Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physician, physicist, and chemist, known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was a founder of thermochemistry who developed many pre-thermodynamics concepts, such as heat capacity, and was the mentor for James Watt. The chemistry buildings at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow are named after Black.
In about 1750, Joseph...
more
Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physician, physicist, and chemist, known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was a founder of thermochemistry who developed many pre-thermodynamics concepts, such as heat capacity, and was the mentor for James Watt. The chemistry buildings at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow are named after Black.
In about 1750, Joseph Black developed the analytical balance based on a light-weight beam balanced on a wedge-shaped fulcrum. Each arm carried a pan on which the sample or standard weights was placed. It far exceeded the accuracy of any other balance of the time and became an important scientific instrument in most chemistry laboratories..
In 1757, he was appointed Regius Professor of the Practice of Medicine at the University of Glasgow.
In 1761 Black deduced that the application of heat to ice does not cause its immediate liquefaction, rather the ice absorbed...
less
