of the aerial mass A will be related to the elas-
ticity of aerial mass B as (a-b}* : a 3 , so that the elasticity of air
will be inversely proportional to its volume, or, what is the
same thing, proportional to Its density.

12

This would be perfectly true if the aerial spheres B and C,
moving back and forth (Fig. 5), rebounding after each blow,
would always collide directly with some of the nearest spheres

D

o--

A

.JO

A and did not frequently fly past through the spaces between
them to other encounters with more distant spheres, in which
case the blows should occur more rarely and the above relation
would be modified. But since it is evident that this hypothesis is
impossible, then in fact another reason must intervene. It con-
sists in this and depends upon this: it is possible, we assert, to
find variations in vibration by careful study.

13

No one doubts that aerial corpuscles B and C after colliding
more often pass rapidly through the spaces AA untouched by

222

Meditations on the Elasticity of Air

a corpuscle of A, and the diameter of the corpuscles of air have
a greater ratio to the spaces of vibration, the more the air is
compressed. Further, taking all the vibrations together, infinite
in number, we can come to the ratio of the number of vibra-
tions coming from blows on the nearest particles of A to the
number of vibrations in which the spheres through the spaces
AA collide in their motion with more distant spheres D. This
ratio equals the ratio of the number of air particles which can
be accommodated between the spheres A on the surface of the
larger sphere described by the semicircle AFAB to the number
of spheres A, each of which is separated from the other as much
as it is from the center JB. On increasing the density of the air
the spheres A are closer to each other, lessening the distance
between them and showing a less number of vibrations on un-
touched spheres A and therefore the ratio of the number of
vibrations in which the spheres pass out through intervals AA
and strike the more distant spheres D to the number of vibra-
tions by which the nearest spheres A are struck is lessened.
Hence with the greater frequency of blows occurring from the
lessened reciprocal distances of the air spheres (11) is also com-
bined the fact that, due to the lessened size of the space AA
between the nearest spheres of air, they will more often receive
the blows on themselves and by this the resistance of the elas-
ticity of the air is increased above the ratio given in 11. Then
on compression of air, when the space of vibration is made
less than the diameter of the spheres, all meetings of the
spheres will be only with the nearest spheres A since they can-
not penetrate through the intervals AA without striking the
sphere A. Hence it is evident how the elasticity of air should
differ in relation to density when it is most compressed.

223

On the Relation of the Amount of

Material and Weight

In a long letter to Leonhard Euler, written on July 5, 1748 (Latin
and Russian texts in Collected Works, II (1951), pp. 169-193, and
Russian text in Selected Works, pp. 122-133), Lomonosov gave a
detailed exposition of his views on the relationship of mass to
weight. As the letter indicated, he had been led to consider this
matter while preparing his essays on the nature of niter and the
elasticity of air. Thus his views on this subject belong to the same
period as that in which he developed most of his corpuscular ideas.
However, he did not publish these views and did not even embody
them in a scientific paper. In 1755 the Russian Academy considered
offering a prize for the best essay on the subject of the proportion-
ality of the material of a substance to its weight. Although this
plan was later withdrawn, Lomonosov was stimulated by the offer
to put his ideas in more formal terms. He presented a paper on
the subject to the Academy on January 30, 1758. The paper was
then deposited in the archives of the Academy and remained un-
discovered until 1908. It is evident that Lomonosov did not change
his ideas greatly between 1748 and 1758, since much of this paper
is a word for word repetition of his letter to Euler. The Latin and
Russian texts are given in Collected Works, III (1952), pp. 349-371,
and the Russian version appears in Selected Works, pp. 318-326.

Whenever we consider the great number of different opin-
ions on the phenomena of nature, we cannot see without some
sadness of spirit that after such strenuous efforts of notable
men, after such glorious discoveries of so many physical phe-
nomena, up to now there is no satisfactory explanation espe-
cially of that part of natural science which studies the quality
of bodies originating in the most minute parts, unavailable to
the visual senses. But this will seem less surprising when we
consider that the very first principles of mechanics and of
physics itself are still controversial and that most of the famous
scholars of our century cannot agree about this. A very clear
example is the measure of the force of motion which one in-

224

On the Relation of Material and Weight

dividual takes as a simple, another as a squared relation to
the velocity.

Such controversies raise the question of whether there is a
relation of the heaviness of a body to the real measure of the
amount of its material.

Although many consider this established, and most scholars
take as an axiom the proposition: as is the quantity of a ma-
terial body, so is its weight, yet there are many circumstances
which speak against this and are so significant that they deserve
the attention of the learned world.

Actually this position is without question for homogeneous
bodies. But we have never found sufficient evidence that it
applies to heterogeneous bodies; and if we take it as true, then
it is seen that it is not only insufficient to explain the facts of
nature, but in many cases even is an obstacle, as will be clearly
shown in what follows.

We express full agreement when we read in Newton that air
of doubled density in a doubled space is quadrupled, in a
tripled one sextupled, and we think the same for snow or
powder made dense by compression or brought into the liquid
state. But we do not consider it possible to agree uncondi-
tionally with the general position expressed thus, that mass is
signified by the weight of each body y since we cannot make
inferences from the particular to the general, and there is no
necessity that what is true for homogeneous bodies must also
hold for heterogeneous ones. There is no doubt that in one
pound of gold the material is half that in two pounds of the
same, but there is doubt that for one pound of water and two
pounds of gold the same relation applies. Although in another
place in Newton there is given proof of the theorem that
amounts of material are related to each other as the weights,
yet all this proof depends on the hypothesis of Newton that
an ethereal fluid either does not exist or is so rarefied that with
respect to resistance it can be considered as nothing; thus in
the very beginning of the proof he confuses the material of a
moving body and its resistance; this however is not the case
on a contrary assumption. Actually, assuming a dense ether
surrounding all bodies and the least particles of bodies, we
can in no way decide and determine exactly how much resis-
tance must be ascribed to the intrinsic material of the moving

225

On the Relation of Material and Weight

body and how much to the resistance of the ether. Finally let
us assume that the amount of material is proportional to the
weight; we take any sort of body on the surface of the earth
whose weight is p, material m. Let this body be carried above
the earth to a height, for example, of half its diameter; the
weight of the body by the inverse square ratio to the distance
from the center of the earth will equal p : 4, and the material,
on account of the same ratio with the weight will equal m : 4,
according to the hypothesis; hence we have m = m : 4, that is,
the whole will be equal to its parts and one and the same
thing will not be equal to itself. It is true that the hypothesis
admitted by all can be used without danger of error in ordi-
nary mechanics, which is concerned with large bodies, tangible
to the senses, and the statement here noted does not destroy
the relation of resistance and weight in a reasonably small
space. Evidently, however, we cannot introduce this carelessly
in explaining the facts which depend on the finest particles of
natural bodies. But how the papers of physicists neglect the
shapes of the corpuscles so as to satisfy the hypothesis pre-
sented above! We can find not a few such assumptions which
do not agree with the brilliant simplicity of nature and often
contradict one another with reference to the same body.

It is appropriate here to illustrate these doubts by examples.
There are bodies, very different in specific gravity which have
qualities which cause strong doubts of the truth of the accepted
hypothesis. We find such bodies when we compare gold and
water. Actually, although water is almost twenty times
specifically lighter than gold, yet no external force, however ap-
plied, compresses it to lesser volume. Therefore it is very prob-
able that the cohering particles of water material touch each
other directly, for penetrating material, if such were found
between the touching particles of cohering material, would
yield to the least pressure. Hence it follows that the positions
of the particles of both bodies are very close. Therefore, in
order to save the hypothesis it is necessary to fall back on dif-
ferent sizes or shapes of the corpuscles. Their different sizes
can in no way cause differences in density of both bodies if
the arrangement and the shapes of the particles are the same
in both. For the size of the particles is increased or decreased
proportionally and the spaces are empty of the cohering mate-
rial of the bodies.

226

On the Relation of Material and Weight
Thus, if we wish to assert that the amount of a material
body is proportional to its heaviness, it remains only to fall
back on different shapes. In order that the density of material
in bodies be greatest, the most suitable shape of the corpuscles
will be a cube. Thus let us assume that the particles of gold
have such a form (although its pores, open to water itself if
this is saturated with salts, and also the ductility of this metal
prevent ascribing exactly cubic particles to it). But what shape
shall we give to the water corpuscles? If we assume they con-
sist of solid spheres (as the majority of physicists consider most
probable), then the quantity of material in the gold will be
greater by about two fold and not twenty fold. If we assume
in each sphere a hollow cavity with a solid shell which is ten
times greater, so that the cavity and spherical corpuscle of
water will be to the solid cube of gold in density of material
about 1 to 20, then the thickness of the shell of the water
corpuscle will hardly be more than one sixtieth part of the
diameter of its cavity. Under these conditions water will con-
sist of the finest bubbles which can scarcely show resistance to
even the weakest pressure, whereas water, pressed by the great-
est force, rather penetrates into the narrowest pores of metals
than sustains any damage to its volume, and when, at the
moment of freezing of water, air collects in small bubbles from
its pores by the strong cold and appears with very great elas-
ticity, then the strongest bomb breaks rather than that the
water yields any of its space. Actually, evidently, nature best
provides for the strength of corpuscles which are designed to
resist such forces. And if, as is evident, the hollows of the
spherical corpuscles of water material assumed here correspond
little with the incompressibility of water, then another type of
shape which could be devised in support of the hypothesis
which has raised doubts would be still less suitable, since it
would also contradict the simplicity, tastelessness, and trans-
parency of water. Thus, if on the basis o the indestructible
density and the mobility of water particles we consider with
sufficient probability that they are spheres, then we cannot
accept as cubic the particles of gold, penetrated by so many
pores; if then we assume, as was said, in both bodies the same
very close arrangement of particles, we finally have sufficiently
weighty reasons for increasingly doubting this hypothesis. In
the same way we can discuss many other bodies, for example

227

On the Relation of Material and Weight

the diamond and mercury, in which also the hardness of bodies
is connected with the density of their materials. Thus it is very
evident that if we assume the correctness of this hypothesis,
then the diamond, a body of such amazing hardness, such den-
sity and stability that nothing else is known to be a solvent
to penetrate its pores and the very strongest fire cannot melt it,
consists of material about four times lighter than that which
makes up mercury, a liquid permeable to many solvents and
volatile. But, perhaps, we have already shown sufficiently the
objections to the proposed hypothesis, for it is first of all in-
sufficiently proved, and second is filled with many difficulties.
But the examples given are not alone in speaking against it;
we find more when we study the reasons for gravity.

No one doubts that phenomena and their consequences be-
come clearer and more understandable when their reasons are
known; therefore it is certain that if we understand the reasons
for gravity, we will be able to explain differences in specific
gravities of bodies. Hence it is necessary, since this is an urgent
question, to say what, in general, is the reason for gravity.

However, we will not at this time enter into a quarrel with
those who attribute gravity of a body to its actual attributes
and therefore do not find it necessary at all to study its causes;
but we consider it certain that motion and in general the
tendency in a definite direction, as also with gravity, since it
is a definite form of motion, can be absent in a body without
harm to the existence of the latter; the same can be true for
the quantity of motion which arises from the increased rate
of fall of a body. Thus, since there should exist a sufficient
basis for the fact that a sensible body naturally tends rather
to the center of the earth than that it does not so tend, then
we must study the cause of gravity. It should arise either from
a blow or from mutually attractive forces. That a body moves
under the influence of a blow no one doubts; pure attraction
remains under question and there are sufficiently convincing
reasons which speak against its occurrence in the nature of
substances. First of all, if there exists a pure attractive force
in a body, then it is necessary to assume that it is innate in it
for nothing else than the production of motion; but it is known
to everyone that the motion of a body is produced by blows:
hence it is shown that for the production of the same result

228

On the Relation of Material and Weight

there are two causes in nature, and that here one contradicts
the other. Actually, what could be more contradictory to pure
attraction than a simple blow? But no one can deny that the
most clearly contradictory causes should produce also the most
contradictory results (let no one bring against this as an exam-
ple the contradiction that animals are killed in the same way
by heat and cold, for here I do not imply remote reasons, which
can be numerous, but very similar ones which should be
unique for each result; thus the most immediate reason for
death is stopping the motion of the blood and other fluids of
the animal body). Therefore, if pure attraction excites motion
in a body, then a blow is the reason for rest, which is false for
in fact a blow excites motion; this means that if attraction does
not excite motion, then it does not exist at all. Finally, let us
assume that in a body pure attractive force exists; then body
A will attract another body B, that is, move it without any sort
of blow; this means it is not required that body A strike body B
and so there is no need that it move toward it and since its
other movements in which there would be no direction could
not have any significance for setting body B in motion, then it
would follow from this that body A, found at full rest, could
move body B and the latter would move to body A. Hence
something new would be added to it, just this motion to body
A, which had not previously existed in it. But all the changes
met in nature occur in such a way that if something is added to
something, then this is taken away from something else. Thus,
as much material is added to some body as is lost to another;
as many hours as I spend in sleep, so many I take away from
wakefulness, etc. Since this is a general law of nature, it applies
also to the laws of motion, and a body which by its blow excites
another to motion loses as much of its own motion as it gives
to the other body which is moved by it. Thus, by virtue of this
law, the addition of motion to body B in the direction of body
A is taken away from where body B acquired this motion, that
is, from body A. But since we cannot take away from any body
that which is not in it, then it is necessary that body A is moved
when it attracts body B. But since it is seen from the above
that body A is at rest when it attracts body B, it is seen to be
absurd that the same thing at once is and is not. Thus, since
pure attraction cannot exist, therefore gravity should be pro-

229

On the Relation of Material and Weight

duced by a blow, and there should exist a material which
pushes a heavy body toward the center of the earth. In a heavy
body the finest particles are heavy and have weight, whence it
is evident that the gravitational material also acts on the finest
particles, freely penetrating into their narrowest pores, and
therefore it should be very fluid. In order to show its force with
respect to the heavy body it should strike the finest particles,
but it can only strike on particles extended and impermeable
to it. Hence it follows that a heavy body consists of very minute
particles, impenetrable to the gravity material, which acts only
on their surfaces. Thus, if body A equals body B in extension
and density of material, and the corpuscles of body A on whose
surface the gravity material acts are larger than the corpuscles
of body B, then body A will be specifically lighter than body B.
Actually, let the diameter of one corpuscle of body A equal d,
its circumference equal p; then its surface will equal dp. Fur-
ther, let the diameter of the corpuscle of body B equal d e;
its circumference will equal (d-e)p : d, its surface (defp : d.
Then let the number of corpuscles of body A equal a. Since
body A equals body B in extent and density of materials and
the corpuscles of both have the same shape and arrangement
(by the hypothesis), then the number of corpuscles of body A
will relate to the number of corpuscles of body B as the cube
of the diameter of the corpuscles of body B to the cube of the
diameter of the corpuscles of body A; that is, as a : ad? /
(de}* s so that the sum of the surfaces of the corpuscles of body
A will be to the sum of the surfaces of the corpuscles of body
B as adp ad* / (de) B X (defp : d = a/d : a/d : a/de*

Thus the sum of the surfaces of corpuscles of body A is less
than the sum of the surfaces of the corpuscles of body B (by the
demonstration); therefore the gravity fluid will show more ac-
tion on body B than on body A. But in both the density of the
material is the same (by the hypothesis); hence the amount of
material will not be proportional to the weight. This is de-
duced from the different mass of the corpuscles; the same thing
is deduced if we ascribe to the corpuscles of different bodies
different shapes also. Thus, if we wish to signify that the weight

1. NJB. Instead of ajd : a\d-e, it should be 1 : a/d-e, or a : adjd-e, or
d-e : d.

230

On the Relation of Material and Weight
of a body is proportional to the density of its material, then
we should either assume that the particles of all bodies im-
permeable to the gravity fluid in general have one and the
same mass and shape, or we should deny this fluid. The first
is contradicted by the astonishing differences in the bodies of
nature, which urgently requires that the particles of different
bodies have different shapes or, in the highest measure, mass;
the second contradicts the existence, so very probable, of a
gravity material and leads to the defense of occult qualities.
Besides this, it is important to consider that if we assume a
visible world, full of materials, then we should also assume
imponderable materials; otherwise all bodies could not be
lifted up or descend by the force of gravity in an ethereal fluid.
If we accept imponderable materials, then, passing from the
greater to the less, it is necessary to conclude that there exist
different materials which yield to other materials in specific
gravity, which also follows from the analogy to other qualities
which are possessed by sensible bodies. Of course, light can be
taken from a body, and so can also be lessened in degree of
intensity; the same holds for sound, taste, and many other
qualities.

