Jabir Ibn Hayyan - Betyg: A PDF

Preview

Summary

A presentation manus about the chemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan...

Description

Jabir Ibn Hayyan (721 to ca 815) An explanation for the existence of life, an absolutely whole world of possibilities and a bridging science that links physics, mathematics, and biology. The science of chemistry would surely shape the answers to such everyday questions. Chemistry is the study of how atoms fit together to make our world, including our own bodies. To me, doing chemistry is like playing Sherlock Holmes, first I see a result then I am bound by the rules to figure out what the mechanism must have been, therefore I wonder how and when was the science of chemistry first invented? Perhaps this eye-opening view of the past can serve as a blueprint for designing a brighter future. The ancient Greeks tried to explain what the world was made of, but when it came to chemistry they could have done better. Then, a thousand years later came a man who helped change everything. He was legitimately named "the father of chemistry" by Eric John Holmyard, a famous historian, chemist and Arabist, but his real name was Jabir Ibn Hayyan. Ibn Hayyan is credited for establishing this great science and laying its rules and foundations upon which chemists later relied on. He has so many discoveries and works to the extent that chemistry is attached to his name ''the chemistry of Jabir''. He lived in the 8th century and spent most of his life in the town of Kufa in Iraq. Back then Kufa was one of the many multicultural centers of learning in the vas Arabic empire. During medieval times chemistry was mixed up with a mysterious practice called alchemy. However, the true goal of alchemy was nothing less than the transmutation of the base metals into gold. Alchemists also sought a single cure for all diseases and a way to prolong life indefinitely. The fantastic nature of these goals, not to mention their apparent impossibility, has overshadowed the very real contributions that alchemy has made to modern science, especially chemistry and medicine. In fact, alchemy, for the main Arabic medieval scientists, was not about folklore or occult practices but about the chemistry. According to the 1001 inventions by National Geographic, the greatest of all Arabic alchemists is Jabir ibn Hayyan, known to the West by his Latinized name of Geber. The works of Ibn Hayyan cover all subjects including philosophy, linguistics, astrology, magic, cosmology, theology, metaphysics, the liberal arts, medicine, agriculture, and technology; but alchemy predominates. In his treatises on this subject, Ibn Hayyan provided a rational basis for the development of chemistry. All scholars agree that he is the founder of experimental

chemistry. He was namely the first to acquire his information from experiments, observations and scientific conclusions. Constantly in the laboratory, he devised and perfected sublimation, liquefaction, crystallization, distillation, purification, amalgamation, oxidation, evaporation, and nitration. He also wrote about how chemicals combined, without loss of character, to form a union of elements together that were too small for the naked eye to see. Ibn Hayyan vastly increased the possibilities of chemical experiments by discovering strong acids such as sulfuric, nitric, and nitro-muriatic acids, all now vitally important in the chemical industry. Ibn Hayyan was the first to develop the alembic still in the 8th century. In other words He perfected the distillation process using the alembic still, which is still used today. In this curiously shaped glass vessel, a liquid could be boiled down, allowing its separate pure parts to be collected as they condensed and trickled down the spout. Rose water was one of the first products of the distillation process, a delicately scented liquid vital for flavoring foods and drinks, and in perfumes and cosmetics. Perhaps most useful of all, the distillation of the thick crude oil known as naft or Petroleum to produce the fuel kerosene. Today, distillation is still crucial for refining oil, and is used widely in the chemical industry to give us products ranging from plastics to gasoline. Finally, by the time modern science was born the list of true chemical elements was getting longer, but many of the chemical methods that carried on being used were often those first invented by Jabir Ibn Hayyan. All in all, Ibn Hayyan’s discoveries are proven to be of great significance to modern chemistry, becoming even essential to the chemical industry. I wonder what Ibn Hayyan would have thought of the advanced modern chemistry....