The History and Preservation of Chemical Instrumentation: Proceedings of the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry Symposium held in Chicago, Ill., September 9–10, 1985

271 Pages·1986·11.49 MB·English

by  John K. Taylor (auth.)

THE HISTORY AND PRESERVATION
OF CHEMICAL INSTRUMENTATION
CHEMISTS AND CHEMISTRY
A seriesofbooks devoted to the examination ofthehistory and develop
mentofchemistryfrom itsearly emergenceasaseparate discipline to the
presentday. The series willdescribe thepersonalities, processes, theoreti
caland technical advances which have shapedour current understanding
ofchemicalscience.
THE HISTORY
AND PRESERVATION OF
CHEMICAL
INSTRUMENTATION
Proceedings oftheACSDivision
oftheHistoryofChemistry Symposium
heldinChicago, Ill., September 9-10, 1985
Editedby
JOHN T. STOCK
Professor Emeritus,
DepartmentofChemistry, UniversityofConnecticut
and
MARY VIRGINIA ORNA, O.S.U.
ProfessorofChemistry, CollegeofNew Rochelle
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY
AMEMBEROFTHEKLUWER ACADEMICPUBUSHERSGROUP
DORDRECHT/BOSTON/ LANCASTER/TOKYO
library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
The history and preservation of chemical instrumentation.
(Chemists and chemistry)
Includes bibliographies and indexes.
1. Instrumental analysis-History-Congresses. I. Stock, John T.
(John Thomas), 1911- . II. Orna, Mary Virginia. III. American
Chemical Society. Division of the History of Chemistry. IV. Series.
QD79.15H57 1986 543 86-10028
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-8585-4 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-4690-3
001: 10.1007/978-94-009-4690-3
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company,
P.O. Box 17,3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland.
Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada
by Kluwer Academic Publishers,
101 Philip Drive, Assinippi Park, Norwell, MA 02061, U.S.A.
In aU other countries, sold and distributed
by Kluwer Academic Publishers Group,
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All Rights Reserved
© 1986 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
Reprint of the original edition 1986
No part of the material protected by this copyrigh t notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction vii
JOHN K. TAYLOR / The Impact of Instrumentation on
Analytical Chemistry
WILBUR KAYE / Rise and Fall of Specifications as
Indicators of Instrument Performance 11
PAUL A. WILKS / The Origins of Commercial Infrared
Spectrometers 27
MELVYN C. USSELMAN / The Reflective Goniometer and Its
Impact on Chemical Theory 33
M. EUGENE RUDD / D.B. Brace's Measurement of Double
Refraction Due to Ether Drift 41
DUANE H. JAECKS / Developments in 18th Century Optics
and Early Instrumentation 51
WILLIAM J. ANGELOTTI / The History of Optical Emission
Techniques for the Industrial User 67
C. EUGENE BENNETT / My Rememberance of Gas Chromatography 79
HAMISH SMALL / A Personal History of the Conception
and Early Development of Ion Chromatography 97
GERALD L. HAWK / The Next Step in Laboratory Automation
- Robotics 109
WILLIAM B. JENSEN / The Development of Blowpipe
Analysis 123
WALTER J . BLAEDEL / The Practical Aspects of Collecting,
Preserving, and Exhibiting Analytical
Balances 151
WILLIAM J. READ / Renovation and Repair of Scientific
Instruments 157
A. D. MORRISON-LOW / Kemp &Co., Laboratory Suppliers 163
DAVID J. BOULLIN / Mechanical Control of Gaslight:
An Account of Clockwork Mechanisms Used for
Operating Gaslights 187
vi TABLEOFCONTENTS
WILLIAM J. READ / The Development of Scientific
Instruments Relating to Negretti & Zambra,
Instrument Makers, England, 1850-1985 211
JOHN BURNETT / The Use of New Materials in the
Manufacture of Scientific Instruments,
C.1880-C.1920 217
JOHN T. STOCK / Historic Instruments: Survival or
Disappearance? 239
Name Index 249
Subject Index 255
INTRODUCTION
The development of chemistry, like that of the other fields
of science and technology, has depended greatly upon the
availability of instruments. Accordingly, the study of the
history of instrumentation is a major area in any survey of
the progress in this science. Recognizing this fact, the
Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical
Society organized and held a very successful symposium on the
history of chemical instrumentation during the Washington,
D.C. National Meeting in 1979.
Re~arks, both formal and informal, made during this
symposium stressed points that soon become obvious to anyone
who looks at the ancestry of present-day instruments. In some
cases, the total history is measured in years, rather than
in centuries. Chemical instrumentation, by no means confined
to the laboratory, is vital in industry. There is a natural
tendency to discard an item of any kind when a newer version
is acquired. Often, "to discard" means "to scrap". If the
item scrapped is an instrument that is unique - sometimes
the last of its kind - we have a permanent artefactual gap
in the history of science.
These points, together with the ever-growing importance
and development of the tools of the chemist, led the
Divisions of the History of Chemistry and of Analytical
Chemistry to the joint organization of a more extensive