On the basis of these ideas we assume that the specific gravity
of a body is changed proportionally to the surface opposing
the gravity material which cannot penetrate its corpuscles; in
this case not only will all the difficulties mentioned above be
removed, but, evidently, there will even be discovered a wide
path for the best explanation of very many phenomena and
also for the study of the finest corpuscles. Actually we assume
that the sum of the surfaces of corpuscles of gold is almost
twenty times greater than the sum of the surfaces of water
corpuscles in the same volume; it is shown that gold is almost
twenty times heavier than water at the same density of material.
Here let it not be objected that the pores of gold, due to the
fineness of its corpuscles should be so narrow that the cor-
puscles of water, which due to its lesser weight has a greater
size, and even particles of aqua regia could not penetrate them.
Experiment shows that aqua regia enters only into those pores
of gold which are found between the mixed corpuscles of this
metal, which consists of different sorts of principles between
which aqua regia cannot penetrate; otherwise the aqua regia

231

On the Relation of Material and Weight

would break up the component parts of gold and hence destroy
it completely. Further, by the help of this theory we completely
deny the well-known opinion that fire remains fixed in calcined
bodies. Actually, though there is no doubt that particles of
air continuously flowing over the calcined body mix with the
latter and increase its weight, yet if we take into account the
experiments made in closed vessels which do not admit of
doubt, in which the weight of the calcined body is also in-
creased, then we can answer that due to destruction of the co-
hesion of the particles by calcination their surfaces, previously
covered by mutual contact, freely undergo the action of the
gravity fluid; therefore the bodies themselves are more strongly
drawn toward the center of the earth. Finally, there occurs the
not unimportant basic assumption that if there is a real opinion
countering the generally accepted hypothesis, then it will be
easier to study the relative sizes of the particles in different
bodies on the basis of different weights and cohesions; and hence
a great light will be cast on corpuscular philosophy which we
can judge in our century to be so neglected, being convinced
that the science of the finest particles from which come the
particular qualities of sensible bodies is as important in physics
as the particles themselves are necessary to create bodies and
produce particular qualities.

232

Meditations on the Solidity and Liquidity
of Bodies

Beginning in 1747, Lomonosov carried on a series of experiments
on cold, both alone and with his colleagues in the academy. These
culminated in the freezing of mercury in a freezing mixture by
Academician I. A. Braun on December 14, 1759, Lomonosov was
closely associated with Braun in the work, which attracted wide
attention throughout Europe, and he subsequently carried on a
number of similar experiments himself. This work led him to a
series of speculations on the freezing of bodies, and in August 1760
he set these down in a paper, which he presented in Russian to
the Academy of Sciences on September 6, 1760. In this he also
described some of the actual experiments on freezing mercury. The
paper was soon issued in Russian as a separate publication by the
Academy, and a Latin translation quickly followed, also as a sep-
arate book. The Russian and Latin texts have been published in
Collected Works, III (1952), pp. 377-409, and the Russian text is in
Selected Works., pp. 327-341. The Russian text, as written by
Lomonosov himself, differs slightly from the Latin version and is a
little longer. The following translation is from the Russian text.

1

Everyone knows how much the solidity and liquidity of
bodies depend on differences of heat and cold. Now when the
partner in our studies, Professor Braun, has presented a report
on his artificial freezing of mercury in the past severe winter
and has explained his experiments, I consider it proper to
present my own thoughts on the cause for cohesion in various
bodies, so that we may more clearly obtain an idea of the freez-
ing and thawing of sensible bodies when they become solid or
liquid and thus by describing our work publically, to express
our most humble reverence on this festive occasion.

2

In studying the general reasons for the cohesion of particles,
I should first of all appeal to those who have not been inter-

233

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

ested in this and have been satisfied with the Idea of one
attractive force, accepting this without believing In some kind
of a blow. Therefore, I assert that no one can fail to acknowl-
edge and accept what I will so firmly demonstrate, which,
unless I am deceived, is also new.

If there really were an attractive force, it would have to be
Innate In a body as a reason for the production of motion. But
motion Is also produced In a body by striking or repelling,
which is clear to everyone. Why should there be two directly
opposite reasons, and a quarrel between them, for the produc-
tion of one action; for what can be more contrary to attraction
than repulsion? From directly opposite causes opposite actions
should be produced. Here is a feeble argument which ap-
parently seems, for instance, to be urged against this: that
animals are killed equally by heat and cold; but these reasons
are essentially separate, and there can sometimes be opposition
between them, but the immediate and direct cause of death is
the suppression of flow and circulation of the blood and other
vital fluids. One direct reason was stated by Newton himself,
who did not accept attractive forces in his lifetime, but after
his death was made their unwilling defender by the overly
great zeal of his followers. Thus, if an attracting force produces
motion in bodies, then motion cannot be produced by a blow
or repulsion. But this is completely false, since repulsion truly
produces motion and hence it is not true and undoubted that
there Is an attractive force in bodies.

4

If we still concede that there is in bodies a true attractive
force, then body A attracts to itself another body B, that is,
moves it without any blow, and for this there is no need that A
adheres to B and hence It is not necessary that A moves to B;
but as another motion of body A in another direction to the
motion of body B is not necessary, it follows that A, being en-
tirely without any motion, moves J5. Thus B obtains for itself
something new, namely, motion toward A which before was
not In it. But all changes occurring in nature are of such a state
that as much as Is taken away from one body, so much is joined

234

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies
to another; thus, if we decrease some material we add it in
another place; as many hours as one devotes to wakefulness, so
many hours are taken away from sleep. This general natural
law extends in very truth to motion, for a body moving another
by its force loses in itself as much as it communicates to another
which obtains motion from it. Hence, by this general law the
motion transmitted to body B is taken away from body A. But
as nothing can be taken away where nothing is, it is necessary
for this that body A be in motion when it attracts another
body B to itself. It follows from the above that body A must be
without any motion when it attracts another body B to itself.
And therefore body A can be in motion and stand perfectly
quiet at the same time. But as this contradicts itself and opposes
the general philosophical statement that one and the same sub-
stance at one time can and cannot be, for the sake of truth and
certainty an attractive force cannot occur in nature.

5

Thus it follows that the particles of which sensible bodies
consist, due to a blow, or more properly speaking, due to com-
pression, force out by their mutual cohering contact some
fluid which surrounds their material. Therefore it is necessary
to consider how this fluid material is squeezed out in the co-
hering of particles which compose the body and thus briefly to
explain the properties of solids and liquids.

Does not someone here ask that I show what is the material
or how the cohesion of its particles compresses the corpuscles
of the liquid which surrounds them? Would not he say that I
am now obliged to recognize the existence of attractive forces?
By no means. Everyone who knows the difference between the
requirements for the essential attributes of bodies and for
changes in their qualities will be able to see clearly that the
reasons for these cannot be demonstrated nor should we ask
what must be in substances for their existence: for example,
why a triangle has three sides, why a body has extension, and
similar questions. Thus the cause of cohesion should be sought
where we see that insensible particles cohere or are free from
cohering bonds or increase or decrease the force of their co-

255

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

herence. Then we can ask why this is so, and in no other way.
Nor do we recognize changes in the union of the insensible
particles which compose bodies, and the reasons for this also
should not be asked. A philosophical principle, called a satis-
factory reason^ does not extend to the essential attributes of a
body. From such incorrect usage comes the discussion, so un-
real in the light of scholarship, of simple substances, that is, of
particles which do not have any extension. If extension is an
essential attribute of a body, without which this body cannot
exist, and almost all the virtue of the body consists in extension,
then questions and quarrels concerning the nonextensive par-
ticles of an extensive body are futile; as the best method in
such a case we should seek proof of the definition instead of
finding a proof drawn from the definition.

7

Considering the planes of contact of the particles, I see at
once many with different numbers of shapes, which many
physicists unsuccessfully ascribe to insensible particles. Yet
their purpose is praiseworthy, for it is as necessary to study the
principles of bodies as to have the principles themselves. Since
a body cannot exist without insensible particles, the deepest
study of physics by scholars is impossible without them. In an
hour we can see only the surface, but with time we can know
how and by what forces they are moved, separated into equal
and different parts. Physicists and especially chemists would be
in the dark if they did not know the structure of the internal
insensible parts. Therefore I do not allow myself to be counted
among the hopeless ones who are called careful physicists but
are not pleased at the knowledge of the shapes of insensible
particles. I am not repelled from studying particles which es-
cape the view because of their smallness, unavailable to physi-
cal apparatus because of imaginary shapes of the particles:
wedges, needles, hooks, rings, bubbles, and many others chosen
without any basis, for in twenty years of frequent discussions
of this and from related experiments I have seen that nature,
satisfied with sphericity only, eases the task of studying her
secrets.

8

But one thing has displeased me, though in fact it is very
probable: I was displeased that some intelligent people, most

236

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

notable heroes of the learned world, considered the material
of particles spherical, especially liquids (and all solid bodies
turned into liquids by the force of fire); I was not satisfied with
the reasoning by analogy that all natural bodies tended to be
spheres and preferred this form from the greatest even to the
smallest, from the chief bodies of this world, as our earth, to
the finest and simplest spheres invisible to the eye, which make
up blood. Disregarding the fact that in the parts of animals
and plants, seeds and fruits have largely a circular form, that
the more finely divided all liquid materials are, the more cir-
cular they become, not taking into the discussion the evidence
from the unnumbered multitude of spherical raindrops, I will
rest my argument on rigorous mathematics.

I have shown before this 1 that Aristotelian elementary fire,
or, according to the new scholarly name, special calorific ma-
terial, transferred and wandering from body to body, travels
without the least probable cause and is only a fiction: and I
assert that fire and heat consist of a rotary motion of particles,
especially of the material which makes up coherent bodies. I
have defended my system from unfounded objections, and false
contradictions have been presented in vain. And above all, new
results are immovably confirmed. 2 And for this reason without
hesitation we use this as the basis for proof of the sphericity
of the insensible particles which compose bodies.

10

Thus, when the insensible particles of warm bodies are trans-
formed into rotary motion, let us assume that the particles of
warm bodies are not spheres, but some other sort of shape, for
example, cubic; from this would result the fact that they, rotat-
ing, are in contact at times with angles. From this it should
follow: 1) that the cohesion of particles which are solid bodies
is momentarily changed, for on contact by angles little or
nothing can hold one to the other; 2) all the diagonals and all
the lines which form angles to the side of the corpuscles would
necessarily be longer, so that from moment to moment there

1. Meditations on the Cause of Heat and Cold, Nov. Comm., Vol. I.

2, In Oration on the Origin of Light and Color.

237

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

should be a change of length in sensible bodies and there
would be a continuous vibration which would be stronger, the
wanner the body. But as from the evidence of our senses
neither of these effects is found in bodies, there are no angular
shapes or any other which has unequal diameters in warm
bodies; that is, all shapes are impossible except the spherical.

All sensible bodies of any shape, put on a balance in equi-
librium with weights in all positions, remain without fail in
equilibrium; for example, marble or metallic pyramids placed
on their bottom or on their ends, on their sides or on the
angles, never show either increase or decrease in heaviness.
These experiments, though very simple and known to every-
on, yet are very important in the present case. We neglect and
slide past many such simple and everyday effects which in the
study of nature point the way to great discoveries, and we
undertake difficult experiments, forgetting the very famous
statement that is simple and based on irrefutable mathematics,
that eveiy substance equals its own size., on which almost all
mathematics is founded. From the above mentioned everyday
and very simple art, it follows that all particles composing a
body are in essence spherical shapes. For the action of gravita-
tional material always and in the same way affects the impene-
trable surfaces of the corpuscles in any position of these bodies
and if shapes of the particles were not spherical, then all posi-
tions of the surface should differ for the gravitational material,
with different forces and different weights. Thus the particles
composing bodies through which gravitational material cannot
pass and only strikes the surface should be spherical,

12

Having shown the spherical nature of the particles composing
sensible bodies, where can we find contact surfaces? For spheres
do not touch one another except at one point. To answer this
question satisfactorily it is necessary for me to give a definition
of the surface of contact (which should better be called the
surface of cohesion), namely, that it is a circle whose diameter
is the line BID (Fig. 1) between the particles A and C which
are in contact, whose periphery is occupied by the very small

238

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies
spheres B and D of compressed liquid material, not reaching
to / because of the narrow spaces EFI and GHL Assuming this,
there will be no compressed material on the cross sections EIG
and FIH of the spheres A and C, since there is no room. Thus,
particles A and G, exposed to the compressed fluid on the rest
of the surface, cohere by the measure of the circle or plane of
coherence.

13

Hence the following rule results: the larger the insensible
particles composing a body, the stronger is the union, and the
smaller they are, the weaker it is. When cohering particles are
spheres, then let the radii of the larger particles (Fig. 1) AB,
CFj AI, CI = a, the radii EB and BF of the particles of com-
pressed material = r. Then by construction of the igure it is
seen that BI is perpendicular to AC; hence jBJ will be

+ r) 2 a 2 ]. But as AD, DC, AB, BC are equal to each
other, triangle ADC will = and ~ABC; whence BI = DI;

therefore BD = 2 VL(* + ^Y * 2 ] = the diameter of the plane
of cohesion of particles A and C. Then let p be the periphery
of the circle whose diameter = 1; then the plane of cohesion
itself will = p V[( a + r ) 2 "" a ^]- Finally, let the radii of the
lesser particles composing bodies A and C = a e and the
radii of the particles of compressed material = r. Since the
rest will happen as shown above, then BD = 2 V[( fl e + r ) 2
(a e) 2 ] = the diameter of the planes of cohesion of the
lesser particles, and the plane of cohesion itself p [(a e
_|_- rf (a e) 2 ]. Thus the plane of cohesion of the larger par-
ticles will be to the plane of cohesion of the smaller particles
asp [(a + r) 2 --a 2 ] top [(a tf + r) 2 -- (a ef\ = (a + r) 2 -
a? to (a e + r) 2 (a e} 2 = r + 2a to r + 2(<z e). By this
the plane of cohesion of the greater particles will be larger than
the plane of cohesion of the lesser particles; hence the larger
the particles, the more strongly they cohere; the smaller they
are, the more weakly they cohere.

14

Thus it is not difficult to conclude from this that if many
and varied properties are caused by the cohesion of particles,

239

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

then by this rule they can be explained by the different sizes
of the particles in a mixed body. For this reason let the stu-
dents of nature cease to marvel and doubt that all special
qualities of bodies can come from particles which have a spheri-
cal shape only, and especially take into consideration the force
of cohesion of particles shown in the oration on the origin of
light and colors. Beyond this, we take as an example an art by
which from round threads, especially if they have different
thicknesses, numberless and varied multitudes of tissues and
networks of substances are produced in excellent designs by
varying their positions.

