A World on Fire: A Heretic, an Aristocrat, and the Race to Discover Oxygen.A WORLD ON FIRE: A Heretic, an Aristocrat, and the Race to Discover Oxygen JOE JACKSON There are several people named Joe Jackson:
Oxygen was discovered by the combined but independent work of two rivals: Joseph Priestley, a self-taught scientist from England, and Antoine Lavoisier Noun 1. Antoine Lavoisier - French chemist known as the father of modern chemistry; discovered oxygen and disproved the theory of phlogiston (1743-1794) Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Lavoisier , an aristocratic French tax collector and science theorist. Their monumental achievement led to the discovery of the other elements in air and formed the foundation of modern chemistry. Author Jackson tells the compelling story of how the Priestley- Lavoisier discovery, set against the backdrop of the U.S. revolution and the French reign of terror Reign of Terror, 1793–94, period of the French Revolution characterized by a wave of executions of presumed enemies of the state. Directed by the Committee of Public Safety, the Revolutionary government's Terror was essentially a war dictatorship, instituted to , had profound implications for science as well as for religion and politics. Lavoisier's simple observations of burning and Priestley's experiments with gases pulled the notion of a life force out of the realm of mysticism mysticism (mĭs`tĭsĭzəm) [Gr.,=the practice of those who are initiated into the mysteries], the practice of putting oneself into, and remaining in, direct relation with God, the Absolute, or any unifying principle of life. and into one of quantification and research. Jackson paints a detailed portrait of both men, including their tragic ends. Priestley's unorthodox political and religious views landed him in exile in America, and Lavoisier's secretiveness contributed to his eventual execution on the guillotine guillotine Instrument for inflicting capital punishment by decapitation. A minimal wooden structure, it supported a heavy blade that, when released, slid down in vertical guides to sever the victim's head. . Viking Adult, 2005, 432 p., b&w plates, hardcover, $27.95. |
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