During this era, science experienced great changes in a short period of time. Science became more mechanical due the successes of Isaac Newton and the birth of the Industrial Revolution. Attempts to explain science and nature through a series of mechanical laws became the norm. Scientific philosophies such as Empiricism (knowledge from experience) and Rationalism (knowledge from reasoning) took the forefront with the two of them being combined for abstract ideas. The search for order or patterns could also be seen with the idea of the Great Chain of Being. Though some scientists opposed this view, the idea of the interconnectedness of all life was definitely on the tips of many tongues in the scientific world. Even the existence of God was believed to be proven by the order of the natural world and so claimed by Denis Diderot in 1746. The idea of an order to science would continue with the development of measurement systems from standards set by kings in 1758 to a universal metric system that was established in 1791.
Science also experienced a growth with the addition of geological studies. The need for coal and iron to spur the growth of industry led many to see what else the Earth could provide for us. Scientists also began to seriously study volcanoes and earthquakes as well as continue their study of fossils and what these ancient organisms truly were.
Science would also loose some of its “elite” status with the writing of the Enclyclopedie from 1751-1772. This text consisting of 17 volumes of text, as well as 11 volumes of illustrations, was written by Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert and brought the ideas and knowledge of science to the general public. In 1768, the public would receive the first version of another text, the Encyclopedia Britanica. This encyclopedia was published in parts every week and by 1771 was combined into a three-volume set.
Finally, the birth of the Royal Society in England during the Newtonian Era would lead Sweden and Scotland (1739), America (1743) and Germany (1759) to follow with academies of their own. The strength that science gained due to the communication between these academies is immeasurable.
During this era, Horace de Saussure coined a new branch of science as “Geology”. With the need for coal and ores, such as iron ore, to fuel the industrial revolution, de Saussure felt the “study of the Earth” should become its own branch of science. The placement of canals, highways and railways depended on geology. William Smith, an English canal digger would lead the charge of geology during his work. He noticed that the Earth was formed in layers and that the fossils found in one layer differed from those found in another layer. He ended up creating a map, which showed the hidden underneath of all England. He proved that fossil layers could be traced across England and that this would make sense to be happening in the rest of the world as well. This also showed that fossils could be used to date different strata. Sadly, it took scientists over 30 years to recognize the significance of William Smith’s work. With the study of coal and ores, scientists also discovered a greater understanding of fossils and how the Earth itself formed, as well as how long ago the Earth formed. The belief in Noah’s Flood was examined not only to determine the age of the Earth, but also for fossil deposits. Abraham Gottlob Werner strengthened the idea of rocks and fossils forming in layers with his ideas of stratification. Werner also went on to describe the crystallization process of rock formation. His theory would be called the Neptunist theory and was opposed by the Vulcanists and Plutonists. The Neptunist Theory was based on the idea that the Earth was once covered in a liquid. This liquid was saturated with solids and as the liquid evaporated the solids was left behind. James Hutton would produce an alternative the Neptunism theory with what became known as Plutonism. Plutonism based its idea on the heat provided by the underworld. Hutton claimed that this heat would cause rock to change forms. Both of these ideas have strengths and weaknesses, but in the end were both considered incorrect. Hutton’s idea of Plutonism was given more credibility since it described rock changing due to heat and pressure, which happens to be correct. He also claimed that this changing allowed for land to be “reformed” from the debris of its prior forms. Because of this, as well his other discoveries, Hutton is often considered a founder of modern geology and whom many consider the first person who can truly be called a geologist. His text, Theory of the Earth, would later influence such scientists as Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin.
Though Werner was wrong about the Neptunist Theory, he is still considered to be a great geologist based on his other discoveries and his classification system for minerals. Like the classification systems we had for plants and animals, Werner’s system classified minerals on their physical characteristics such as color, geometrical form, luster, transparency and hardness.