15

It has already been shown clearly enough how various sizes
of particles act in producing liquid and solid bodies. Therefore
it remains to consider how the forces of heat and cold act ex-
ternally, for differences in size are properties of the particles
themselves.

16

From the system of rotary calorific motion it appears that
the particles of warm bodies spin faster and with greater force
and repel each other; 3 therefore the cohesion of these particles
should become weaker, the greater the warmth or heat in the
body itself, and so it may be said that they are not only con-
verted into a liquid, but, losing all interspecific cohesion be-
tween the particles, and their very contact, they are dispersed
into a vapor.

17

Therefore much less heat motion is required for obtaining
and keeping bodies liquid if their particles are smaller than
for those which are larger, and it is not surprising that mercury,
the fineness and thinness of whose particles have been indicated
by many chemical and medical experiments, keeps its liquidity
at very low heats which we by our senses call severe cold and
strong frost. For, according to the system of calorific motion,
all bodies have heat as long as the particles are moved by ro-
tary motion, although they may seem very cold.

3. See Meditations OB the Cause of Heat and Cold, 23.

240

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

18

In spite of this, bodies of the same nature as mercury, that
is, metals, have a stronger cohesion between their particles, and
the larger they are than mercury, the greater is the fire re-
quired to melt them. The greater size of the particles making
up metals is clear from this, that mercury enters their pores.

19

But there are infinitely many properties and qualities which
occur in solid and liquid bodies from different cohesions of
their particles, as different degrees of viscosity, brittleness, soft-
ness, friability, ductility, elasticity, and others which require
varied and prolonged consideration and clear understanding by
the keenest physicists; therefore, leaving these for the future,
we will discuss only how sensible bodies can be compressed
or expanded from boiling to freezing, and in very fact, are
compressed and expanded.

20

First we consider speculations on the different positions
which the particles can occupy because of the spherical shape
which was established with certainty above. Four spherical par-
ticles in close contact and a state of cohesion can be inscribed
in an equilateral rhombic figure, and in a spacial position and
in contact, this should have the form of a cube. Such equilat-
eral figures ABCD (Fig. 2) and ABCD (Fig. 3) have the propor-

tion to each other as AB* to i/ 2 ^/(AB^ + l&C 2 X AB~, that is,

as AB* is to AB* Vli" = l : VV? = 100 to V^OOOOO because
AC =1 BC. For such a rhombic body can be divided into two
equal prisms ADCFBE and ADCFGH having a common square
side ADCF (Fig. 4). And since the angles ABC and FED are
right angles, then the half diagonal AC equals the altitude BK
of the prism ACDFBE or half of all the rhombic body. That
is, the cubic body to the rhombic body will be almost as 1000
to 707.

21

Hence it follows: 1) as far as these are simple bodies, that is,
composed of the same particles and without foreign materials

241

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

in the pores, they can be expanded and compressed without
destroying the cohesion, although they can increase and de-
crease; 2) when particles of foreign material, for example, air,
are found between them in the pores, the particles cannot at-
tain to intimate rhombic cohesion and hence cannot always
attain to such a great crowding as shown above in 20; how-
ever, they still have sufficient room for compression and ex-
pansion, and with different amounts of foreign material there
can be differences in compression and expansion; 3) in the
cubic form there should be twelve contacts between the eight
particles, and in the rhombic, eighteen, from which it is not
surprising that the particles placed in the rhombic form ac-
quire hardness from it, losing liquidity more strongly when six
more contacts are established.

22

Different bodies show different compressions in experiments.
In all those which it is possible to measure, it is not difficult
to carry out freezing and boiling, as in water, in oils, and in
solutions of different salts. In those bodies in which freezing
has not yet been found it is impossible to establish the limits
o attraction. This happened with mercury, for until the last
winter it had not been frozen and no one hoped for this. But
now it remains only to check by discussion and experiment
the disagreements between the observations at what degree be-
low boiling mercury should freeze. As this can be seen from
my experiments, I add these here.

23

December 26, 1759, when the frost was 208 degrees, I put a
thermometer in the snow into which I had poured aqua fortis;
the snow then melted like an oil, as happens close to its melt-
ing; the mercury in the thermometer dropped to 330 degrees,
then, still applying new snow, we added spirit of salt; the mer-
cury sank to 495 degrees; still adding acid, we saw the mercury
at 534 degrees. On removing the thermometer for a short time
from the mixture, the mercury reached 552 degrees. Finally as
we added to newly applied snow the so-called oil of vitriol, in
an instant the snow was converted into an almost liquid ma-

242

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies
terial and the mercury sank to 1260 degrees. 4 Thus, not doubt-
ing that it was already frozen, I quickly struck the sphere with

a copper compass and the glass shell was shattered and fell

Figs. 1-7

4. [This work has been analyzed by V. Ya. Blalyk In Lomonosov, Sbornik
Statei i Materialov, III (Academy of Sciences Piess, Moscow and Leningrad, 195 1)*
pp. 52-65. He points out that Lomonosov was here using the Delisle thermometer,
in which the boiling point of water is 0, the melting point of ice is
150. Thus the initial temperature of the experiment, 208 Delisle, was about
38 C, and this is the temperature which Lomonosov recorded for the
melting point of mercury. The correct value is -38.87. The much lower values
recorded as more freezing mixture was added are due to the fact that the
mercury in the bulb of the thermometer began to freeze on the walls of the
bulb, leaving a core of unfrozen mercury in the middle, in contact with the still
unfrozen mercury in the stem of the thermometer. As mercury freezes, it
undergoes a strong contraction in volume. Thus with progressive freezing of the
central core, the mercury in the stem was drawn further down, giving the lower
values recorded. In 24 Lomonosov notes that when the mercury in the stem
froze, open spaces were left below it as the liquid in the bulb continued to
freeze.]

243

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

away from the mercury ball which remained with a tail reach-
ing into the tube of the thermometer like a pure silver wire
which bent freely like a soft metal, and had the thickness of y
of a line. After this, striking the ball of mercury with a butt, I
felt that it had a hardness like tin or lead. From the first blow
to the fourth it was compressed without a flaw, and from the
fifth, sixth and seventh blows it showed cracks (Fig. 5). A shows
the ball of mercury with the tail, B after the first blow, C after
the second, D after the third and fourth, E after the fifth, sixth,
and seventh. The mercury was changed by hammering and
cutting with a knife, and after about 20 minutes it began to
pass into an amalgam or into a paste and quickly regained its
lost liquidity, that is, melted at such a great frost as 208 de-
grees. Inside there was no liquid, nor were pores noted, and
the solidity was greater than in later experiments. And though,
because of haste, I did not observe whether there was any
crack in the glass sphere, yet there would be no danger in this
that the mercury would flow out, for the mercury itself already
had created a wall when at the first fall in temperature its
surface became a solid body and served instead of the vessel to
contain that part which had not yet frozen inside.

24

According to the experiments made in later frosts I found:
1) that mercury at about 130 degrees begins to thicken some-
what. This can be seen clearly in a narrow bent glass tube,
since the mercury itself does not reach equilibrium as fast as
at the ordinary warmth; 2) at about 500 degrees it stops up the
tube, but in the middle of the globe it is for the most part un-
frozen or is filled with very many obvious pores; 3) in a long,
narrow glass cylinder or tube I have sometimes seen frozen
mercury with obvious gaps (Fig. 7); 4) when the tube is warmed
by hand, the mercury sometimes shrinks further; 5) we should
note here, although it does not exactly relate to this subject,
that the electrical force acts through frozen mercury and
through glowing iron. The method of the experiment is shown
in Fig. 6. BdeC is the bent tube containing the mercury im-
mersed in a freezing material, d the end of the wire, AB, dip-
ping into the mercury and extending from an electrical indica-
tor and heated by candles put on the bottom of glass vessel H;

244

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

e is the end of the wire CF at the other end of the tube, dip-
ping into the mercury and extending from an electrical globe.

25

From all these experiments and in agreement with the ideas
(20) we see that: 1) differences in the limits of freezing of
mercury in the thermometer occur due to unequal rate of
freezing in the thin thermometer tube. For it is natural that
small amounts of mercury should freeze faster than much larger
amounts in the bulb. And thus the freezing mercury in the
tube blocks the way and entirely plugs it up while in the globe
freezing has occurred only on the surface and the middle is
entirely liquid and therefore the thermometer does not show a
lower limit of freezing, but remains at the same degree at
which mercury froze in the tube; 2) the limit of freezing of
mercury should be about 1300 degrees and since the material
frozen in the cylindrical tube contains breaks and empty spaces
within itself (Fig. 7) while it sank only to 500 degrees, accord-
ing to my calculations mercury should contract further to
1000 degrees if all its empty spaces were filled; moreover, if
mercury when first frozen was without sensible cavities all
through the frozen solid, it would sink this low; 3) bodies in
positions in space closest to each other have a measure of ex-
tension between them as 1000 to 707 (20), and mercury from
its boiling to its freezing by my observations is compressed by
1647, that is, above to 414 and below to 1260 degrees of the
thermometer. Hence the size decreases about 16/100; according
to the theory there can still be no little further compression to
3000 degrees. However, this compression may occur to some
extent after freezing of the mercury.

26

There are still not a few liquid bodies which have not be-
come solid in the strongest frost and their nature is not changed
into ice; these, nevertheless, like mercury, require detailed
study. In times to come we will not let the chance to study
these diligently pass, any more than other studies of the riches
of nature according to the duties assigned by Peter the Great
to our institution. Divine Providence, advancing the welfare
of Russia and the fortunes o our all gracious Autocrat for her

245

On the Solidity and Liquidity of Bodies

deathless glory will not deprive us of the advance and increase
in the progress of science here, and by the use of our native
wisdom, for our institutions which are charged with the gen-
eral good. Rooted and strengthened in the zeal and powerful
genius of the sons of Russia for the higher sciences under the
generous patronage of the great Elizabeth, we will brilliantly
express the forms, examples, and encouragement of our true
advantages and endless favors, for the supremacy of the scholars
of our country in all future generations.

246

Oration on the Origin of Light. A New
Theory of Color, Presented in a Public
Meeting of the Imperial Academy of
Sciences, July 1, 1756, by
Mikhail Lomonosov

Lomonosov was interested in the subject of optics from the be-
ginning of his career, and when he turned to the manufacture of
mosaics, he extended this interest to the phenomenon of color.
After he began his experiments on the preparation of colored
glasses in the chemical laboratory built for him in 1748, he worked
intensively in this field. Between 1750 and 1754, as indicated in
letters to Euler, he developed a theory of color along with his
practical work. The application of his corpuscular theory was ex-
tended from the kinetics of material bodies to the kinetics of the
matter of ether, and he combined his chemical and physical views
to produce a form of wave theory of light and color. This is one of
the few extensions of his theoretical ideas which he carried out
after he ceased to work very actively in theoretical physics and
chemistry in about 1750. In 1756 he felt ready to present his views
to the Academy, and after several preliminary discussions, he gave
his formal oration on July 1, 1756. It was published by the Acad-
emy as a separate issue of 400 copies in Russian in 1758; a Latin
translation, also in 400 copies, was issued in 1759. The work was
widely known and commented upon by scholars in western Europe
at the time, and was known also to Thomas Young when he
worked on the theory of color. The Russian text is given in Col-
lected Works, III (1952), pp. 315-344, and in Selected Works,
pp. 294-317.

The investigation o nature is difficult, my auditors, but it
is pleasant, useful, and holy. The more Its secrets reach the
mind, the greater is the pleasure felt by the heart. The more
our zeal thus expands, the more abundantly do we gather its
fruits for the use of the world. The more deeply the discussion

247

Oration on the Origin o Light

of such marvelous matters penetrates to the reasons themselves,
the more clearly do we see the impenetrability of the everliving
Creator. In His omnipotence, majesty, and great wisdom, we
find the first, general, true and outspoken teachings of the
visible world. The heavens announce the glory of God. He
gives first place to the sun, that is, in it we see the divine
radiance more clearly than in any other object. Because of the
vastness of its universal structure it shines continuously to the
farthest planets, exceeding the dreams of human swiftness by
its instantaneous and incomprehensible rays. By their con-
tinuous and lightning-like rapidity these swift and favoring
rays arouse other creatures to industry, shedding light, warm-
ing, and animating not only the human mind, but also, it
seems, the dumb beasts who are animated by some divine
presence. What is this measureless light which seems to be an
ocean in which the internal sanctuary of nature is revealed to
the curious eye and by whose rays a great part of the other
secrets of nature are revealed to the zealous seeker?

Many treatises in different countries, appearing in different
centuries, explain this. Untiring investigators have overcome
many hindrances and have eased the work of those who fol-
lowed them; they have driven away the dark clouds and have
penetrated further into pure heaven. But just as the sensitive
eye cannot look directly at the sun, so also the vision of reason-
ing grows weak in studying the causes of the origin of light
and its separation into different colors. What is left to hope for?
To cease the work? To give way to despair of success? Never!
Perhaps such is the wish of negligent persons, unworthy of the
heroes who have made such great progress in studying nature.
We see how they have collected a great mass of material on
this subject or how, as is said of the ancient giants, they have
drawn near to the source of such radiance, such magnificence
of color. We ascend to the heights after them without fear,
we advance on their strong shoulders, and rising above all the
darkness of hindering ideas, as much as possible we turn our
keen and discerning eyes to the study of the causes for the
origin of light and its separation into different colors.

At the beginning of this undertaking, let us analyze the basis
for this mighty thing, established by so many creative minds
with consistent or conflicting views, and where the theories

248

Uration on the Origin ot JLight

are not organized or are uncertain, we will try to correct and
strengthen them by the possibilities which occur to us. Finally
we will begin to combine the systems.

Colors are produced from light; therefore we should first
consider its causes, nature, and properties in general; then
study its origin. Passing over the occult qualities of the an-
cients, I will begin with the opinions of the present day, il-
luminated as they are by the brightest physical knowledge.
There are two main paths here: the first is the Cartesian, con-
firmed and explained by Huygens; the second, originated by
Gassendi, was accepted and its significance further explained
by Newton. The difference between these two opinions is a
difference in motion. Both consider an exceedingly subtle
fluid, hence an intangible substance. But the motion according
to Newton is assumed to be flowing from the light source like
a river spreading in all directions; according to Descartes it is
a continuous oscillation without flowing. We will consider
with attention and care which of these opinions is true and
sufficient to explain the properties of light and color.

