J. L. Gay-Lsac (1778–1850) | Nature

Contents:

• JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• JOSEPH GAY-LSAC SUMMARY
• SCIENTIST OF THE DAY - JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• J. L. GAY-LSAC (1778–1850)
• JOSEPH-LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• GAY-LSAC'S GAS LAW EXAMPL
• JOSEPH-LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• CATEGORY:JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• SCIENTIST OF THE DAY - JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC
• GAY-LSAC’S LAW

JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC

French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lsac proposed two fundamental laws of gas the early 19th century. While one is generally attributed to a fellow untryman, the other is well known as Gay-Lsac’s law. Joseph Louis Gay-Lsac (1778–1850) grew up durg both the French and Chemil Revolutns.

JOSEPH GAY-LSAC SUMMARY

Gay-Lsac’s own reer as a profsor of physics and chemistry began at the Éle Polytechnique.

In 1804 Gay-Lsac ma several darg ascents of over 7, 000 meters above sea level hydrogen-filled balloons—a feat not equaled for another 50 years—that allowed him to vtigate other aspects of gas. In 1808 Gay-Lsac announced what was probably his sgle greatt achievement: om his own and others’ experiments he duced that gas at nstant temperature and prsure be simple numeril proportns by volume, and the rultg product or products—if gas—also bear a simple proportn by volume to the volum of the reactants. This ncln subsequently beme known as Gay-Lsac’s law.

Wh his fellow profsor at the Éle Polytechnique, Louis Jacqu Thénard, Gay-Lsac also participated early electrochemil rearch, vtigatg the elements disvered by s means. Featured image: Undated portra of Joseph Louis Gay-Lsac.

SCIENTIST OF THE DAY - JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC

Joseph Gay-Lsac, (born Dec. Joseph Louis Gay-Lsac, a French chemist, was born Dec. Gay-Lsac is well known to morn chemists for two laws, one relatg the volume of a gas to s temperature (volume creas learly wh temperature), and the send, lled the law of bg volum, which stat that when two gas be, their volum are the rats of small whole numbers.

JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC

The law of bg volum uld be ed to support John Dalton's atomic theory, published the very same year, for if water nsists of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen, then one might well expect that you would need two volum of hydrogen for every one of oxygen (assumg that equal volum of gas nta equal numbers of particl, and Amao Avogadro would offer this up as his own law, Avogadro's hypothis, 1811) the non-chemist, Gay-Lsac's reer as a balloonist might be of more tert. Wh fellow chemist Jean-Baptiste Bt, Gay-Lsac ma a balloon ascent of some 4 1804, llectg atmospheric sampl all the way, and the next year he ma a solo ascent and went even higher, settg an altu rerd of some 23, 000 feet that would stand for another 60 years.

He also termed that the posn of the atmosphere do not change wh 1867, Louis Figuier published an image of the Bt/Gay-Lsac ascent that has proved que endurg balloong lore (send image); the illtratn has been much pied, even appearg on a tea rd (first image).

J. L. GAY-LSAC (1778–1850)

Gay-Lsac has also been featured on a French postage stamp (third image).

JOSEPH-LOUIS GAY-LSAC

Joseph Louis Gay-Lsac (December 6, 1778 – May 9, 1850) was a French chemist and physicist whose disvery of the law of bg volum of gas chemil reactns paved the way for our unrstandg of molecul and atoms. Gay-Lsac was born at Sat-Léonard--Noblat, the partment of Hte-Vienne. Of the three dghters and two sons of Antoe Gay-Lsac, he was the elst male child.

GAY-LSAC'S GAS LAW EXAMPL

Gay-Lsac's father was an officer of the kg, and his grandfather was a medil doctor. In 1789, at the begng of the French Revolutn, his parents found necsary to keep Gay-Lsac at home, where he received his early tn. Gay-Lsac found that the rate at which all gas expand wh creasg temperature is the same.

Gay-Lsac and Jean-Baptiste Bt ascend a hot air balloon 1804 (illtratn c. Gay-Lsac and fellow scientist Jean-Baptiste Bt were missned by the French ernment, at the stigatn of Berthollet and Laplace, to make an ascent a hot air balloon to take measurements of the earth's magic field and perform other experiments. In orr to take readgs at even greater heights, Gay-Lsac ma another ascent, this time alone, and was able to achieve an elevatn of seven thoand meters, a rerd for that time.