Abraham Gottlob Werner
So, how did the Earth form? Previously, we discussed how Isaac Newton believed that the Earth was flattened at the poles and was bulging at the equator. Pierre de Maupertius would support this claim in 1736. Maupertius made an expedition to Lapland with Anders Celsius and measured the degrees of the Earth. Their measurements supported an Earth that is flattened at the poles. But how did the Earth get that way? Was the Earth always in the shape it is in now? During this era, there were wide ranging ideas. Comte de Buffon claimed in 1745 that he believed the Earth formed when a comet struck the Sun and broke off a piece of the Sun. The solid form of the comet and the heat of the Sun is what cause our Earth to be the way it is today. Gottfried Leibniz who stated in 1749 that the Earth went from a gaseous, to molten to the solid state that it is now, would refute this idea. He called his own idea “Protogaea”. Other scientists would claim that the Earth was still going through changes. Nicolas Demarest noticed that the English Channel is relatively shallow. In 1752, he proposed that England and France might have at once been connected by a land bridge, a view many hold true today. In 1771, a scientist made a journey around the world. What were witnessed during this voyage were land formations that indicated that the Earth had indeed changed, much like the idea of Demarest. This idea was supported in 1772 when Diderot hinted at the idea of Continental Drift. Continental Drift would be a later developed theory, but simply put claims that the continents have the ability to move or drift from one place to another. Obviously, this would take some time to happen and some time to prove as well. As geologists continued to study land formations, they arrived at other new ideas about these formations. James Keir was observing the land formation known as the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. What he saw there was rock that seemed to form from molten rock crystallizing as it cooled. A mistake made in the lab would strengthen this idea. Rene Hauy dropped a piece of calcite that he was working with. The calcite shattered along very distinct cleavage planes that allowed Hauy to propose a geometrical law for crystallization. James Hall would in turn strengthen this idea in 1797. In a series of over 500 experiments, Hall was able to prove that igneous rock that was allowed to cool slowly would form crystalline rock. Igneous rock that was cooled quickly formed into a black glass.
The story of Noah’s Flood greatly influenced the geology of this era. It was believed that the flood was responsible for all the fossils. This idea was contested by Robert Hooke, as he believed that the flood could not be responsible for all the layers of fossils. In 1779, French scientist Comte de Buffon used this information to claim that the Earth was about 80,000 years old, not the proposed 6,000 years by the Bible. Buffon also claimed that the flood was not responsible for the fossils, but he decided to withdraw his writings due to opposition from the church. The church would not stop James Hutton from writing his book, Theory of the Earth. In this book, Hutton described the principle of uniformitarianism. This principle states that all the geological features can be explained by changes that are now observable. These changes require very long periods of time, which allows Hutton to claim that the Earth has no sign of beginning or ever coming to an end. However, the idea of Noah’s Flood was not dead. In 1812, Georges Cuvier proposed his catastrophe theory. Cuvier claimed that the layers of fossils could be explained by various catastrophes throughout history. Included in those in catastrophes…the Ice Age and Noah’s Flood. In Cuvier’s words, “life on earth has often been disturbed by terrible events: calamities which initially perhaps shoot the entire crust of the earth to a great depth.”
As mentioned earlier, Werner thought that rocks formed in layers. He went on to add that those layers formed with the oldest layers on the bottom and the youngest layers on the top. In turn, the fossils that were present in each layer could be given a relative age, an idea that was proposed earlier by Nicholas Steno. In 1815, William Smith made a map of England that was the first to actually identify rock strata on the basis of fossils. This book would allow geologists from all over the world to know what time period of rock strata they were working with.
Although there was a great deal of investigation into fossils during this era, very little progress actually took place. Buffon had led the charge by claiming that different fossils were located in different rock strata. Even Thomas Jefferson had played a part in the study of fossils. Jefferson collected fossils and believed that they were the remains of living organisms. He claimed that the Creator would not allow for extinction, so the organisms must be living somewhere on Earth. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck would disagree with this as he claimed that fossils were from organisms that no longer existed on Earth. While the idea of the creatures still being alive somewhere on Earth, every so often we find “living fossils” in remote areas of the world. Two examples of this would be the coelacanth and the Florida panther.
A major fossil discovery of this time was the Mosasaur (Meuse lizard) that was found in the Meuse River in the Netherlands. This discovery was made in 1766, but it took until 1795 to determine what it was. In 1780, another group of geologist working at the site found the skull for the Mosasaur. In 1795, Cuvier would determine that the bones were from a 14m (46 foot) marine reptile.
Georges Cuvier
Another area of geology that received a boost during this era was the study of volcanoes and earthquakes. With the increasing of the world population, volcanoes and earthquakes now had more of a chance of killing people. The first such example was an earthquake in India that killed 300,000 people in 1737. In 1755, another earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal killed 60,000. Such personal devastation led scientists like John Michell to study earthquakes. In 1760, Michell proposed something new about earthquakes. Michell claimed, “Earthquakes are waves produced when one layer of rock rubs against another”. Michell also claimed that these waves could be traced backwards to determine where the earthquake started. However, not all earthquakes were killers. Probably the worst earthquake in American history actually killed very few people. In 1811, a series of earthquakes that was estimated to rate an 8 on the Richter scale (9 is the highest) struck New Madrid, Missouri. This area was poorly populated, but these earthquakes destroyed a wide region of land.