For a clear and detailed understanding we should discuss
all sorts of possible motion in general. Thus, assuming a very
subtle and intangible fluid as the material of light, which no
one now doubts, we find three possible motions for this, and
which actually is or is not possible we will show later. The
first motion can be flowing or passing along, as Gassendi and
Newton think, by which the ether (the material of light as it
was called by the ancients and by many at the present time)
moves from the sun and other large or small sources in all
directions like a spreading river. The second motion can be a
vibration in the ether, according to the opinion of Descartes
and Huygens, by which it acts like very small and frequent
waves in all directions from the sun, spreading them through
the universal ocean of matter like quiet water in which parallel
circular waves spread in all directions from a falling stone
without any flowing motion. The third motion can be rotary,
when each intangible particle making up the ether rotates
around its center or axis. Whether these three possible motions
of the ether actually produce light and color must be studied
in order and attentively.
The opinion that the cause of light is a flowing motion of the

249

Oration on the Origin of Light

ether is purely arbitrary and has no basis in evidence. Only
two circumstances show some sort of probability: the first is
the law of light refraction discovered by Newton, the second
is the sensible time required for the light from the sun to
reach us. But the law is based on a similar arbitrary assumption
of the force of attraction of bodies whose validity is now de-
nied by the most learned physicists as an occult quality from
the old Aristotelian school which reconverts healthy people to
madness. Therefore, although it has been supported by intelli-
gent authors, this does not confirm the theory. The sensible,
though very short time in which light from the sun reaches the
earth no more confirms the flowing motion of the ether than
does the duration of time in spreading the voice after a call
over a known distance show the flowing of air. If anyone says
that light from the sun occurs by the flowing of ether like a
river because there is a sensible time before the light from the
sun reaches our sight, then he should conclude that there is a
like consequence that air flows from a sounding dulcimer in
all directions with the same speed that a voice reaches the ear.
But I think of the speed of a strong wind when air in one
second is blown 60 feet, raising great waves in the water and
tearing up trees by their roots, and I reason that if the air
moves as fast in flowing from the strings as does the voice, this
is more than a thousand feet a second, and by such music
mountains would be torn from their places.

And though neither conjecture mentioned as being useful in
establishing this opinion can well serve as a probable proof,
yet we concede the time and, assuming that light from the sun
spreads in all directions by flow of ether, we shall see what
follows.

It has been shown sufficiently by the laws of mechanics, con-
firmed by daily experience and everything generally accepted,
that the smaller and lighter a body is, the less it opposes a
motive force and the less momentum it acquires; and also, the
more it encounters resistance, the more rapidly is its course
changed* For example, if anyone casts a small grain of sand
from a sling, does it fly as fast and as far as a rock similarly
thrown by a human hand? What can be finer and lighter than
a single particle making up the ether? And how enormous is
the distance from us to the sun? And who can dream of a faster

250

Oration on the Origin of Light

flow than the ether, according to the opinion cited above? And
what stronger drag can there be than the attraction to the sun
which draws to it not only our earth, but other greater bodies,
pulling them out of straight line motion? Can we think of the
origin of light by a flowing motion of the ether when there
are such difficulties?

Let us place a small, black and nontransparent grain of sand
in the brilliant sunlight for twelve hours. During this whole
time there flows to it continuously the light from the entire
visible semicircle of the sun which is included in the conical
expanse which has the circle of the sun at the bottom and the
grain of sand at the apex. The cubic content of this conical
space contains by calculation about seven hundred and twenty
million cubic radii of the earth. In every eight minutes the
spread of light from the sun to the earth is completed, and so
in twelve hours there pass from it to this grain of sand eight
thousand six hundred and forty million cubic earth radii of
ether material. Let us remove the grain of sand from the
sunlight and place it in a small, dark, cold room; the heat
acquired from the sun disappears at once and not the least
light remains. Even if this experiment were repeated for a
whole year or were carried on for a century, the black grain
of sand would always remain black and in the dark would not
give off any light. A black material does not reflect the light
which reaches it nor does this light penetrate through it. Tell
me, friends and defenders of the opinion of the flowing motion
of the material which produces light, in this case where is it
hiding? You can only say that it is collected in the grain of
sand and remains there completely. But is it possible for it to
fit into such a quantity of material? I know that you divide
the material of light into such fine particles and place them in
universal space with so little density that the whole quantity
can be compressed and packed in the porous crevices of one
grain of sand. Although there is no basis or evidence for this
separation of yours, yet I will grant you such conditions, pro-
vided that according to your rules I will be allowed to divide
the material into equally fine particles. You cannot deny me
this. Thus, I divide the surface of the black and nontransparent
grain of sand into many millions of parts, of which each is
illuminated by the whole visible semicircle of the sun; to

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each of them runs the awesome amount of ether material which,
when put into them, remains there. Where do you find such a
place? Perhaps you can divide the matter still more minutely.
But in the same way I will have the right to divide the par-
ticles on the surface of the grain of sand and each will use as
much light. See how your opinion is burdened with difficulties.

But you still say that while it is true that we see difficulties
we do not see impossibilities, which alone could produce con-
tradictory conclusions from the theory. I reply: difficulties are
often very close to impossibilities, and these I happen to find
in more than one way in your theory.

Among known substances what is harder than the diamond?
What is more transparent? Hardness requires sufficient material
and narrow pores; transparency can scarcely be allowed to the
constituent matter of the diamond if we assume that light ex-
tends by a flowing motion of the ether material. For from each
point of the diamond's surface and of all the interior of its
body to each point on the whole surface and in all the interior
of its body light passes in a straight line. Hence in all these
directions straight line pores extend into the whole diamond.
Assuming this, the diamond not only should consist of rarefied
and friable material, but should everywhere be empty within.
It follows from the hardness that the constituents of its par-
ticles cohere closely; from the transparency we conclude not
only a friable nature, but almost emptiness surrounded by a
fragile shell. Because these results contradict each other we
must assume that the theory that light from the sun extends
itself by a flowing motion of the ether is incorrect.

Let us still assume that light extends from the sun and other
lighted bodies by a flowing motion of the ether. New impossi-
bilities, new contradictions arise. In the diamond, transparent
on all sides, from each point of its surface and in all the in-
terior of the body extend the straight line pores of the whole
diamond; but these pores carry the material of light, as shown
above. Light is transmitted from one side to the other without
hindrance by an equal force. Let us place the diamond between
two candles. The light from both sides passes through the
diamond with equal force, and one candle can be seen from
one side through the diamond at the same time as the other
from the other side. What is this? Have we abolished mechan-

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ics? Do we assume that when two fluid materials meet in equal
amounts and with equal force from either side in a narrow pore
such as must exist in the diamond they do not encounter and
stop each other?

How much more is there? When the light of many thousands
of burning candles passes through the pores of a diamond set
between them, how many crossings and meetings of the flow-
ing material of light must there be at innumerable angles of
inclination; but there is no hindrance and not the least con-
fusion. What is the proper logical conclusion? Where are the
indestructible laws of motion?

These disproofs would be sufficient, but in order to eliminate
the last trace of the idea, I suggest the following.

Is it possible in nature that one and the same substance is
larger than itself? The immutable laws of mathematics affirm
that one and the same substance is always equal to itself in
size. A denial of this is wrong and contradicts the daily experi-
ence and reasoning of sane men. But all this follows from the
position and opinions of Gassendi and Newton. Rays of the
sun are reflected from within the walls of a glass prism so
strongly that an object in a given position is observed as clearly
as if this object were seen directly. It follows from this that all
the rays are reflected back from the side mentioned and very
few of them pass through. The viewed object can be seen as
clearly from the other side through the same wall as if it were
in direct sight. From this it follows without dispute that all the
rays of the sun pass through this side and very few of them are
reflected. Is not this what follows from the theory mentioned?
As many rays are reflected from this surface as fall on it, and
as many pass through it, that is, the material of the sun's rays
will be doubled. Now we must hold and assert one of the two
ideas, either the theory that the spread of ether material occurs
by a flowing motion is false or it is true, and therefore we be-
lieve that one and the same substance at the same time is
greater than itself.

Now that we have considered the impossibility of this mo-
tion of the ether material, we turn to the second theory, that
is, we ask whether oscillatory motion can be the cause of light.

I have shown in my meditation on the cause of heat and cold
that heat comes from rotary motion of the particles which

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compose the body itself. But although many former objections
have been clearly shown to be incorrect, yet we should not fail
to confirm this again by new conclusions drawn from the art
itself.

When iron is struck, it is heated; its own material is com-
pressed more densely and foreign matter is forced out; this
shows clearly that the foreign material is not cooled when made
smaller and the essential matter which is compressed is warmed
by friction and rotation of the particles.

When copper and other metals are heated in aqua fortis or
lime is moistened with water, then without any external warm-
ing of these bodies, heat is produced spontaneously in them.
According to the opinion of the defenders of a caloric material,
this should be collected from another neighboring body, and
hence this other body should grow cold. But this is contrary to
all experience. For an arbitrarily assumed heat material exists
in equilibrium and does not create itself; it maintains an equi-
librium when it passes from a hot body to a cold one, heating
the latter and cooling the first by an equal degree of heat; it
does not maintain an equilibrium when the lime is heated
without cooling of a substance lying near it; a clear contra-
diction.

No matter how long lead is kept in boiling water, it will
not acquire more heat than we find in the boiling water itself
by the thermometer. In the opinion of the believers in heat
material, this enters the insensible pores and fills them in ac-
cord with their size. The same lead outside of water acquires
for itself an incomparably greater amount of heat; it melts, be-
gins to burn, and is changed into a glass. Here, according to
the idea of departure and entrance of heat matter, it should fol-
low that the same lead outside of water has larger pores than
when in water and in itself is at the same time unequal and
dissimilar, though it remains lead.

Boiling water extinguishes incandescent iron. Hence, in the
opinion of those who assume the cause of heat and cold to be
a material of fire passing from one body to another, this ma-
terial passes from the iron into the boiling water. But accord-
ing to well-known experiments and indisputable conclusions,
it is clear that when water boils it cannot become hotter.
Hence, according to the same opinion it cannot take any more

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heat material at all into itself. You see, a clear contradiction.
At one and the same time water accepts and does not accept
heat material from the same iron.

Heat is continually given off from animals and warms ob-
jects near them. Many of them never accept hot food. You
champions and defenders of heat material, explain to me by
what path heat enters animals insensibly and leaves sensibly.
Perhaps when it enters it causes cold? That is, cold heat, just
like dark light, moist dryness, soft hardness, a rectangular
circle.

All these difficulties, or to speak more correctly, impossibili-
ties, disappear when we assume that heat consists of a rotary
motion of the insensible particles which make up bodies. It is
not necessary for some strange, incomprehensible heat ma-
terial to pass from body to body, a fact which not only is
confirmed by experiment, but can also be explained clearly.
The rotary motion of particles is sufficient to explain and
demonstrate all the properties of heat. For further verification
of this I refer the seeker to my Meditations on the Cause of
Heat and Cold and to my answer to the critics of these medi-
tations.

Now it is time to consider whether rotary motion of the
ether particles can be the cause of light.

Although the sun illuminates and warms at the same time,
yet there are many cases when there is not the least light with
a great heat and when along with a bright light we find no
heat. Iron taken from the forge while still hot does not glow
in the dark but retains so much heat in itself that it forces
water to boil, chars wood, and melts lead and tin. On the other
hand, the sun's rays reflected from a full moon and collected
by a burning glass give a very clear and bright light but do not
produce sensible heat. I will not mention the electric spark,
phosphors and other materials which produce light in the dark
without heat. For when there is fire without light and light
without fire, then these must each originate from a different
cause. Light and heat are gathered by earthly bodies from the
sun through the ether. Therefore we must conclude that both
are produced by the same material, but by different motions.
The flowing motion has been shown to be impossible; rotary
motion is the cause of fire and heat. Therefore when the ether

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produces heat in earthly bodies, that is, produces rotary motion
of the particles, it can have another motion. Since ether can-
not have a flowing motion and the rotary motion is the cause
of heat without light, there remains only the third, an oscillat-
ing motion of the ether which should be the cause of light.

Although this has already been sufficiently shown, yet we can
still consider whether in the spreading of light an oscillatory
motion contradicts the consequences which were drawn from
the idea of the flowing motion of ether, and second, whether
it can explain the different properties of light.

As to the first, we have a clear example in the oscillatory mo-
tion of the air which spreads voices from place to place. Just
as there are different voices which are all heard satisfactorily,
so we can hear various musical tones differing in loudness from
different instruments, and also the voices of birds and other
animals; also thunder, ringing sounds, knocks, crackling,
whistles, screams, creaks, murmurs, and their different direc-
tions and positions, and besides these, the different sounds of
the letters in different languages. All these innumerable dif-
ferent voices come in straight lines, intersecting each other not
only at all possible angles, but also meeting directly, and one
does not nullify another. Standing near a sounding dulcimer,
I hear on one side the singing of a nightingale and on the other
the song and voice of the singer; there the sound of bells,
somewhere else the trampling of horses: all these voices come
to my ears and many others; whichever one of them I pay most
attention to, that one I hear more clearly. Thus we have proof
that in a variety of cases nature uses an oscillatory motion of
fluid bodies, just as in air. Since we showed above the impos-
sibility of a flowing motion of the ether, then we certainly
should accept its oscillatory motion as the cause of light, for no
contradiction follows from the above described oscillatory mo-
tion. It is not fitting for one grain of sand to hold the material
which occupies the awful spaces between it and the sun. It is
not fitting that the diamond should be nothing more than a
thin, friable shell. It is not fitting to use the other contradictory
ideas.

Secondly, the system is very satisfactory in that it offers a
very clear explanation of the action and peculiarities of light
and incontestably confirms different motions as the cause of
heat and light.

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It was shown above that rays from the lunar semicircle, con-
centrated by a burning mirror, do not show appreciable heat
but have light at which we can scarcely look. This strange
property will become clear and understandable from the above
proposition. The particles of ether material between the sun
and the moon move by oscillatory and rotary motions. The
rotary motion is blunted by warming the surface of the moon,
the oscillatory motion, which does not warm but serves to
illuminate, loses less of its strength so that the reflected rays
from our earth reach to the moon and return again from it,
showing partial darkening of its side soon after the new moon.

Mercury in a glass vessel which does not contain air pro-
duces light without heat by falling in fine drops. It is well
known to all that after a blow from a solid body spherical
liquid drops quiver, contracting and expanding, so that the
ether is also led into a quivering motion which produces light.
Thus phosphors and other similar materials are lighted with-
out radiating heat. Because of the shortness of time, this ex-
planation will be sufficient for the present.

Now it is proper to explain my ideas on the reason for colors
and to demonstrate their probability. But first, rather than
describing it, I will show the basis which has been unknown to
physics up to now; not only has there been no explanation, but
there has not even been a name for the phenomenon which is
so significant and widespread in all nature that it occupies the
most important place in producing the properties that originate
in insensible particles. I call this the combination of particles.
The importance of this basis depends on the similarity and
dissimilarity of the surface of the particles of the same and
different sorts of primary materials which make up bodies.

Picture to yourselves the extent of the structure of the uni-
verse, which consists of insensible globules of different sizes,
their surfaces covered with particles and fine inequalities by
which these particles can cohere with each other like teeth on
a wheel. It is known from mechanics that those wheels are
connected and move each other whose teeth are of equal size
and like arrangement, attuned to each other; and when the
sizes and arrangement are different, then they are not con-
nected and do not move each other. This I find in the insensi-
ble primary particles which make up all bodies, built up by
the all wise Architect and all powerful Mechanician in accord

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with immutable natural laws, and I call those particles which
are connected to each other compatible, and those which are
not connected and do not move each other, incompatible.

By operating on this basis, I can present clearly all the ac-
tions and other wonderful effects and changes which are ob-
served by the senses to occur in nature.

Changes arising in the brain are announced by this motion
through the vital juices in the nerves to their ends which are
joined to the particles of external bodies touching them. This
occurs in an insensible interval of time by continuous combina-
tion of particles along the whole nerve to the end in the brain
itself. For it is known from the laws of mechanics that many
thousands of such globules or wheels when they stand unin-
terruptedly joined in connection can be rotated from one ex-
ternal force from one surface, stopping when it stops and in-
creasing or decreasing the speed of their motion along with it.