JOSEPH-LOUIS GAY-LSAC

Durg this ascent, Gay-Lsac was able to brg back sampl of air, and found their posn to be the same as the air at the earth's surface. In 1805, Gay-Lsac acpanied Alexanr von Humboldt on a year-long tour of Europe, durg which he met many of the famo scientists of his day, cludg Alsandro Volta. In 1807, a year after Gay-Lsac's return to France, Berthollet tablished a society of scientists lled the Societe d'Aucuiel.

Gay-Lsac was clud s membership. Among the memoir published by the society clud Gay-Lsac's magic measurements ma durg his European tour, as well as work that he is perhaps bt remembered for, which he formulated what is today generally referred to Gay-Lsac's law of bg volum.

JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC

Gay-Lsac extend his observatns to other gas, and noted that, when bg wh one another, they always do so by volume simple tegral rats. On the basis of Dalton's and Gay-Lsac's work, Ameo Avogadro proposed the hypothis that equal volum of gas nta equal volum of molecul, one of the rnerston of morn chemistry. From 1808 Gay-Lsac was appoted profsor of physics at the Sorbonne, and 1809 he also beme profsor of chemistry at the Polytechnique.

In 1809 Gay-Lsac married Geneviève-Marie-Joseph Rojot. In 1815, Gay-Lsac rried out some important rearch on de and s pounds, although Brish scientist Humphrey Davy is generally creded wh havg intified de as an element. The name Gay-Lsac gave the element, , and s English rivative, de, was the one that me to general e.

CATEGORY:JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC

In 1824, Gay-Lsac played host to the young Liebig, who remaed at Gay-Lsac's laboratory for about six weeks vtigatg pssic acid. Liebig went on to tablish a laboratory where he ted an entire generatn of chemists, based on what he had learned Gay-Lsac's laboratory. Gay-Lsac often allowed young scientists to work his laboratory, and this way traed many of the famo nam that succeed him his rearch.

In 1832 Gay-Lsac rigned om the Sorbonne and accepted the chair of chemistry at the Jard s Plant. In 1802, Gay-Lsac first formulated the law that a gas expands learly wh a fixed prsure and risg temperature (ually better known as Law of Charl and Gay-Lsac). In Gay-Lsac's own words:.

The law is often attributed to Jacqu Charl bee Gay-Lsac mentned some experiments Charl had done monstratg the law particular s. However, Gay-Lsac announced as a general law, and provid more exactg experimental data to bolster his ncln, than eher Charl or Dalton. The proper pennce of the expansn efficient on the temperature self was also exprsed rrectly by Gay-Lsac, a rult that Dalton's more c experiments failed to tect.

JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC

Charl believed the law did not subsist for water-soluble gas, but Gay-Lsac monstrated that uld be extend to those s as well. Gay-Lsac's rults were exprsed as the expansn of gas for a temperature difference equal to that of the eezg and boilg pots of water. In 1808, Gay-Lsac and Louis-Jacqu Thenard succeed isolatg what they lled the radil of boric acid, not yet aware that was an element.

SCIENTIST OF THE DAY - JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LSAC

In 1815, the rivalry that had been generated between Gay-Lsac and Davy over the disvery of elements once aga surfaced a qut to terme the nature of what would bee known as de. Gay-Lsac published his nclns a newspaper article, a day before Davy munited a siar fdg to the Royal Society of London.

GAY-LSAC’S LAW

The lorful story of Davy's trip to Europe at the time, and his examatn of sampl of de g a portable laboratory, bolsters his claim to disvery popular lerature, although Gay-Lsac appears to have announced his rults first.

Gay-Lsac disvered two very important empiril laws that later found their explanatn the atomic theory of matter. Generatns of chemists and physicists had their start through ternships Gay-Lsac's laboratory.

It nnot but be admted however, that Berthollet's mentorship had much to do wh Gay-Lsac's succsful reer. Gay-Lsac's name will be forever remembered, not jt for the laws named for him, but for their actual effect upon the history of chemistry and physics.