Earthquakes were not the only destructive force occurring during this era. In 1783, a volcano erupted in Laki, Iceland. Over 10,000 people were reported dead. Benjamin Franklin wrote in his journals about the Sun being blocked out during this time.
This tragedy would be followed by one of the worst volcanic eruptions of all time. In 1815, Mount Tambora erupted on April 7 and killed 10,000 people. The eruption was so violent that the Sun was blocked out for a year. England recorded a “year without a summer” in 1815. Even Lord Byron wrote a poem entitled “Darkness” which described his feelings in 1816.
Geological Fun Fact
Henry Cavendish “weighed” the Earth at this time. Using iron spheres and calculating the mass, distance between them he arrived at a projected density of the Earth. Using Newton’s formula F= Gm1m2/r2, he calculated the Earth’s gravitational constant. Amazingly, he was only off by one percent. What is even more amazing is that in his paper to the Royal Society, Cavendish listed his values incorrectly in his conclusion although his data showed the correct value. Even the most intelligent men make mistakes. However, it also demonstrates the importance of accuracy in your reporting.
Questions
Leibniz stated that the Earth went through a gaseous, to molten, to solid form. How does that apply to the idea of the three states of matter?
Please explain Neptunism and Plutonism.
Please give two examples of “living fossils”.
With the laws of gravitation and motion explained by Newton, astronomy saw an increase in the accuracy and predictability of its discoveries. By knowing how the planets should move and how they should respond to gravity, they became easier to find and study. Studying the movements of celestial objects allowed astronomers to discard the Aristotelian view that the universe was static and unchanging. One of these predictions came true when on Christmas Day in 1758, Halley’s Comet made its return. Sadly, the man that made this prediction never saw its return. Edmund Halley died in 1742.
Newton also helped the astronomers with the invention of the reflecting telescope. As other scientists continued to work on improving the telescope, even more discoveries were made. The greatest of these discoveries of this era was probably the finding of Uranus, but just as interesting were the discovery of binary stars, more planetary satellites and the shape of the Milky Way.
Another discovery of this era wasn’t a true discovery, but rather a worldwide study of the same phenomena. In 1639, English astronomer, Jeremiah Horrocks watched a transit of Venus across the Sun. He also realized that many astronomers viewing the same transit could use geometry to determine the distance of Venus from the Sun and from the Earth. This is exactly what would take place 100 years later. In 1737, John Bevis observed the passage of Venus in front of Mercury. Many would say that this is not such a great discovery since many had already accepted the Copernican heliocentric solar system. In fact, Galileo’s Discourse Between Two Chief World Systems was actually allowed to be published in 1744, as long as it included Galileo’s recantation of its validity. What is great about the transit of Venus in 1737 is what followed its observance. The transit of Venus occurs in pairs, eight years apart and at intervals of 105.5 or 121.5 years. We will see the next transit of Venus in June of 2004. Obviously, with these intervals, the most you will see the transit of Venus is twice during your lifetime. Edmund Halley proposed that an observation of this transit from various places on Earth would allow us to do a great many things. Two major ideas were that we could calculate the distance from Earth to Venus and we could calculate the distance from Earth to the Sun. Joseph-Nicolas Delisle was the first to attempt this goal in 1761. Astronomers were dispatched to various locations around the world and the calculations were made with very good accuracy. However, another discovery was made about Venus…it has an atmosphere.
One of the greatest astronomers of this time was William Herschel and his greatest discovery was that of the planet Uranus. However, he needed some help. Herschel had been studying 13 stars over a long period of time, during which he discovered that our Sun is actually moving towards the constellation Hercules. During these studies he noticed a new “comet” in orbit. On March 13, 1781, Herschel claimed that he had found a new comet. Anders Lexell was one of the leading astronomers on comets of this time, so was definitely intrigued about Herschel’s discovery. Lexell observed that the “comet” never formed a tail during its orbit and correctly claimed it to be a new planet. Herschel proposed that the new planet be called Georgium Sidus or “George’s star, after King George III. King George was so pleased that he appointed Herschel as the court astronomer at a salary of 200 pounds per year. However, by 1850, the planet was to be called Uranus as suggested by astronomer Johann Bode. According to Greek mythology, Uranus is the father of Saturn. Herschel would then continue his study of stars. He became one of the first to describe binary stars, two stars so close they appear to be one with the naked eye, and he created one of the first models of the Milky Way by counting the stars on each side of the Earth. Sadly, his model of the Milky Way was accurate but too small, and his placement of our Sun at the center of the Milky Way was incorrect, as scientists believe it to be on the edge of the Milky Way. Lexell would return to his study of comets. He described the first short period comet in 1770. Short period comets make short orbits, usually close to a planet and then never return. Comet Lexell flew by Jupiter in 1779 but did not disturb the orbit of Jupiter. Jupiter’s gravity then flung the comet back into deep outer space. Again, Herschel and Lexell would be connected as Herschel’s wife, Caroline, would become a leading astronomer on comets as she located 8 new comets in a period of 11 years.