Thus the acid material contained in the nerves of the tongue
combines with acid material particles placed on the tongue to
produce a change in motion and this presents itself to the brain.
Thus sensation is generated. So chemical solvents act, letting
loose effervescence. In this way liquid materials rise in narrow
tubes. Electrical force acts in this way and can be clearly pre-
sented, explained, and demonstrated without the aid of inflow
and outflow of fluid and without assuming any cause contrary
to the motion of sensible materials. We merely suggest that by
friction on the glass there is produced in the ether a rotary
motion of its particles by a superior speed or a shutting off of
motion by the remaining ether. This motion spreads from the
surface of the glass to the pores of water or metal suitable for
it. Here we do not need an unknown flowing motion of the
particles of ether, but only their slight rotation. Thus, while
we cannot understand how a flowing ether from a small elec-
tric point passes so far in an insensible time, we can show here
that by the application of an electrified hand to a nonelectrified
body the compatible particles in whose pores there exists a
mutual linking are turned by a rotary motion, so that the
whole body in one instant produces an electrical oscillatory
motion which increases its rate or changes its direction. At the
same time, the rate of oscillatory motion becomes quieter in
the electrified person because all bodies which communicate

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motion to another body give it up; hence this decreases in it.
It is contrary to mechanical law that there is a flowing ether
of many lengths bent in all directions in innumerable forms
but without repulsion and struggle, for due to the many mil-
lion angles, it should here lose its motion. These difficulties
are eliminated by assuming the rotary motion of compatible
particles, for in spite of the angles between each bend and
fiber, it can be freely produced. The electric spark and feeling
of discomfort, the thunderous blow and the other effects and
properties according to former explanations and up to now
have remained more strange than clear. According to this sys-
tem, the combination of particles becomes easy to understand
mechanically. However, for brevity's sake I am permitted no
further explanation, and beautiful colors bring my oration
back from electrical thunder clouds.

All the unspeakably great number of ether particles men-
tioned can be divided into three types of different sizes, all of
which have a spherical shape. The first type of particle is the
largest and by continuous mutual contact has a square arrange-
ment. Therefore, considering a cubic body as against a sphere
of the same diameter doubled, there will remain almost as
much empty space between these particles as the spheres oc-
cupy. In these spaces I assume ether particles of a second type,
which, being much finer, are packed in considerable number
against each other in a square position and by continuous
mutual contact similarly occupy half the space in the inter-
stices, hence the amount of material is half as compared to the
first. Also I assume a third sort of the finest ether particles in
the interstices of the particles of the second sort. This third
sort of particle is of the same order of arrangement and by the
above mentioned geometrical dimensions will have an amount
of material in proportion to the amount of material of the
second sort as one to two, to the amount of the first sort as one
to four. There is no reason to divide the particles further nor
do I see any necessity for this. These three sorts of ether par-
ticles are each connected with the other sorts and are incom-
patible with different sorts of particles so that when the par-
cles of the first type turn by a rotary motion, joining with the
others of their type, a large number in the circle around them
are moved by the force of cohesion. The second and third sorts

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of particles will not be involved in this motion. This is, of
course, also true of the other two sorts of particles. To speak
briefly, the two sorts of particles can remain without turning
while one is moved in a rotary motion; and when two turn,
one can be motionless, and equally all three can be moved or
all at rest without depending on each other.

Sensible bodies by classification and by the agreement of
eminent chemists consist of primary material, acting or acted
on; chief or subsidiary. The first is assumed to be salty, sul-
furous, or mercurious material; the second, pure water or
earths. They do not believe the ordinary salt, sulfur, and mer-
cury to be the primary simple and unchangeable materials;
they merely derive the names from the predominance in them
of these primary materials.

I have made observations, and after many years by many
surmises and also after definite experiments I have confirmed
with sufficient probability that the three sorts of ether particles
agree with the three sorts of true primary particles which make
up sensible bodies, namely: the first size of ether corresponds
to salt; the second size with mercury; and the third size with
sulfur or inflammable material; and with pure earth, with
water, and with air are joined all that is blunt, weak, and im-
perfect. Finally, I find that from the first type of ether arises
the color red, from the second, yellow, and from the third,
blue. Other colors are generated from mixtures of the first
ones.

Now that we have seen the structure of these systems, let us
look at their motions. When the sun's rays extend light and
heat to sensible bodies, then the vibratory motion of the ether
globules touches their surfaces and presses on them, and rotary
motion is rubbed away from them. Thus the compatible par-
ticles of ether are joined to the compatible particles of the pri-
mary materials which make up the body. And when these are
not suitable for rotary motion for some reason, then the rotary
motion of this sort of ether is dulled; the vibratory motion
still remains in force. Under such circumstances, the following
phenomena occur.

When the mixed particles of any sort of sensible body are so
arranged that each primary material has a place on its surface,
then all the sorts of ether particles touch it, and by combina-

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tion lose their rotary motion; therefore the rays of the sun
without this motion do not produce any color in the eye, since
they do not have the strength to induce rotary motion in the
particles which compose the bottom of the eye. Thus the body
appears black. Let us assume a mixed sensible body such that
there is no single mixed particle of a predominant primary
material on the surface, but this surface is surrounded by pure
earthy or watery particles. Then all sorts of ether material
should join only weakly with this, and the rotary motion would
encounter scarcely any hindrance; hence with the rotary mo-
tion it acts on the bottom of the eye, producing all the colors
sensible to the view, and such a mixed body has a white color.

Then let there be on the surface of the particles of mixed
body a predominantly acid material; others are either not in
the mixed body or they are covered by the acid. Then the first
sort of ether material is deprived of rotary motion for com-
bination with this and will not produce the sense of the red
color in the eye, and only the yellow and blue ethers, rotating,
begin to act freely in the optic nerve on the mercury and in-
flammable material and produce the sensation of yellow and
blue light at the same time, from which such a body should
be green. Equally when mercury is on the surface of the mate-
rial a purple color is produced; when inflammable material is
on the surface, a deep yellow color appears in the material.

When two materials have a place on the surface of the mixed
particle, then from acid and mercury, the sensible color re-
mains blue; from acid and inflammable principle, yellow, and
from mercury and inflammable principle, red; since in the
first case there is no inflammable material on the surface to
hold back the blue ether; in the second no mercury to retain
the yellow, and in the third, no acid to hold back the red ether.

Already you see my whole system of ideas on the origin of
color; it remains finally to present the evidence and confirm
that my proposed idea is more than a simple invention or
arbitrary suggestion.

First, that a triple number of colors is required is confirmed
by all previously known opinions of the professionals from
numerous optical experiments by the famous physicist and
industrious student of the nature of color, Mariotte, who did
not refute Newton, as some thought, but tried to correct his

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theory about the separation of light by refraction of the rays
into colors and only confirmed that in nature there are three
and not seven chief colors.

The different sizes of the particles and their arrangement
as described above are required by nature itself, which must
everywhere require this classification equally, so that every-
where the three sorts of ether will be in the same proportions
and there will be no tendency or resistance to lose this nor
will any sort fail to match the others. This I will show by very-
simple and comprehensible examples. Picture to yourselves some
place filled with cannon balls so that no more can be packed
In. However, there will be idle spaces between them which
can be filled with a great multitude of fusilier bullets. The
empty spaces between the bullets will be filled with small shot.
In such a state, let the balls, bullets, and shot be set in motion,
as much as they can be. The balls will remain everywhere in
one proportion; the bullets thus in proportion will everywhere
occupy their spaces between the balls; between the bullets the
shot remains in equal measure. And thus there remains con-
tinuous contact between the three sorts of spheres. By such a
method and only by this, is it possible to maintain everywhere
an equal proportion in a mixture of the three types of ether.
For If the ether differed in shape and heaviness, it would be
impossible for it to be in an equilibrium mixture everywhere.
Let us consider further the motion of the air, the waves of the
sea, the annual and daily course of the earth, the rotation of
the planets and comets; everywhere the ether remains in the
same proportions in Its mixture, in spite of tendencies and
forces. There is no collection of each sort in one place, ex-
cluding the others. And this is impossible according to the
arrangement described above. Under these circumstances it is
what would be expected.

Nature is most surprising in that it produces uncounted
forms, properties, changes, and phenomena with simplicity by
its great skill from a small number of causes. Can there be a
special kind of ether for reddish yellow, for green, for purple,
and for other mixed colors when reddish yellow comes from
red and yellow, green from yellow and blue, purple from red
and blue, and other kinds of mixed colors from various other
mixtures? The painter uses the chief colors and prepares others

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by mixing; then in nature can there be a greater number of
sorts of ether material for colors than it needs, since it always
follows the simplest and easiest path for its actions?

Moreover, it appears in bodies destroyed by fire that light
refracted by prisms shows with proper accuracy the threefold
number of primary simple colors. When a candle, or wood,
or any other body burns with a lively and free flame, we see
at the corners of the fire red, in the flame itself, yellow, and
between the corner and the yellow flame, blue; these are the
primary particles of matter composing bodies set in rotary
motion, and by the heat of the burning body itself the three
sorts of ether are moved. At the corner the acid material moves,
along with itself, the red ether; in the flame, mercury moves
the yellow, and above the burning corner the sulfur moves,
for it is rotated by the flame more easily and before the mer-
cury, and the rotary motion leads to the blue ether motion.
Thus everything takes place according to the greatest prob-
ability.

Pure alcohol contains a greater part of inflammable matter
in itself, and aside from a little acid, no mercury has been
found in it by anyone. When burning, it blazes with a blue
flame, clearly showing that the burning material, turning in
it by rotary motion is the third sort of ether which, joined with
it, rotates and produces the sensation of a blue color. Mineral
sulfur, besides containing inflammable material, contains acid,
but no mercury and therefore the burning flame gives a purple
color as it should according to this system. For in rotating, the
particles of acid material lead to a rotary motion of the red
ether which along with the blue can lead to a feeling of a
purple color. The mercurious primary material should produce
a yellow color according to the above theory. This is shown in
artillery practice where for entertainment by the production
of yellow flares they use antimony, a body rich in mercury
material.

Phosphorus when it glows or burns with a flame shows a
greenish color, which clearly corresponds to its mixture, for
phosphorus consists of inflammable material and salty acidity
which is mixed with mercury materials.

When, after melting, gold is cooled and begins to approach
the state of a solid body, it shines with a very pleasant green

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color. What then occurs in its mixture? The acid material first
of all loses its rotary motion (for it requires the greatest heat),
the other two, inflammable and mercurious, still have sufficient
heat to turn the particles and so turn with a rotary motion
which turns the ether of the second and third sorts and gives
the sensation of yellow and blue together, that is, produces
green.

A flame of a green color, though shown by many burning
bodies, comes most of all from copper. It is enough to remark
here that when this melts, the whole flame becomes green when
fresh cold charcoal is thrown on it. This is for the same reason
that cooling gold produces green, that is, the heat of the flame
is decreased by the cold charcoal, the acid material of the hot
copper loses its rotary motion force while the inflammable and
mercurious materials are heated enough by the weak heat for
motion. Thus without motion of the red ether, the yellow and
blue present green to the sense of vision.

Thus art, which confirms my opinion by its agreement,
shows the action of the primary materials when, rotating in
a flame, they move the ether by rotary motion, and by com-
bination produce different colors in the sense of vision. Now
it remains to show how these are reflected from the surface of
the illuminated body into the eye and how different combina-
tions produce different colors. For this purpose, let us first con-
sider the blackness and whiteness of tangible bodies, and then
pass to colors.

When water boils it does not take great heat into itself.
Hence its particles cannot reach equal speed by combining
with others which produce motion in the surrounding mate-
rial. Thus the ether particles which have no exact combination
with the water located on the surface of the moving sensible
particles come into view with surrounding motion of all three
sorts of ether and arouse the sense of all colors, that is, the
color white. But when a combustible white material, for ex-
ample wood or paper, is touched by fire, it immediately black-
ens and is converted to charcoal. How does this come about?
Water, which is in the mixed body, is driven out by the heat
and the active primary material left exposed keeps the ether
back from rotary motion by combination and this ether does
not reach the eye and does not produce a sense of color, and
thus it appears black to us. Hence it happens that a white sub-

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Oration on the Origin of Light

stance is less heated by the sun and a black one is more heated.
For all three sorts of ether material are caught in combination
on the particles of a black body and submitted to rotary mo-
tion, while on a white body the opposite occurs.

A strong burning lens covered with black lacquer produces
at the burning point a very great light and only a little heat,
clearly showing that rotary motion of the ether in a black ma-
terial is exhausted, the vibratory motion continuously remains.

Here you may ask, not without reason, whether I do not
establish one cause for heat and color, which are such different
phenomena. I answer that the motion which produces heat
and color is rotary, the materials are different. The cause of
heat is rotary motion of the particles which make up sensible
bodies. The cause of color is rotary motion of the ether, which
along with heat is communicated to earthly bodies from the
sun. Heat and color are rather similar in their effects, but we
see more if we examine closely both these properties in nature.
For the present case it will be sufficient to make the new re-
mark that colors of cold bodies appear brighter to the vision
than those of hot bodies.

Take two pieces of the same singly colored material, espe-
cially a red one. Put one piece on a hot stone or iron, only
so that it does not catch fire; the other in the cold, especially
in the winter in a severe frost. You will see clearly that on the
cold rock the piece of material is redder than on the hot one.
This truth can be tested by changing the piece of material
from the hot rock to the cold one, and from the cold to the
hot as often as you wish. Other colors are not so sensibly
changed.

Here we can see clearly that in cold bodies as the constitu-
ent particles are turned more quietly by a rotary motion, they
more strongly hinder the ether. Those which are not on the
surface of the mixed body leave free those which are not com-
patible on the surface, therefore these, separated from the
others, seem brighter. On the other hand, the particles of the
hot body move faster, the ether particles are not kept so strongly
from rotary motion; therefore by their residual motion, the
chief colors are formed and do not come so brightly to the
vision. This I first concluded from my theory, and afterwards
found it to be true by test.

Now it is time to look at all three kingdoms of multiform

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Oration on the Origin of Light

nature so that even though we show it briefly, we will see how
much similarity there is in the structures of animal, plant, and
mineral substances within this system.

It is known from chemical experiments that in mixed bodies
of animals there is very little free acid; therefore there is little
green in them. Thus when animal parts are destroyed they do
not turn sour, but loss of constituents occurs. By souring, acid
and inflammable materials are liberated from a mixed body;
by loss of material, mercurial particles are lost. Therefore in
animals, acid primary material is surrounded by the others and
produces little acid taste and green color.

Contrary to this, in plants greenness and acidity predom-
inate; there is green in all the parts; acid is also felt there; in
flowers acid and green are lost. Unripe fruit is acid and green;
ripe fruit is blue, reddish, yellowish, or purplish, and different
kinds become sweet when their acidity is either decreased or
altogether suppressed.

When wood rots or leaves fall from trees they turn yellow;
the mercurial material is driven off and separated from the
mixed body, dispersing into the air. Hence the second sort of
ether, that is, the yellow, not being joined to the surface, does
not lose its rotary motion and, extending to our eye, produces
this motion in the mercury material compatible with it in the
black membrane at the bottom of the eye, and arouses the
sensation of yellow in the optic nerve.

In the mineral kingdom of nature where there are many
chemical changes, I could present a great number of examples
which would confirm the correctness of my opinion, showing
differences in minerals and in the chemical actions affecting
color properties and effects. However, I cannot now put them
all in my oration. Therefore I will offer a small part of these.

Water and pure earths and rocks have no other color than
white, that is, all three sorts of ether are reflected without los-
ing their rotary motion. This agrees with the above demon-
stration that they have little compatibility with the ether. On
the other hand, black bodies are always composed of many
different mixed materials and, being compatible with all the
sorts of ether, hinder their rotary motion, without which no
sort of sensible color can be excited in the eye.

