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eir ical staggerings。
it wasn鈥檛 until 1846 that anyone got around to finding a practical use for nitrous oxide； asan anesthetic。 goodness knows how many tens of thousands of people suffered unnecessaryagonies under the surgeon鈥檚 knife because no one thought of the gas鈥檚 most obvious practicalapplication。
i mention this to make the point that chemistry； having e so far in the eighteenthcentury； rather lost its bearings in the first decades of the nineteenth； in much the way thatgeology would in the early years of the twentieth。 partly it was to do with the limitations ofequipment鈥攖here were； for instance； no centrifuges until the second half of the century；severely restricting many kinds of experiments鈥攁nd partly it was social。 chemistry was；generally speaking； a science for businesspeople； for those who worked with coal and potashand dyes； and not gentlemen； who tended to be drawn to geology； natural history； and physics。
（this was slightly less true in continental europe than in britain； but only slightly。） it isperhaps telling that one of the most important observations of the century； brownian motion；which established the active nature of molecules； was made not by a chemist but by a scottishbotanist； robert brown。 （what brown noticed； in 1827； was that tiny grains of pollensuspended in water remained indefinitely in motion no matter how long he gave them tosettle。 the cause of this perpetual motion鈥攏amely the actions of invisible molecules鈥攚aslong a mystery。）things might have been worse had it not been for a splendidly improbable character namedcount von rumford； who； despite the grandeur of his title； began life in woburn；massachusetts； in 1753 as plain benjamin thompson。 thompson was dashing and ambitious；鈥渉andsome in feature and figure；鈥潯ccasionally courageous and exceedingly bright； butuntroubled by anything so inconveniencing as a scruple。 at nineteen he married a rich widowfourteen years his senior； but at the outbreak of revolution in the colonies he unwisely sidedwith the loyalists； for a time spying on their behalf。 in the fateful year of 1776； facing arrest鈥渇or lukewarmness in the cause of liberty；鈥潯e abandoned his wife and child and fled justahead of a mob of anti…royalists armed with buckets of hot tar； bags of feathers； and anearnest desire to adorn him with both。
he decamped first to england and then to germany； where he served as a military advisorto the government of bavaria； so impressing the authorities that in 1791 he was named countvon rumford of the holy roman empire。 while in munich； he also designed and laid out thefamous park known as the english garden。
in between these undertakings； he somehow found time to conduct a good deal of solidscience。 he became the world鈥檚 foremost authority on thermodynamics and the first toelucidate the principles of the convection of fluids and the circulation of ocean currents。 healso invented several useful objects； including a drip coffeemaker； thermal underwear； and atype of range still known as the rumford fireplace。 in 1805； during a sojourn in france； hewooed and married madame lavoisier； widow of antoine…laurent。 the marriage was not asuccess and they soon parted。 rumford stayed on in france； where he died； universallyesteemed by all but his former wives； in 1814。
but our purpose in mentioning him here is that in 1799； during a paratively briefinterlude in london； he founded the royal institution； yet another of the many learnedsocieties that popped into being all over britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenthcenturies。 for a time it was almost the only institution of standing to actively promote theyoung science of chemistry； and that was thanks almost entirely to a brilliant young mannamed humphry davy； who was appointed the institution鈥檚 professor of chemistry shortlyafter its inception and rapidly gained fame as an outstanding lecturer and productiveexperimentalist。
soon after taking up his position； davy began to bang out new elements one afteranother鈥攑otassium； sodium； magnesium； calcium； strontium； and aluminum or aluminium；depending on which branch of english you favor。
1he discovered so many elements not somuch because he was serially astute as because he developed an ingenious technique ofapplying electricity to a molten substance鈥攅lectrolysis； as it is known。 altogether hediscovered a dozen elements； a fifth of the known total of his day。 davy might have done farmore； but unfortunately as a young man he developed an abiding attachment to the buoyantpleasures of nitrous oxide。 he grew so attached to the gas that he drew on it （literally） three orfour times a day。 eventually； in 1829； it is thought to have killed him。
fortunately more sober types were at work elsewhere。 in 1808； a dour quaker named johndalton became the first person to intimate the nature of an atom （progress that will bediscussed more pletely a little further on）； and in 1811 an italian with the splendidlyoperatic name of lorenzo romano amadeo carlo avogadro； count of quarequa and cerreto；made a discovery that would prove highly significant in the long term鈥攏amely； that twoequal volumes of gases of any type； if kept at the same pressure and temperature； will containidentical numbers of molecules。
two things were notable about avogadro鈥檚 principle； as it became known。 first； itprovided a basis for more accurately measuring the size and weight of atoms。 usingavogadro鈥檚 mathematics； chemists were eventually able to work out； for instance； that atypical atom had a diameter of 0。00000008 centimeters； which is very little indeed。 andsecond； almost no one knew about avogadro鈥檚 appealingly simple principle for almost fiftyyears。
2partly this was because avogadro himself was a retiring fellow鈥攈e worked alone；corresponded very little with fellow scientists； published few papers； and attended nomeetings鈥攂ut also it was because there were no meetings to attend and few chemicaljournals in which to publish。 this is a fairly extraordinary fact。 the industrial revolution was1the confusion over the aluminum/aluminium spelling arose b cause of some uncharacteristic indecisiveness ondavys part。 when he first isolated