Daniel Rutherford Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Daniel Rutherford - Essay Example Daniel Rutherford, from Holl, 1804 It was a natural academic progression to attend the University of Edinburgh where his father was a professor of medicine. Daniel would also graduate with a degree in medicine, but it was the experiments he conducted as a student that helped unlock the mysteries of combustion, life, and the composition of 'vital air' ("Daniel Rutherford"). At the time, it was known that a quantity of air that had been subjected to combustion would no longer support life. It was mistakenly believed that the only gas left was carbon dioxide (CO2), and it was considered noxious because of its in inability to support life. Rutherford, through a series of experiments, was able to extract the CO2 and found that it still would not combust or support life. Though he is credited for isolating nitrogen, a more accurate portrayal is that he discovered that air was a mixture of many gases and there was the existence of 'vital air', that would later be known as oxygen. In 1772, he published his thesis titled On A ir Said to be Fixed or Mephitic (Daintith 467). This enabled other scientists that were doing similar research to be moved down the path of discovery. Rutherford's thesis helped guide the current thinking and has been credited with spawning many of Joseph Priestley's later experiments.(Daintith 467).