J cannot remain silent here about the opinion, contrary to

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Oration on the Origin of Light

daily experience, of those who, in assuming the spread of light
in a flowing of the ether, produce blackness from a great num-
ber of pores which they ascribe to the black body and assert
that light, entering them, disappears. According to their opin-
ion, if a body has more pores it will be blacker than one with
fewer pores. Therefore white chalk should be denser than
black marble; pigments, darker when ground than when un-
ground; facts which are contrary to nature.

An effect not like this, but in accord with my system as
described above, is found in ink making. When the particles
of the material composing ink are still freely separated in
water, they move with a rotary motion and are scarcely hin-
dered by the ether globules, and therefore the color does not
have a marked darkness. But when the added materials are
combined into one mixed particle, then all the mixed body
particles will be large and little inclined to rotary motion;
then all three sorts of ether are hindered in rotary motion
which therefore does not reach the eye from these particles
and no sense of color is produced; the mixed body appears
black. The addition of aqua fortis whitens the ink since the
acidity is comptaible with the material of the mixed body
and separates it, and thus gives great freedom of motion; black-
ness is restored to the ink by alkaline salts; then the acid ma-
terial taking this into the mixed body forms again the com-
bined material which composes the ink.

Such combination of the primary particles composing a body
into large particles of the mixed body occurs in all chemical
mixtures when by removing the liquid from solutions the dis-
solved material combines with itself into coarse particles which
settle to the bottom and produce different colors according to
how much material occupies their surfaces.

Hence it happens that most acid liquid mineral substances
do not have a green color, for they move freely in water and
red ether is not hindered in rotary motion. But as fast as their
acid particles for any reason become unfit for rotary motion,
then, hindering the first kind of ether, the red color is extin-
guished and the blue and yellow remain free, producing a green
color; for example, when so-called oil of vitriol (a material
exceeding all else in acidity) thickens in a great frost and its
particles have very little rotary motion, a green color is pro-

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Oration on the Origin of Light

duced in it. Equally copper and iron above other metals con-
geal with acid materials which not only dissolve faster in them
than in others, but also are destroyed in their vapors and show
reciprocal combination of the particles of one sort; by com-
bination into large particles these lose fitness for rotary motion
by the acid and retain the red ether, so that their solutions
and precipitates in pure acid oil of vitriol tend more to a green
color.

I would like to show for this system all the examples from
numerous experiments which I have carried out and studied
especially on multicolored glasses for the mosaic art, and I
would wish to explain everything that I have thought over
fifteen years between my other tasks. But this would require a
much longer time than is allowed for a public oration. Second,
I would have to explain clearly to everyone my whole system
of physical chemistry, to perfect and report it to the scientific
world, which is prevented by my love for the Russian language,
the great Russian heroes, and the search for the activities of
our fatherland. 1

Thus I now beg that this expression of my ideas on the
origin of color will be received with willing and patient wait-
ing for my whole system, if God permits. Especially I offer it
to those who, because they turn with praise to chemical prac-
tice alone and do not venture to raise their heads above soot
and ashes in order to seek the reason and nature of the primary
particles composing bodies, from which color and other prop-
erties come, are to be considered vain and sophistical. For
knowledge of the primary particles is as necessary in physics
as the primary particles themselves are necessary for composing
sensible bodies. How many experiments are there for this in
physics and chemistry? How many great men have risked their
lives and work for this? For this they have gathered together
a great multitude of different substances and materials in con-
fused masses, considered and wondered at their multitude,
meditating on their arrangement and putting them in order.

Thus, when simple discoveries without any supporting evi-
dence and without enough work to justify them have brought
glory to many in the learned world, I have hoped that my
system would be honored here with attention. The importance

1. [Lomonosov refers to his philological and historical studies, which were
occupying most of his time at this period.]

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of the material should produce this result. The greatest part
of the freshness and joy in our lives depends on color. The
beauty of the human face, of clothing and other decorations
and implements, the pleasure of many colored minerals and
precious stones, animals of different kinds, and finally all the
radiant glory and beauty of the sun, everything that is pro-
duced in the magnificence of the blossoming fields, in the
forests, and in the sea, are not all these worthy of our attention?
In briefly putting forth my ideas on this work for the present
joyful celebration, my auditors, I have turned your hearts to
radiant joy by this fitting subject of sunlight which enriches
your eyes and hearts and does not leave you in darkness. The
present festive day offers you the opportunity to voice your
thoughts on this name day of Peter's daughter, the great Eliza-
beth, and on this day the Divine blessing, the good fortune,
is doubled and multiplied, since it is also the name day of the
Grand Dukes Peter and Paul. With you, my auditors, and with
the general populace, the Imperial Academy of Sciences offers
its felicitations and most humble testimony of gratitude and
joy by a special public session. Oh how beautiful amidst our
joy is the image of the springlike magnificence of our ruler!
The image of majesty, power, glory, and all virtue of our in-
comparable monarchy. The image of indulgence to all, of mu-
tual love and the other great gifts of the blessed pair, their
Imperial Highnesses. The image of their beloved young chil-
dren, the sweetest hope and expectation of our hearts. All your
wishes, my auditors, and those of the fatherland burst forth
with ours. Beautiful flowers, most dear, all kindly, sprung from
the noblest roots of Europe, most brilliant Grand Duke Pavel
Petrovich, bloom thou amidst the abundant spread of our
garden of the whole Russian empire, renewed and surrounded
by a strong wall through the immortal labors of your noble
great-grandfather, adorned by the praiseworthy kindness and
divine favor of his lawful descendant, zealous imitator, worthy
daughter of such a father, our most gracious Sovereign. Grow
thou in the radiance of a sun without beginning, delight us
all by the fragrance of general joy, cheer our hearts and eyes
by the unfading beauty of thy priceless health, reach unhin-
dered to full maturity, increase the longed for fruit of thine
inheritance to the eternal gratitude of the fatherland!

269

Criticism of the Theories of Lomonosov

The first volume of the Novi Commentarii Academiae scientiarum
imperialis Petropolitanae, which contained several papers by Lo-
monosov, received considerable attention among the scholars of
western Europe, and its contents were abstracted and discussed in
many of the learned journals of the Continent. A highly critical
series of comments on most of Lomonosov's theories appeared
anonymously in the Commentarii de rebus in scientia naturali et
medidna gestis, published in Leipzig. There is some reason to
believe that the author was a certain Professor Kestner of Leipzig. 1
The following selection indicates the type of criticism contained in
this journal. 2

Mikhail Lomonosov in his work "On the cause of heat and
cold" has reported nothing more than simple experiments.
Beginning with the principle of sufficient reason he has pain-
stakingly shown by this principle: a sufficient reason -for heat
consists in motion, and since motion is impossible without
material, then it consists in the motion of some sort of mate-
rial, here an internal combined material. We assume that the
readers for whom the Academy publishes its reports would
willingly consent to this as an axiom since this internal mo-
tion is not progressive, for particles of a solid body, strongly
heated, do not notably change their position. He also denies
the possibility of oscillatory motion of bound material, since
parts of the body cannot be bound by perceptible linkages 'if
they compete by internal oscillatory motion. He probably did
not think of bells, the particles of which certainly vibrate on
sounding, but the bell remains entirely solid for many cen-
turies. Thus, nothing remains for him but to announce that
heat is included in the rotary motion of the separate particles.

1. See the letter of Euler to Lomonosov of December 3, 1754, in G. E.
Pavlova, M. F. Lomonosov v Vospominaniyakh i Kharakteristikakh Sovremenni-
kov (Academy of Sciences Press, Moscow and Leningrad, 1962), p. 127.

2. Commentarii de rebus in sdentia naturali et medidna gestis ; 1:222-226,
228 (1752); 2:322-323 (1753); the selections translated here are given in Pavlova,
Lomonosov, pp. 153-154, 161, 165-166, 177-178.

270

Criticism of the Theories of Lomonosov

He asserts that for confirmation of his idea he uses the mathe-
matical method of demonstration, in which the a priori method
is usually strengthened by examples or the a posteriori is tested^
as the mathematicians would say, so that it is confirmed by
rational deductions obtained from experiments which never
follow the exactness of geometry. Thus first of all, he turns to
heat caused by friction and assumes that when one body is
moved by another and the particles of the moving body plunge
into the particles of the other body, both particles are set in
motion. Let us assume that the rotary motion can occur only
in the case when all the particles of the bodies are spherical,
as the author depicts them in his figures. But the sphericalness
of all the separate particles of the heated body are more easily
drawn than shown to the eye of the physicist. It is known that
Descartes considered whether all particles created by God were
cubic and their rotary motion continued until their angles
were rubbed off and they became spherical. But in our time
when even the wisest physicist knows very little about the
definite shape of the finest particles, it seems we cannot assume
that all these particles can be spherical or that friction has such
force and the spherical nature comes constantly from all other
particles. However, the author immediately explains why strong
compression and rapid motion cause strong heating, since in
his opinion, they strengthen rotary motion, and why liquids
are not heated by friction more than occurs among solid bodies;
they prevent the heat which usually arises from friction since
their particles are less cohesive and do not obtain rotary mo-
tion from friction, and as to this the reader can easily judge
for himself after our account. Finally, he comes out against
heat material which, in the opinion of others, is the source.

Further, the same author follows with a dissertation on the
action of chemical solvents in general. He considers that acids
dissolving metals introduce air into the pores of metals, for
indeed there is air in the pores of metals whose tension is
already without activity, but with the inflow of new air it is as
it were reactivated and the air bursts out, pushing apart the
particles of the metal. He reports the finding that solutions
are formed more quickly if there is more air in the liquid

271

Criticism of the Theories of Lomonosov

than when we remove it with a pump, other conditions being
equal; and he should also show that if the liquid is exposed
to open air it is pressed to the metal by atmospheric pressure
while in the vacuum of the pump this force is weakened and
the liquid invades the pores of the metal with less force than
under such pressure. For solution of salts in water he assumes
another reason; indeed the pores of salt are full of water which
does not contain air, but in water itself he does not deny the
presence of air. Thus, water acts on the salt, exciting its par-
ticles to rotary motion, and this separates them from each
other. Accomplishing this, they themselves lose as much rotary
motion and are therefore cooled. Hence he considers one sol-
vent direct, as the solution of salt in water, and the other inter-
mediate > that is, by exciting the elastic force of air, as in the
solution of metals in acid, and suggests that thus they can be
differentiated by the sign of cooling or heating. But we cannot
briefly express our opinion and we leave it to the reader to
judge.

The same Lomonosov has attempted to create a theory of
the elastic force of air. He assumes that the particles of air
are spherical, but denies that the elasticity can arise from inter-
stitial fine fluid. But this fluid is either compressed or not com-
pressed by air confined in any sort of vessel. If we assume the
first, then the walls of the solid vessel should be impervious
to this liquid, that is, its particles should be scarcely less than
the particles of air, which contradicts the hypothesis. There-
fore the fluid itself will act on the vessel, and it will not be
necessary that particles of air be suspended in it. And still,
which we consider most important, particles of this liquid will
tend to withdraw from each other, which again requires an
explanation. If the liquid is not compressed, then since it does
not show any action on the solid walls of the vessel, it also does
not act by any force on the finest particles of air, escaping due
to its lightness and volatility. Finally, on compression of air
and pushing out of some particles of fluid, a lesser number is
left and if elasticity of air results from these, the compressed
air should be less elastic. Thus it seems to him doubtful that

272

Criticism of the Theories of Lomonosov

the elasticity of air results from direct action of its atoms, and
since the elasticity of air is increased by heat, he considers the
origin of the action is from heat alone, and this again on his
hypothesis of rotary motion. He explains it thus: there are two
particles of air, one above the other at a very small distance;
by the force of gravity the upper falls on the lower and as it
falls, both particles acquire rotary motion in contrary direc-
tions, for example, one to the right, the other to the left. These
particles are not smooth, but somewhat rough. Thus when the
projections of the upper particle falls in the hollows of the
lower, motion arises from the blow in each and they recoil
from each other; this is elasticity and it is directed in different
directions, since at each blow the particles are repelled in a
given direction or, because of the irregularities, they rebound
reversibly from all the blows. He further makes suggestions
about sound and about air included in bodies which it is not
necessary to consider here, since the truth of this hypothesis
can easily be judged. Without any basis he assumes rotary mo-
tion of each separate particle on a blow contrary to another
blow, and also "for the spirit" he devises some story that in a
series of particles lying vertically on each other all rotate alter-
nately, one to the right, the other to the left. Then, if all the
particles have weight and fall, under the influence of gravity,
yet not one will strike another, since gravity communicates to
all one and the same speed and it is then necessary to devise
some other force which would hasten the upper and slow the
lower, and finally, all the fluids with particles capable of rotat-
ing, that is all the fluids by the hypothesis of the author, which
can be heated will thus have elasticity. For although the par-
ticles touch each other, yet the rotary motion gives them a
tendency to go apart from each other. The author is left only
one conclusion, to devise for water and other nonelastic fluids
a higher degree of smooth elements, that is, to dissolve the
hypothesis into another hypothesis.

The physicomathematical class includes Lomonosov's Supple-
ment to the Dissertation on Elastic Force of Air. Here he speaks
chiefly of the property of elasticity of air that its force is pro-
portional to the density of air. But what the author says is
very difficult to shorten so that it could be inserted here.

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Criticism o the Theories of Lomonosov

Lomonosov wrote on metallic luster. He calls metals lustrous
and ductile bodies of which the nonprecious are those which
by action of fire are converted into ashes or glass, losing luster
and ductility; the precious are those like gold and silver which
resist the strength of fire for a long time; that which is removed
on burning and glass formation is more volatile and since it
colors metals as it were a lustrous color, this can be called the
luster of metals. It is first of all considered to be inflammable
substance or phlogiston. It is pushed out on burning, and on
reduction to the metal form it is added again. Although this
is observed only in the nonprecious metals, it can be seen even
in gold, as the author asserts, for iron or copper regulus of
antimony contaminated on melting by the phlogiston of iron or
copper give gold a redder color. So also we find a large amount
of sulfur in very hot and very cold regions which now, the
author states, serves for formation of metals. He substantiates
this for sulfur by various arguments and findings; he speaks
further about the mineral acid and the arsenic principle which
with phlogiston forms the so-called luster or more or less lus-
trous color of metals. If the illustrious author would strengthen
his opinions by different experiments, he could assert this with
more probability and could render aid to the artisans who are
occupied with changing the nature of metals, that is, by adding
concentrated phlogiston, carefully purified from contaminants
to nonprecious metals they could drive out the impure luster,
making them more precious. But those who have studied con-
centrating phlogiston and its addition to other bodies can easily
understand how vain are the hopes of enriching these metals.

274

Dissertation on the Duties of Journalists in
the Accounts Which They Give of
Works Intended to Maintain the
Liberty of the Philosopher

Lomonosov was so disturbed by the criticism which his theories
received in the West that he determined to answer his critics and
to define what he felt were the duties o those who criticized sci-
entific papers. Accordingly he wrote this dissertation in Latin in
August 1754. On November 28, 1754, he sent it to Euler with the
request that the latter find a publisher for it and arrange for a
general scientific discussion of the Lomonosov theories. Euler re-
plied that it would be difficult to organize such a discussion, which
in any case could not be very productive. However, he turned the
manuscript over to his friend, the secretary of the Berlin Academy
of Sciences, J. H. S. Formey, who translated it into French and
published it in the journal which he edited in Amsterdam. 1 The
French text (followed by a Russian translation) is published in
Collected Works, ill (1952), pp. 202-216.

