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FIND OUT MORE. Chemistry 162 • The Enlightenment 416 • Science 154

WHO DISCOVERED HOW BLOOD CIRCULATES?

In 1597, English student William Harvey went to

Padua in Italy, which was then a centre for studying

the human body. He returned to become royal doctor,

and in 1628 declared that blood was pumped around

the body by the heart. Many doctors ridiculed his

views, but Harvey was correct. His discovery changed

our understanding of the human body forever.

Scientific Revolution

The 18th century was a period of remarkable scientific

breakthroughs. This began with the scientific advances of

the 16th and 17th centuries, when people began to reject

unproven theories and superstition in favour of careful

observation, and carried out experiments to test ideas.

4 LAVOISIER’S LABORATORY

This the laboratory of Antoine

Lavoisier, one of the founders

of modern chemistry. He

continued the work of

Englishman Joseph Priestley

into oxygen.

REFLECTING TELESCOPE 3

Telescopes were invented in

the Netherlands in about

1608. In 1668, Isaac Newton
      was the first to use mirrors to
      improve the image seen
      through the telescope.

WHO WERE THE FIRST CHEMISTS?

From the Middle Ages to the early 18th century,

alchemists believed they could turn ordinary metals

into gold, and so find the secret of everlasting life.

Although this was impossible, alchemy did provide a

basis for useful experiments in chemistry, and inspired

the genuine research of Robert Boyle.

1609 Johannes Kepler

works out how

planets move

1638 Galileo Galilei

publishes his

theories of

mechanics

1687 Isaac Newton

publishes his

three Laws of

Motion

1753 Carl Linnaeus

works out a way

of classifying

species

1774 Joseph Priestley

researches into

oxygen

NEW SCIENCE

Can the

bird survive

without air?

The girls

fear the worst

WHO WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO SEE GERMS?

The first microscopes were made in the Netherlands

in about 1590. Their design was improved by

Robert Hooke and Anton van Leeuwenhoek. Van

Leeuwenhoek made many important observations and

in 1675 was the first person to see bacteria, or germs.

THE EXPERIMENT 3

This 1768 painting by

Joseph Wright of Derby is

titled Experiment with an Air

Pump. There was a growing

public interest in science and

the ways in which it could be

applied to industry.

ROBERT BOYLE

1627–1691

Irish chemist and physicist

Robert Boyle experimented

with gases and with vacuum

(in which gases are pumped

out of a space). He introduced

the idea of chemical elements,

essential to the development

of chemistry as a science.

Scientific

Revolution