REGNAULT, HENRI VICTOR (1810-1878)

This article appears in Volume V23, Page 46 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: RAY-RHU

REGNAULT, HENRI VICTOR (1810-1878) , French chemist and physicist, was born on the 21st of July 1810 at Aix-la-Chapelle. His early life was a struggle with poverty. When a boy he went to Paris and obtained a situation in a large drapery

establishment

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement,
late
- LATE
Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

, where he remained, occupying every spare hour in study, until he was in his twentieth year. Then he entered the 1 cole Polytechnique, and passed in 1832 to the Ecole des Mines, where he developed an aptitude for experimental chemistry. A few years later he was appointed to a professorship of chemistry at Lyons. His most important contribution to organic chemistry was a

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

of researches, begun in 1835, on the haloid and other derivatives of unsaturated hydrocarbons. He also studied the alkaloids and organic acids, introduced a classification of the metals according to the facility with which they or their sulphides are oxidized by steam at high temperatures, and effected a comparison of the chemical composition of atmospheric air from all parts of the world. In 184o he was recalled to Paris by his appointment to the chair of chemistry in the & pie Polytechnique; at the same time he was elected a member of the Academie des Sciences, in the chemical section, in room of P. J. Robiquet (178o-184o); and in the following year he be-came professor of physics in the College de France, there succeeding P. L. Dulong, his old master, and in many respectshis model. From this time

Regnault

devoted almost all his attention to

practical

PRACTICAL

physics; but in 1847 he published a four-volume treatise on Chemistry which has been translated into many languages.

Regnault

executed a careful redetermination of the specific heats of all the elements obtainable, and of many compoundssolids, liquids and gases. He investigated the expansibility of gases by heat, determining the coefficient for air as ooo3665, and showed that, contrary to previous

opinion

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

, no two gases had precisely the same rate of expansion. By numerous delicate experiments he proved that Boyle's law is only approximately true, and that those gases which are most readily liquefied diverge most widely from obedience to it. He studied the whole subject of

thermometry

THERMOMETRY (Gr. Bepľos, warm; ľerpov, a measure)

critically; he introduced the use of an accurate air-thermometer, and compared its indications with those of a mercurial thermometer, determining the absolute dilatation of mercury by heat as a step in the process. He also paid attention to hygrometry and devised a hygrometer in which a cooled metal surface is used for the deposition of moisture.
In 1854 he was appointed to succeed J. J. Ebelmen (1814-1852) as director of the

porcelain

PORCELAIN

manufactory at Sevres. He carried on his great research on the expansion of gases in the laboratory at Sevres, but all the results of his latest

work

WORK

were destroyed during the Franco-German War, in which also his son Henri (noticed above) was killed. Regnault never recovered from the

double

blow, and, although he lived until the 19th of January 1878, his scientific labours ended in 1872. He wrote more than eighty papers on scientific subjects, and he made important researches in conjunction with other workers. His greatest

work

WORK

, bearing on the

practical

PRACTICAL

treatment of steam-engines, forms vol. xxi. of the Memoires de l'Academie des Sciences.

End of Article: REGNAULT, HENRI VICTOR (1810-1878)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/RAY_RHU/REGNAULT_HENRI_VICTOR_1810_187.html">
REGNAULT, HENRI VICTOR (1810-1878)
</a>

(Previous)
REGNAULT, HENRI (1843-1871)

(Next)
REGNAULT, JEAN BAPTISTE (1754-1829)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email