William Herschel
While the Comet Lexell did not disturb the orbit of Jupiter, something else did. In the previous eras, both Copernicus and Kepler described what they believed to be a “hole” in the solar system, which they believed to exist between Mars and Jupiter. In 1800, the “Celestial Police” were formed to discover what that “something” was. Twenty-four European astronomers divided up the zodiac and started looking. Most astronomers were in agreement that there must be an undiscovered planet between Jupiter and Mars. They didn’t find a planet, but they did find the cause of the problem. In 1801, Guisseppe Piazzi discovered the first asteroid, Ceres. Within three years, astronomers discovered three other asteroids, which they name, Pallas, Juno and Vesta. Over time, astronomers would discover many other asteroids to comprise an asteroid belt.
Origin of the Solar System
Just as geologists were concerned with the formation of the Earth, astronomers were concerned about the formation of the solar system. Pierre-Simon Laplace would formulate many of the ideas about this topic in his own book in 1796. He explained how the Sun could have begun as a nebula or a cloud of gas that rotated, condensed amongst that rotation and formed the Sun. This, in turn, would lead to the formation of the planets in a similar fashion, but with clouds of space dust rather than gas. According to Laplace, this would explain why all planets rotated and why they were all on the same horizontal plane as the equator of the Sun.
What three things did the transit of Venus allow us to do?
What causes the orbits of Jupiter and Mars to wobble?
How many planets are known to exist at this time? Please name them in order starting closest to the Sun.
One would think that with the advancements made by Isaac Newton in this area during the previous time period that many more advancements would follow. This was not the case, at least not for this class. Most of Newton’s ideas were used for technology during the Industrial Revolution. In fact, the only true study of forces and motion came in 1781 with a study on friction. By Charles-Augustin Coulomb.
Scientists did try to take the laws of Newton and make them more understandable for the public, for they were the ones attempting to make new machines and technology. In 1735, a book entitled Newtonianismo per le dame, or Newtonianism for the ladies, offered the public a simplified version of Newton and became very popular. In 1737, scientists changed the name of this study to Physics from the confusing Natural Philosophy. The word “physics” originated during the time of Aristotle.
In 1744, a new idea in physics arose. This idea was called the Principle of Least Action. Under this idea, nature will operate in such a way that action is at a minimum, a belief still held to be true. Think of it this way, a new sprout of a plant has a choice of boring through a rock in order to reach the sunlight or going around the rock. The new sprout would go around the rock because it takes less action to do so. Pierre de Maupertius was the scientist who came up with this theory. Maupertius also claimed that this principle showed how perfect nature was and thus, proved the existence of God.
Linnaeus
Earlier in this era, we saw that much of the science was based on finding order and patterns. Carolus Linnaeus spearheaded this effort with his book Systema Naturae in 1735. Linnaeus, born Carl von Linne, detailed a classification system based on physical characteristics and a naming system called binomial nomenclature, which named organisms with their genus and species distinctions. For example, a domesticated horse is scientifically called Equus caballus. Previously, scientists had used the system of Aristotle to name new organisms. A problem arose in the fact that Aristotle attempted to describe the organism within its name. For example, platypus would have the characteristics of a duck-bill, a beaver body and webbed feet all contained within its scientific name. While the Aristotelian system works well with a small number of organisms, the more varied you get, the more this system breaks down. Linnaeus would only use two names to describe the platypus. Often the species name refers to the scientist that discovered the organism or the place the organism was found. This method works so well that it has gone relatively unchanged for 250 years. In 1737, Linnaeus would begin classify over 18,000 different plants, an act he completed in 1753. Comte de Buffon would aid Linnaeus with his naming system when Buffon gave his definition for a species. Buffon defined “species” as a group of organisms capable of breeding and producing offspring. The science of classification would receive its name in 1813 when Swiss-French botanist Augustin de Candolle would write his 21volume plant encyclopedia. Candolle used the word taxonomy to describe the science of classification. Scientists would later create a taxonomic key to help them make distinctions between the various physical characteristics. Finally, in 1817, Georges Cuvier would divide the animal kingdom into four groups to help simplify classification. Cuvier was able to do this because he was one of the leading naturalists and more importantly, comparative anatomist of this time. Cuvier realized that most animals had a similar skeletal structure. For example, a whale’s fin, bat’s wing and human arm all have one upper arm bone, two lower arm bones and a series of finger bones. You would think this would lead Cuvier into claiming that Evolution was possible. Instead, he was complete opposed to evolution.