symposium that formed part of the ACS National Meeting in
Chicago in 1985. The inclusion of the words "and preservation"
in the title stresses the importance of thinking and inquiring
before scrapping. Only by the co-operation of all scientists
and technologists can we hope to minimize or, hopefully,
avoid losses like those of the past.
The eighteen papers in the symposium deal with instruments
ranging from the very simple to the highly complex, with
histories long, medium, or short. Some of the authors have
not only first-hand knowledge of the history of a particular
type of instrument, but have also contributed to the making
of this history.
These facts, together with the many favorable comments
received during and after the symposium, strengthened our
resolve that the accounts presented should be placed on
permanent record in a single collection. The Editors intend
this book to be a tribute to instrument makers, whether
vii
viii INTRODUCTION
of today or of times past. The progess of science has, does,
and will depend upon their skill and ingenuity.
John T. Stock
Mary Virginia Orna, O.S.U.
(Editors)
John K. Taylor
THE IMPACT OF INSTRUMENTATION ON ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
1. INTRODUCTION
In 1985, it is hard for anyone to remember, and most
analytical chemists have never known, an
instrumentationless world. When one enters a modern
analytical laboratory, one is surrounded by equipment so
that the analyst may be dwarfed by the instruments at his
or her command. Contrast this with the laboratory of the
1930's; the analyst was surrounded by chemical reagents
and the most conspicuous installation was a fume hood.
Several drawers contained the tools of the profession
beakers, filters, burets and pipets.
Every analyst had virtually the same kind of
equipment. Such as they were, almost all needs could be
provided by a laboratory supply house. Capital outlay was
low and interchangeability was high. While some analysts
had specialized experience in certain materials areas,
the techniques employed were remarkably similar in most
of the measured areas.
However, to say that analysts were independent of
instruments would be wrong. The balance has always been
the key instrument of quantitative analysis, and was a
limiting aspect in important cases. Chemical analysis,
just as any kind of measurement, is a comparison process,
in which unknowns are compared with knowns. Substances of
interest in a matrix were separated, converted to a
measurable form, purified and weighed. In fact, G. E. F.
Lundell once described analytical chemistry as a
manufacturing process in which chemicals are
quantitatively produced in small quantities of high
purity (1). The standard for comparison was one of the
most fundamental measurement standards, the kilogram or
its submultiple.
The balances of as late as fifty years ago were ill
suited for the routine measurement of small masses and
were manually operated. In fact, best performance was
J.T.StockandM.V.Orna(eds.},TheHistoryandPreservationof ChemicalInstrumentation,1-10.
© /986 byD.ReidelPublishingCompany.
2 JOHNK.TAYLOR
obtained by multiple swings, and protection from
environmental fluctuations. An analyst's set of
calibrated weights and a sensitive, well-functioning
balance could be one of his or her most prized
possessions.
Volumetric titration was a well-used tool because it
could speed up analysis. The buret was the instrument
used, again in a manual mode of operation. Endpoint
detections were largely visual, based on indicators of
various kinds. An analyst's greatest asset was a
detailed, comprehensive knowledge of chemistry since the
chemical steps of separations, digestions, isolation and
purification often limited the kinds of measurements that
could be made.
2. EARLY INSTRUMENTATION
Early advances in instrumentation consisted largely of
adjuncts to conventional methodology. Improvements in
balances, expecially the single pan balance, increased
the speed of weighings while greatly facilitating
gravimetry. For example, the early microbalances,
essentially super-sensitive double-pan balances, were
slow, temperamental and critically influenced by
environmental conditions. They had to be protected from
air currents, and even the presence of the operator
affected their performance. Modern balances are much less
sensitive to such factors and those based on electronic
and load cells or piezo-electric principles are even less
so.
Better understanding of electrochemical principles
led to new methods for endpoint detection and later to
electrical sensors, anticipators, controllers, and very
sensitive measurement systems. The manual buret has been
largely replaced by mechanical volumetric displacement
devices that can be coupled with electric sensors to
provide volumetric analytical systems.
Improvement of pH measurement is a good example of
how instrumentation has affected an analytical
measurement related to many analytical methods. The
advent of the glass electrode revolutionized this
measurement and the research to produce durable
electrodes and circuit designs to provide digital
readouts has enabled pH m~asurements to be made at least