No one is unaware of how rapid and considerable has been
the progress of science since it has thrown off the yoke of servi-
tude and followed it with the liberty of the philosopher. But
neither can we any longer be unaware of the abuse of this
liberty because of the very troublesome evils whose numbers
would not have been nearly as great if most of those who wrote
had not made more of a trade and breadwinning occupation
of their work than of attempting an accurate and well regu-
lated search for truth. It is from this that there have come so
many dangerous matters, so many bizarre systems, so many
contradictory opinions, so many aberrations and absurdities
that science would long ago have suffocated under this enor-
mous mass if the company of scholars had not combined and

1. Nouvelle Bibliotheque germanique, ou I'histoire litteraire de I'Allemagne,
&e la Suisse, et des pays du Nord, pt. 2, 7:343-366 (1755).

275

On the Duties of Journalists

utilized all their forces to oppose such a catastrophe. We can
see from this that the torrent of literature carries on its waters
both the true and the false, the certain and the uncertain, and
that the philosopher runs the risk of losing all his authority
if he does not withdraw from this situation; he has formed
societies of men of letters and has erected a sort of literary
tribunal designed to appreciate the work and to give to each
author full justice according to the most exact rules of natural
law. This is equally the origin of the academies and of the
organizations which preside over the publication of their jour-
nals. The first take care, before the writings of their members
appear, to submit them to a rigorous examination which as-
sures that they do not mix error with truth, that they do not
give mere hypotheses for proofs, or old ideas for new. The
duty of the journals is to present brief and accurate reports of
the works which appear and sometimes to add a balanced judg-
ment to them, either on the basis of the material itself or on
some matter concerning the execution. The purpose and use
of abstracts is to spread the knowledge of books rapidly
throughout the republic of letters.

It would be superfluous to indicate here how much service
the academies have rendered to science by their assiduous work
and scholarly memoirs, how much the light of truth has been
extended and fortified since their salutary establishment. The
journals could also have greatly favored the growth of human
knowledge if their authors could have fulfilled all the tasks
which were imposed on them and had been willing to remain
within the just limits which these tasks required. The strength
and the will, these are what they need; the strength to discuss
in a firm and scholarly manner the great number of different
subjects which come within their scope; the will to see nothing
but the truth, to yield nothing to prejudice and passion. Those
who set themselves up as journalists without these talents and
without this disposition would never accomplish their results
if, as has been suggested, they had never felt the spur of hunger
and had not been forced to consider and judge that which they
did not understand. It has come to the point that there is no
work, however bad, which has not been praised in some jour-
nal, and conversely, there is nothing, however excellent, which
has not been cried down and reviled by some ignorant or un-

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On the Duties of Journalists

just critic. Then too, the number of journals has multiplied so
that there is not time even to read the useful and necessary
books or to consider and work with them for anyone who
might wish to collect and merely glance over the Ephemerides,
Learned Gazettes, Literary Acts, Libraries, Commentaries, and
other periodical products of this sort. Intelligent readers, too,
apply themselves to those which are recognized as better and
shun all those miserable compilations which only copy and
often mangle what others have already said or whose only
merit consists in distilling spleen and venom without modera-
tion and without reserve. A learned journalist, penetrating,
equable, and modest has become a sort of phoenix.

In order to justify what I have suggested, 1 am more em-
barrassed by the crowd of examples than by the lack. The one
on which I will base the rest of this dissertation is a sort of
journal which is published at Leipzig to report on work in
physics and medicine. 2 Among other things, it has given an
account of the Memoirs of St. Petersburg, but there can be
nothing more superficial than this account, which has omitted
the most remarkable and the most interesting matters and com-
plains that the Academicians have neglected facts or details
which are perfectly well known to men of the profession and
which it would be a ridiculous affectation to display, especially
in matters which have not been submitted to the rigor of math-
ematical demonstrations.

One of the worst reviews, conforming least to the rules of
sane criticism, is that on the memoirs of Councilor and Pro-
fessor of Chemistry Mikhail Lomonosov, in which such a mass
of errors has been made as to merit notice so as to teach critics
of this sort not to step out of their sphere. At the beginning,
the journalist announces his purpose; he threatens, the thun-
derbolt forms in the clouds and prepares to burst forth. Lomo-
nosov, he says, wishes to proceed to something greater than
from experiments alone. As if a scientist does not have the
right to rise above the routine and technique of experiments
and is not called upon to subject these to reason so as to pass
from them to discoveries. It is as if a chemist, for example,
should be compelled always to hold the tongs in one hand and

2. Its title is Commentarii de rebus in scientia natural* et medidna gestis.

277

On the Duties o Journalists

the crucible in the other and never for an instant turn aside
from charcoal and ashes.

The critic then tries to subject the Academician to ridicule
for making use of the principle of sufficient reason and to have
sweat blood and water, as he expresses it, to apply in demon-
strations of truth that which had already been proposed as an
axiom. At least he says he has taken them for such; but at the
same time he rejects the most obvious propositions as pure
fiction and thus contradicts himself. He mocks at rigorous
demonstrations when they are necessary and demands them
when they are superfluous. It is for the philosophers who wish
to avoid mockery to see how they take something to show
nothing and at the same time to show everything.

The motion of bells is a subject on which the journalist
exercises his criticism without any foundation. He reproaches
Lomonosov for not having given a true idea. Can anyone judge
with more temerity? Is it lack of understanding, of attention,
or of justice when he speaks thus? The critic confuses the in-
ternal movement of the bell with its total movement, two
things which are completely distinct, and no one can take the
vibration of the bell for its internal movement after the Acade-
mician has said so positively in 3 of his memoir that internal
movement consists in change of position of the insensible par-
ticles. When a bell is swung, when it is rotated, when it passes
from one place to another, these movements have nothing in
common with its internal movement and consequently cannot
be regarded as a cause of heat. Actually, when a bell vibrates,
the parts are in vibration with the whole. It is when an entire
body has a progressive movement; all the parts move at the
same time, but there is no internal movement, and this is the
case with the vibration of the bell. Let the critic know that
internal movement is not attained by vibration, but when
vibrating particles of a body change their positions with rela-
tion to each other in an imperceptible interval of time (3, 6)
and consequently act and react on each other in a very rapid
manner. However, this cannot occur in any body unless the
particles are free of cohesion, which we assume for the parti-
cles of air in studies of its elasticity. Let the same critic recog-
nize that no one violates the law which he wishes to impose
on others more than he himself, the law which expounds well

278

On the Duties of Journalists

the first principles which serve as an explanation of a subject.

A progressive motion or a vibration, then, cannot be a cause
of internal motion, and it would be impossible for the critic
to persist in his error in this respect if he knew that bells which
ring and are struck with great force are no less cold. He thus
does not understand himself, and is most mistaken when he
blames the author for having established rotary motion as the
cause of heat.

There is no more basis when he reasons on the ground of
14 of the memoir of Lomonosov that mathematicians never
follow the a posteriori method for confirming truths already
demonstrated. Is it not certain that in geometry, as elementary
as it is sublime, numbers and figures are used to explain the
theorems and somehow to put them before us, and that in
mathematics applied to physics experiments are constantly
used to support demonstrations? No one who has the slightest
knowledge of mathematics can deny this. Wolff has even made
this a law in his Arithmatic, 125. 3 Therefore it is disgraceful
for a judge to ignore or neglect such a law.

The journalist is more correct when he denies that rotary
motion can occur in particles which are not endowed with
spherical shape, but he is then in agreement with the opinion
of the author. Thus it is an evil quibble that he is made to
say that he has not formally expressed this assertion when it
comes as an immediate consequence of the doctrine of 13,
and there cannot be the shadow of a doubt that the rotary mo-
tion which produces heat in the basic matter of the body has
at once shown that the particles of this matter must necessarily
be spherical. Besides, philosophers of the first rank usually con-
ceive of primary particles as spheres, and I believe they are
correct. For, if one bases anything on the argument by analogy,
one can scarcely find any example more striking than what we
find in the matter in question. Nature obviously chooses round-
ness in large things as in small ones, and we can observe this
in the immense bodies of the whole universe and in the little
globules that swim in the blood. In the various parts of animals
and plants, in eggs, fruits, seeds, is any other shape encountered

3. Here are his words: Therefore we teach what is stated and we perceive
that truth corresponds to experiments deduced a priori.

279

On the Duties of Journalists

more often than the circular? And for liquid bodies, without
even excluding melted metals, spherical drops are constantly
formed, as round as they are small. This is enough to permit
the idea that the elementary particles are also globular, but
there is no lack of stronger reasons to make this fact still more
evident. We certainly need not be stopped for fear that there
cannot be an infinite variety of things unless there is also
accepted variety in their principles: for the size, the position,
the place are enough to explain this diversity. But I will not
pretend to give the judge a physics lesson here; I wish only
to warn the one who has this function that he should not
hasten to carry out the sentence without having examined well
the culprit, nor delight in seeking faults where there are none.

For instance, do the scholars who today apply themselves to
the study of nature reconcile themselves to the decision which
comes from its tribunal? Today the judicious physicists do not
pride themselves that they know the definite shapes of the par-
ticles. This certainly would not be to the taste of a Robert
Boyle who has said that knowledge of the particles was as nec-
essary in natural science as the particles themselves are neces-
sary in nature for the formation of bodies. All the physicists
of some reputation who have followed this celebrated English-
man have not diverged at all from his opinion; and they could
not have done so without opening the door to the strangest
consequences. We could as well say that we could learn to read
without knowing the letters of the alphabet or determine the
state of astronomy in the sky without any previous study of
geometry. We have always considered it important to obtain
a more exact knowledge of the shape of the particles. And
even if we are not entirely successful, we have shown more
leniency than our critic, all of whose words are judgments and
proscriptions.

In his report on the "Dissertation on the Elastic Force of
the Air," we do not know if the journalist has dreamed or has
wickedly invented what he makes the author say, that the cor-
puscles of the air are smooth, an expression of which there is
not the least trace in the work. He would seem to have con-
fused the word levitas which occurs in 11 and which signifies
the specific lightness with laevitas which has the meaning
smooth. When someone reads so badly, he should not even

280

On the Duties of Journalists

report to his readers, much less take such a haughty tone and
say: But these particles are not smooth but a little rough.
Zoilus is permitted to battle against these smooth corpuscles,
but he should remember that he is battling against himself
and these chimeras are purely his own invention.

Let us pass to another dictatorial shaft, so ridiculous that it
hardly merits mention. "This rotary motion of each particle
in a direction opposite to that of the other/' says the critic, "is
an entirely gratuitous supposition and has the air of a fable
invented to please." What then can we say of this nonsense?
Are we not permitted to propose particular examples to illus-
trate universal laws? Lomonosov reports in 16 a case which,
though rarely encountered when atoms of air strike each other,
is not less real, and there are others which are similar in effect,
that is, where the touching surfaces of two corpuscles tend at
the same speed in the same direction. Other sorts of collision
are further from these and have more force to produce mutual
repulsion of the particles. However, the fury of the critic and
his condemnation are still shown by the journalist and he con-
tinues in these terms.

"If all the particles are heavy and fall because of gravity, it
will never happen that one will strike the other by falling on
it since gravity impresses the same rate on all, and it is neces-
sary to assume some other force which accelerates the upper
one and slows the one below." Here we can say that the critic
loses ground and sinks into pure imagination. For we who do
not wish to leave the surface of the globe know very well that
the surrounding atmosphere presses on this surface. This is why
the lower particles of air cannot descend farther; the atmo-
sphere prevents their fall. These in turn resist the particles
which lie on them and there are successive collisions with these
up to the surface of the atmosphere. There is no need to make
an effort of the imagination to invent a new force which slows
the particles when they fall from the air. Enlightened and just
judges have no need of this warning, but we must say this for
ourselves.

An absurdity which he pretends to deduce from the theory
of the elasticity of the air proposed by the Academician is that
all fluids are no less elastic than air; and he adds, quite gratu-
itously, that no other resource is left to the author than to

281

On the Duties of Journalists

conceive of the elements o water and of nonelastic fluids (as
he is pleased to call them) as reduced to an extreme degree of
smallness and thus to save one hypothesis by the help of an-
other. Strange sagacity in a man who pursues the most imper-
ceptible trifles and who does not see the most obvious things
when they are before his eyes. He has not deigned to pay the
least attention to the elastic vapors of water and other liquids,
nor to the cohesion which exists between their particles. More-
over, daily experience shows to everyone who wishes to notice
that water does not show an elasticity like that of air as long
as the mutual cohesion of its parts lasts, that is to say, as long
as the repulsive forces do not exceed the strength of cohesion.
But as the rotary motion continuously increases, the repulsion
finally begins to exceed the cohesion, and water passes into a
vapor with the greatest elasticity. This is what Lomonosov has
shown clearly in his "Dissertation on the Cause of Heat/' 23,
but the haste of the critic has led him to leap over this point.
From this then, according to the theory of the author, the
rough particles not only can enter the composition of water
and other liquids, but also into the production of elastic vapors,
and it is useless for the critic to change them into particles of
extreme lightness.

Finally he turns his guns on the Dissertation which concerns
the action of chemical solvents. There, without considering the
reasoning or making any logical deductions, he speaks at ran-
dom. We can see how little he understands his reading or how
to capture the essentials of what he reads by the tacit avowal
that he has not cast his eyes on 28 which contains the true
essence of the memoir. If he had actually known this para-
graph, could he have said, "The author should consider that
when a solvent is exposed to the air it is pressed toward the
metal by the weight of the atmosphere and this force ceases
entirely in the vacuum of the pump, etc." But nothing is
clearer than the description in the paragraph mentioned of the
solution of copper in aqua fortis made not in a vacuum, but
in the open air. And for the experiment described in 29,
though it was made in a vacuum, there the notable difference
in metal dissolved confirms the theory of the author against
the attack of the critic, the more so that at the end of the same
paragraph the reason for this difference is given.

282

On the Duties of Journalists

Up to now we have given incontestable proofs of the in-
capacity and of the extreme negligence of the journalist. But
here is a point where his good faith is entirely suspect and
where he appears to have designed formally to impose on the
learned world the thought that the Memoirs of the Imperial
Academy at St. Petersburg is a rare work which no one is able
to consult. Confident of this, he then dares to attribute to the
Academician a degree of ignorance, the denial of the existence
of air in the pores of salts, which even the greatest novice in
physics could not fail to know was wrong. It is as if he had no
means of deducing anything from similar dissertations of the
author, whatever violence he did to them, and the result is
quite natural. For the words of 41 cannot be given the above
meaning: they are air dispersed in water does not enter the
pores of salts. To enter was never synonymous with to be con-
tained. The Academician wished to say and could not wish to
say anything else except that air did not enter from the water
into the salts which it had dissolved. And it is not conceivable
that this could be transformed into the assertion the pores of
the salts do not contain any air.