Most often, the Theory of Evolution is equated with Charles Darwin. However, Darwin was the first to say that the idea was not solely his, but rather the works of various other scientists combined and explained by Darwin, much like Isaac Newton explaining the actions behind what Kepler and Galileo had described.
The idea of evolution had originated with the Greeks but would definitely grow by leaps and bounds during this and the following eras. In 1748, Benoit de Maillet described an evolution from the sea. According to Maillet, the universe was full of “seeds” that grow into animals in the sea. As the sea retreats, some water creatures evolve into land animals. Pierre Maupertius would also play a part with evolution. In 1751, Maupertius speculated about heredity and the origin of species by chance, a precursor to the ideas of Gregor Mendel and Darwin. This would be followed by Jean Baptiste Robinet’s idea of organic species forming a linear line of progress without gaps. Charles Darwin would later show that evolution is full of gaps.
Charles Darwin was not even the first Darwin to examine evolution. Erasmus Darwin, Charles’ grandfather wrote a book entitled Zoonomia in which he described his ideas on evolution. His ideas would be Lamarckian in nature in the fact that he claimed the environment has a direct effect on the germ line and cause permanent changes. Jean Baptiste Lamarck would write his own evolution book in 1809. Lamarck explained his view that animals evolved from simpler forms, but was vague in explaining how. However, Lamarck believed, as did Erasmus Darwin that an organism could acquire characteristics during its lifetime that would be passed on to its offspring. An example of this would be a giraffe that has to constantly stretch its neck to reach leaves on a tree. Due to all this stretching, the giraffe would have a much longer neck by the time it was ready to have offspring. The offspring of this giraffe would be born with longer necks because of this. While the idea of this was plausible, it was widely disputed at the time and it is no longer believed to be true. In fact, not all scientists were willing to support any kind of evolution. Linnaeus was a staunch opponent of evolution and rejected the idea of it at every turn.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Although people have known about plants for all of their existence, have classified them over and over, and used plants in their everyday life, scientists still had a lot to learn about them. Jan Ingenhousz made an amazing discovery in 1779. Ingenhousz discovered that plants had two distinct respiratory cycles. At night, plants absorbed oxygen and exhaled carbon dioxide. During the day, this cycle was reversed. While Ingenhousz knew that the cycle was reversed, he was not sure what the gasses were. A scientist named Lavoisier would actually describe the exact nature of the gasses. Ingenhousz would go on to determine that sunlight was responsible in aiding the production of oxygen in the leaves of plants.
Another botanist, Christian Konrad, gained further understanding by describing how various plants could be fertilized by the wind or by insects. With this discovery, a new branch of science was begun. Scientists began the study of ecology or how all organisms interact with one another. Gilbert White would write a book that contained notes on the lives of plants and animals in Selborne, England. This was the first book on ecology and it went through 200 different editions and became the fourth best selling book in English.
What do we call the two name naming system?
Here are some ideas and discoveries of the time that don’t fit our topics, but are interesting nonetheless.
1742 Anders Celsius makes his temperature scale. For some reason, he places
00 Celsius for the boiling point and 1000 Celsius for the freezing points of
water. J.P. Christin will switch these two in 1743.
1751 January 1 becomes the New Year in Britain.
1752 Benjamin Franklin performs his famous kite experiment.
1754 French mathematician Abraham De Moivre claims that he will try to sleep
15 minutes longer everyday until he sleeps for 24 hours. At this point he
will die. Amazingly, this is exactly what occurs.
1795 Sailors have been getting scurvy due to lack of Vitamin C on their
voyages. To combat this, they are given limes, hence the name “Limeys”.
1799 Soldiers in Napoleon’s army digging near the Rosetta branch of the Nile
discover a stone engraved with three different scripts. The Rosetta Stone
is the key to solving Egyptian hieroglyphics.
June 5, 1783 The Montegolfier Brothers fly the first hot air balloon. They arrived at
this idea after watching smoke rise through their chimney.
~~~~~Back
to Industrial Revolution Introduction~~~~~