Jens Bertzelius Biography

One of the founders of modern chemistry. The years of teaching Bertzelius was born in the teacher of the teacher. At the age of nine, he remained an orphan and, from a young age, was forced to earn a living in agricultural work. He entered the gymnasium of the city of Lincheping, where he showed interest in natural sciences, began to collect stuffed birds, insects and plants.

In the certificate of the end, "good natural inclinations were noted, but bad disposition and dubious hopes." At that time, the young Bertzelius was in very constrained material conditions. Only an insurmountable desire for knowledge and perseverance in achieving the goal helped him go to the University of Uppsan, where he studied medicine and chemistry, and successfully ending him at the beginning of scientific research after graduation by Bertzelius became the adjunct of medicine and pharmacy of the medical and surgical institute in Stockholm.

At this time, he became close to the rich owner of the mine V. Hizzger, who was interested in natural science problems and supported young researchers. Together with Hisger Bertzelius conducted chemical research. So, using the volta battery, they found that when the electric current is passed through solutions of alkaline metals, the latter decompose with the release of the components.

A year later, Bertzelius and Hizinger opened the element of Ceria simultaneously with M. Klaprot, named after the planet Cerer. In Bertzelius he became a full -time teacher of chemistry in higher education. He was approved by the Ordinary Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy of the Medical Department of the Royal Medical and Surgical Institute in Stockholm. He was elected to Bertzelius the president of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and with its indispensable secretary.

The noble rank was granted in Bertzelius, and B - the title of Baron. To work in the Stockholm laboratory, Bertzelius selected several talented chemists. The most famous of them were H. Gmelin, Henry and Gustav Rosa, E. Merclikh, F. Veler, K. Bertzelius maintained close scientific and personal ties with chemists of many countries. He was elected a foreign honorary member of the St.

Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Bertzelius was familiar with many famous people of his time. During his stay at the resort in Karlsbad, he, along with I. Get, made geological excursions to Mount Kammerbul, where he introduced Goethe to the basics of analysis of minerals using a soldering tube. Scientific discoveries and research by Bertzelius's scientific interests cover almost all the main problems of the general chemistry of the first half of the 19th century.

Its works are devoted primarily to the study of the ratio of elements in compounds. He experimentally checked and proved the reliability of the laws of constancy of the composition and multiple relations in relation to inorganic oxides and organic compounds. He found that the amount of oxygen of acid and bases in salts correlate as small integers. This "oxygen law" finally convinced him of the atomic structure of the substance.

Bertzelius determined the atomic masses of 45 chemical elements and published them in the form of a table. In the same year, he compared the percentage of chemical compounds of almost all compounds known at that time and indicated their “atomic weights” he did not use the concept of “molecule”, but considered molecules as atoms of varying degrees of complexity. To designate the chemical elements, Bertzelius proposed using the initial letters of their Latin names, he introduced the first formulas of chemical compounds in his opinion, letters and numbers should be used to designate chemical compounds so that they can easily be written and printed.

They had to clearly reflect the ratio of elements in the compounds, indicate the relative quantities of the components that form the substance, and, finally, expressing the numerical result of the analysis as simple and understandable as algebraic formulas. Starting with Bertzelius, he was engaged in the systematic determination of the elemental composition of organic compounds and showed that their composition obeys the law of multiple relations.

He improved elemental analysis and corrected the formulas of many compounds. When organic compounds were discovered, which with the same composition of various properties, Bertzelius called this phenomenon of isomeria Bertzelius discovered new chemical elements: Ceria; Together with V. Hizzger, Selenium and Toria, he was the first to get silicon, titanium, tantal, zirconium, as well as Vanadius Bertzelius, he developed an electrochemical theory of the affinity of elements, on the basis of which he built their classification - compiled an electrochemical series of stresses, calling the electroid elements with metaloids, and electro -positive - metals and putting on them regarding electronymal hydrogen.

As a result of these studies, he created the so -called dualistic system, the most important in which the assumption was that the complex substance consists of two parts - electrical and electroiding, but in the next decade significant contradictions of this system were discovered, and Bertzelius survived the collapse of his hypothesis. Bertzelius summarized all the well -known results of catalytic studies, proposed the term “catalysis” to refer to “phenomena of non -chiometric intervention of third bodies of catalysts in chemical reactions.

He introduced the concept of “catalytic power”, similar to the modern concept of “catalytic activity”. He put forward ideas about allotropy. Bertzelius designed and manufactured numerous glass devices. He himself was a magnificent glassbuilding. He has so much improved the methods of experiment and the design of scientific devices that they were subsequently used by several generations of chemists, and some of them are used in our time.

Bertzelius published near scientific papers. Starting with, he regularly published annual reviews of the successes of chemistry and physics of only 27 volumes, on the pages of which scientific discussions took place. For many years, these “annual messages” played the role of the most important international magazine. The multi -volume “Chemistry Textbook” written by Bertzelius was published in, and the fifth was unlikely to clarify the material.

During the life of the author, this textbook withstood five editions each time in a redesigned and expanded form and was translated into many languages ​​- French, Italian, English, Dutch, German.