It must be very painful for the journalist to admit that
Lomonosov has given a very happy explanation of the move-
ment of air in mines, for it is in spite of himself that he is
forced to concede this. However, he pretends still that it is
defective in some respects. There are two points that he re-
marks. First, he believes that he can scarcely admit that the
temperature of the air remains the same for a long time at
the bottom of the shafts. He is right, if he means a temperature
exactly the same. But he should know that this is not a case
of such a nature that we can apply the perfect rigor of geo-
metric measures which cannot and should not apply. Thus the
author has the right to suppose that those who live in mines
can remain for a long time without noticing changes coming
from the outside air. The critic says further that others who
have examined the same phenomenon have reported that
changes which come from the air into mines have no relation
with winter and summer and that they depend uniquely on
changes in atmospheric pressure at the same season of the year.
In this respect anyone who is aware of the laws of aerometry
and hydrostatics could never be persuaded if anyone told him

283

On the Duties of Journalists

that similar observations had never been made. For when the
weight of the atmosphere is increased or diminished the in-
crease or decrease in pressure are equal and synchronous at
such little distances as occur between two shafts. And indeed,
if there actually were such differences in time and pressure,
they would be so small and of such short duration that there
would not occur any effect able to disturb the movement in
the mines. But if there happened on summer days to be a cold
approximating that of winter, or in the days of winter a sum-
mer warmth, then it would be quite natural (and no one would
be surprised at it) that the exchange in the outside air would
be less apparent at the bottom of the mine, as Agricola has
already noted. Since all this is of a nature which can be most
easily understood by intelligent men, we need not trouble to
show the greater difficulties and to aspire to a degree of pre-
cision which means nothing in the present case and to formu-
late a useless theory which would have to be abandoned in ,
practice.

We must not forget a last mark of that rapidity which our
judge believes he can combine with his severity, though these
are incompatible. He imagines that Lomonosov in his "Supple-
ment to the Reflections on the Elastic Force of Air" has chiefly
wished to examine that property of the elastic air by which its
force is proportional to its density. He deceives himself and
deceives others in making this judgment. With a little more
attention he could have seen that here the question is precisely
the contrary and that it is affirmed that there is needed for
condensing the air a compressing force much more considerable
as the air is dispersed in more narrow limits; from which it
results that the densities are not proportional to the forces.

Can there be a more authentic conviction of all the defects
which can lose for a journalist the credit and confidence which
he hopes to obtain from the public? Can anyone with even a
trace of shame and a residue of conscience justify such be-
havior? For when anyone reports in this way the work of men
of letters, he not only does harm to their reputations for which
he has no right, but he stifles truth in presenting to his readers
ideas which have no relation to those of the author, and it is
natural to oppose forcefully such unjust behavior. If anyone
continues thus to treat those who seek to benefit the republic

284

On the Duties of Journalists

of letters, he will completely discourage them and the progress
of science will be greatly slowed. This would be the complete
destruction of the liberty of the philosopher. We must mark
for such critics the proper limits within which they should
confine themselves and which they cannot overstep with pru-
dence. Here are the rules with which we conclude this dis-
sertation, and we beg the journalist of Leipzig to remain in
accord with them.

1. Anyone who intends to inform the public what new
works contain should first consider his power. He undertakes
a very laborious and complicated task, for the point is not to
report common things and simple generalities, but to pick out
what is new and essential in works which are often those of
great men. To report these things without justice and without
taste is to expose them to scorn and laughter; this is like a
dwarf who wishes to raise up mountains.

2. To put oneself in a position to render a sincere and
equable judgment, it is necessary to banish all prejudice, all
predispositions of mind, and not to pretend that the authors
with whom we meddle should servilely confine themselves to
the ideas which dominate us, regarding those who are without
these as true enemies on whom we must declare war.

3. The writings on which we report should be divided into
two classes. The first includes those which are the work of a
single author who has written as a private person; the second
those of whole societies published by their common consent
and after a careful examination. Both certainly deserve all the
circumspection and regard of the critic. Every work deserves
that we observe the natural laws of equity and decency. But
we should insist that the precautions should be doubled when
we deal with works which already bear the seal of a respectable
approval, which have been reviewed and judged worthy of ap-
pearance by men whose collective knowledge should naturally
be superior to that of a journalist, and before he ventures to
condemn, he must weigh more than once what he wishes to
say before he can sustain and justify it if the case requires it.
As these kinds of writings are usually worked up carefully and
the materials are treated systematically in them, the least
omission or inattention can render judgments dangerous which
by themselves are already discreditable, but which become

285

On the Duties of Journalists

more so when negligence, ignorance, haste, partisan spirit, and
bad faith show themselves in an evident manner.

4. A journalist should not hasten to decry hypotheses. They
are allowed in philosophical matters, and it is the only way in
which great men have come to discover the most important
truths. They are a type of soaring of the mind which has led
to gaining knowledge such as abject spirits, creeping in the
dust, never reach.

5. A journalist should especially learn that there is nothing
more dishonorable for him than to steal from some of his col-
leagues the reflections and judgments which they have pro-
posed and to take the honor to himself when he scarcely knows
the titles of the books which he tears to pieces. This is very
often the case with a rash writer who decides to undertake the
abstracting of works on physics and medicine.

6. A journalist is allowed to refute what appears to him to
deserve this in new works even though this is not his direct
object or his own vocation, but when he does this, he should
properly state the doctrine of the author, analyze all his proofs,
and oppose them with real difficulties and solid reasoning be-
fore he arrogates to himself the right to condemn. Simple
doubts and arbitrary questions do not give him this right, for
no one is ignorant of the fact that it is possible to formulate
many more questions than the most expert man can answer.
Above all a journalist should not imagine that what he does
not understand and cannot explain also holds for the author
who may have had reasons for shortening and omitting certain
things.

7. Finally, he should never gain too high an idea o his
superiority, his authority, and the value of his judgments. Since
the function which he exercises is already by itself disagreeable
to the self esteem of those who are its object, he would be en-
tirely wrong to displease them willingly and to force them to
bring to light his deficiencies.

286

Index

Absolute cold, 111, 212

Academy of Sciences, Berlin, 28, 29, 31,

149
Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg,

5-11, 24, 28, 34, 35, 39, 40, 42, 47, 59,

99, 119, 138, 149, 186, 203, 224, 233,

247, 269; laboratory of, 9, 89-91,

147n; publications of, 28, 42, 277, 283
Acid, nitric. See Niter, spirit of
Acid, universal, 58, 146, 155, 157, 158,

168
Acid, vitriolic, 142, 148, 153, 156, 157,

158, 164, 177, 179, 182, 184
Acids, 86, 148, 155, 156; solution in,

123-134, 141, 145, 271, 272
Air, 20, 26, 31, 32, 71, 72, 124, 125-134,

135, 136, 181, 182, 183, 184, 203-216,

217-223, 272, 273, 281, 284
Alkali, fixed, 153, 154, 156, 159, 161,

162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 168, 178, 179
Alkali, volatile, 174, 175, 178, 179, 180
Analysis, 151, 183
Anne, empress, 7
Arnold, J. C., 42
Arsenic, 145, 146, 147
Astronomy, 10
Atoms, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 32, 39, 206,

207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214

Baume, A., 29n

Becher, J. J., 27, 142

Bernoulli, D., 17, 32, 33, 45, 46, 217,

218, 220
Biren, E, J., 7
Boas, M., 39

Boerhaave, H., 19, 20, 23, 115, 216
Bourdelin, C. L., 163, 164, 165
Boyle, R., 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24,

25, 31, 45, 46, 61, 114, 151, 182, 216,

280

Boyle's law, 18, 32, 217, 222-223
Braun, I. A., 34, 43, 233

Caloric. See Fire material
Catherine the Great, empress, 8
Cavendish, H., 28
Charles XII, king of Sweden, 10
Chemistry, 14, 18, 21, 39, 51-58, 186-202;

physical, course in, 10, 18, 19, 59-93
Cohesion, 19, 33, 34, 58, 62, 63, 71, 92,

101-105, 110, 131, 132, 192, 232,

233-242
Cold. See Absolute cold; Heat, nature

of
Colors, 65, 66, 67, 192, 269; primary, 35,

36, 65, 66, 67, 260, 261, 262, 263;

theories of, 9, 21, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38,

58, 247, 248, 249, 260, 262, 263, 264,

265, 266, 267, 268
Conservation of matter and motion,

33, 229, 234, 235
Corpuscles, 23, 31, 32, 33, 34, 45, 57,

68, 230, 235, 236, 237, 257, 279, 280
Corpuscular theory, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21,

23, 31, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 46,

47, 48, 59, 99, 232
Critics of Lomonosov's theories, 42, 43,

270-274; answer to, 275-286
Crystal form, 169

D'Arcet, J. P. J., 29n

Density, 33, 34, 226, 227, 228, 231

Descartes, R., 16, 21, 27, 35, 36, 37, 46,

249, 271

Diamond, density of, 228, 252, 253, 256
Dorfman, Ya. G., 44, 45
Duclos, S. C., 115
Duising, J. G., 6, 7, 20, 21

Earths, 58, 88, 159, 160, 166, 167
Elasticity of gases, 18, 26, 31, 52, 33, 58,

126, 127-134, 136, 181, 182, 183, 184,

203-216, 217-223, 272, 273, 278, 281,

282, 284

Electricity, 38, 39, 258, 259
Elements, 13, 17, 56, 57
Elizabeth II, empress, 7, 31, 186, 202,

246, 269
Ercker, L., 179
Ether, 36, 37, 46, 116, 117, 225, 226, 249,

250, 251, 252, 253, 255, 256, 257, 258,

259, 260, 261, 265; structure of, 259,

260, 262

Euler, L., 8, 9, 18, 25, 28, 34, 43, 99, 149,
224, 247, 275

Figurovskii, N. A., 19

Fire. See Heat

Fire material, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 45, 46,

47, 112-118, 237, 254, 255, 271. See

also Phlogiston
Formey, J. H. S., 15, 275
Franklin, B., 43
Freezing: of mercury, 34, 35, 43, 233,

242-245; of water, 32, 128, 218-221,

227

Freind, J., 137
Friction, 105-107, 152, 206, 209, 210,

257, 258, 271, 280, 281
Furnaces, 89-91

287

Index

Galileo, 16

Gases, kinetics of, 17, 18. See also

Elasticity of gases
Gassendi, P., 16, 249, 253
Geography, 10

Gold, density of, 226, 227, 231
Grammar, Russian, 10
Gravity: specific, 92, 231; theories of,

17, 21, 25, 33, 36, 210, 211, 228, 229,

230, 232, 238, 273
Gunpowder, 29, 31, 61, 113, 149, 153,

183, 184, 185, 200, 201, 217

Hales, S., 127, 182, 183, 216

Heat: effects of, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 130,
135, 193, 194, 195, 209, 210, 212, 240;
nature of, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 31,
32, 36, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 58, 99-118,
253, 254, 255, 257, 265, 270, 271, 273,
278, 279

Heinsius, G., 137

Henkel, J. F., 5, 6, 7, 21, 28, 145

Herapath, J., 46

Hoefer, F., 40

Homberg, W., 159

Hooke, R., 45

Huygens, C., 249

Kestner, Professor, 270

Kieselguhr, 180

Kinetic theory, 18, 31, 41, 46, 208, 209,

221-223, 247
Kirwan, R., 44
Korf, Baron, 5, 6
Kunckel, J., 19, 167

Laboratories, description of, 89-91
Laplace, P. S., 44, 45, 47
Lavoisier, A. L., 25, 29n, 44, 45, 47
Leibniz, G. W., 11,12, 13, 14
Lemery, L., 162, 164, 177
Le Sage, G. L., 46

Light, theory of, 21, 35, 36, 116, 247,
248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 255, 256
Lightning, 38, 43
Lomonosov, V. D., 3
Lomonosov museum, 11
Lyubimov, 41

Macquer, P. J., 29n, 44

Magnesia, 174, 179

Magnitskii, 4

Mariotte, E., 35n, 261

Mass, 224-232

Mathematics, in science, 12, 13, 31, 54,

55, 190, 191, 279
Mayow, J,, 45

Mechanics, 15, 27, 30, 31, 36, 54, 58, 59,
190, 226

Medicine, 193

Menshutkin, B. N., 11, 22, 40, 51, 99,
149, 203

Mercury: density of, 228; freezing of,
34, 35, 43, 233, 242-245

Metallurgy, 10, 195, 196, 197, 198

Metals, 88; combustion of, 23, 24, 25,
34, 45, 114, 115, 139, 140, 232;
formation of, 21, 28, 143, 144, 148,
274; luster and ductility of, 26, 27,
28, 46, 122, 138-148, 274; solution in
acids, 123-134, 141, 145, 271, 272

Meteorology, 10

Mineralogy, 10, 39, 138

Mines, air in, 283, 284

Monads, 13

Mosaics, 9, 10, 18, 31, 35, 39, 40, 199,
268

Moscow, University of, 10, 40

Mussenbroeck, P., 132, 220, 221

Nerve conduction, 258, 261, 266

Neumann, K,, 163, 164, 167

Newton, L, 13, 14, 17, 21, 33, 34, 35, 36,

38, 225, 234, 249, 250, 253, 261
Niter, 28, 29, 30, 31, 39, 43, 141,

149-185
Niter, spirit of, 157, 158, 159, 167, 168,

175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 181, 182

Odor, 67, 192, 193

Operations, laboratory, 74-85, 94-98

Optics, 9, 31, 35, 190, 247

Paracelsus, 35, 36

Paul, grand duke, 269

Pekarskii, P. P., 40, 41

Perevoshchikov, D. M., 41

Peter the Great, czar, 5, 10, 202, 245,
269

Peter, grand duke, 269

Phlogiston, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31,
46, 58, 114, 122, 138, 141, 142, 143,
144, 145, 146, 148, 157, 158, 159, 163,
164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 176, 185, 274

Physics, 10, 14, 18, 21, 27, 35, 60

Pietsch, Dr., 29, 30, 31, 149

Poetry, Lomonosov's, 7, 40

Pomper, P., 25

Pott, J. H., 27, 28, 145, 147

Quicklime, 178, 179, 181

Razumovskii, count, 8, 147n
Reiser, G., 6

288

Richmann, G. W., 32, 43, 44, 45, 217,

220

Roberval, G. P., 205
Robins, B., 183

Sage, B. G., 29n

Salts, 85, 86, 94-97; solution of, 26, 94,

95, 134, 135, 136, 272, 283
Scheele, C. W., 44
Schumacher, J. D., 5, 7, 8, 10, 149
Se'guin, A., 47

Slavo-Greco-Latin Academy, 4
Smotritskii, 4
Solution, 26, 94, 95, 97, 98, 119-137,

145, 271, 272, 282
Sound, 36, 212, 213, 215, 256
Stahl, G. E., 19, 20, 27, 30, 163, 164,

181

Stiles, E., 43

Sulfur, 144, 145, 146, 147
Swedenborg, E., 145
Synthesis, 151, 153, 183

Index

Tartar, 164, 165
Taste, 67, 193
Taubert, I. K., 10

Ust Ruditsky glass factory, 9, 10

Vinogradov, D., 6
Virgil, 143n
Vucinich, A., 47

Water, 58, 72, 73, 134, 135, 136, 226,
227, 231; freezing of, 32, 128, 218-221,
227

Weight, 224-232

Wolff, C., 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18,
20, 52, 54, 55, 56, 126, 279

Yaremskii, 186
Young, T., 247

Zilch, E., 7

289

A Portrait of Isaac Newton

Frank E, Manuel

"I am terribly impressed by Frank Manuel's
Isaac Newton book, It is a triumph, a perfect
fusing of broad philosophical vision and metic-
ulous scholarship,"
A,H.Maslow

"Working in a tradition that is well established
though not, because of its extraordinary de-
mands, widely Mowed, Manuel has exploited
the vast body of Newtonian manuscripts to
produce a historical psychoanalysis , . , He has
produced a stimulating and provocative book,
which uses the devices of psychoanalysis to
place the study of Newton the man on a new
foundation ... It is a portrait of Newton such as
no one has been able to produce before, not
merely superior to others but vastly superior,"
Science

The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
SEN 674-69100-8

115662