Discussing Chemistry and Steam by Levere, Trevor H ISBN 0198515308
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[edit] Discussing Chemistry and Steam
Features the only surviving set of Minutes of the Coffee House Philosophical Society between 1780 and 1787.
This late 18th Century Coffee House society provided a group of natural philosophers with the opportunity to discuss the topics that most interested them. Though the Minute books deal with some practical and procedural matters, they mostly record the discussions, which centred around chemistry, and in particular the phlogiston theory. Contemporary accounts of such meetings are extremely rare, and the survival of the manuscript copy, made by William Nicholson, a member and secretary of the society is remarkable. In this book, the original has been reproduced. The editors also include an account of the membership, 55 in number and of whom 33 were Fellows of the Royal Society of London, and background essays by Jan Golinski and Larry Stewart. Many of the members were medical, and some were lawyers and clergymen, but all shared a fascination for practical science and technology. Readers across a broad range of disciplines will find the book of great interest. This book contains an edition of the Minutes of the Coffee House Philosophical Society 1780-1787, as transcribed by William Nicholson, the secretary to the society. The 1780s were exciting years for science and for its applications, and experimental philosophy and industrial development were closely interwoven. This coffee house society provided a group of natural philosophers with the opportunity to discuss the topics that most interested them. The Minutes themselves, unique in their completeness, constitute a continuous record of the fortnightly meetings of a group of leading natural philosophers, instrument makers, physicians, and industrialist-entrepreneurs. They are an important resource for historians of politics and society (including the industrial revolution), as well as for historians of science and technology. In addition to a fully edited edition of the Minute Book, and brief biographies of all the members, the book includes essays by Jan Golinski on the members' discussions about phlogiston and other issues relating to the chemical revolution, and by Larry Stewart on the reforming, radical, and industrial contexts of the networks to which the members belonged. One of the standard criticisms of English science in the late eighteenth century is its isolation from the rest of Europe. These minutes offer a very different picture. The members, the Irish chemist Richard Kirwan taking the most active role, discussed current issues in science and reported on scientific and industrial advances from all Europe, and even from Hudson's Bay, showing early English awareness of the latest developments. The Minute Book gives a sense of history at a particular period, and is invaluable to all historians, whatever their specialism.
[edit] Book Details
[edit] Title
Discussing Chemistry and Steam
[edit] Author
Levere, Trevor H
[edit] ISBN
0198515308
[edit] Published
09/05/2002
[edit] Publisher
Oxford University Press
[edit] Binding
HARDBACK
[edit] Retail Price
70 (GBP)
[edit] Typical Price Online
70 (GBP)
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